14th Annual Middle and High School CCS Poetry Slam
Saturday, April 12, 2025, from 5-9 p.m.
Eastmoor Academy High School (417 S. Weyant Ave.)
The 14th Annual Columbus City Schools (CCS) Poetry Slam is Saturday, April 12, 2025, from 5-9:00 p.m. at Eastmoor Academy High School. A poetry slam is an opportunity for our students to have a voice. Students from CCS middle and high schools will be performing their original poetry in front of an audience and a panel of judges.
Students are encouraged to write about what they know: their lives, their struggles, their successes. This is spoken word poetry, or 'slam,' helps students improve their writing and presenting skills and gives them an avenue of expression. In a poetry slam, the poets or groups of poets have three minutes to perform an original work. They may not use props, instruments, or costumes. After they finish, the judges rate their poem on a scale of 1 to 10 (out to one decimal point) based upon their initial reaction to the poem. The top and bottom scores are discarded and the final three added to give the poets their score. The poets’ scores on a team are combined to make up the team score. The individual and the team with the highest scores in the finals are the winners.
"The CCS District Slam is always one of the best nights of the year. We get to hear our students tell their stories and show us their creativity. The courage that it takes to preform your own poem on stage in front of judges and an audience is inspiring," said Wyk McGowan, CCS District Poetry Slam Coordinator. "This is the 14th slam. This year there will be fifty poems performed by our middle and high school poets. It is such a positive and powerful event, and it is unfortunate how few people in the city and the district seem to know about it."
Each middle and high school will have an opportunity to send a team to the District Slam. Each team will consist of 5-6 students ages 11-19 per school. High schools will be competing for the Sandy Cox Memorial Trophy. Individual poets will be competing to be the champion of the District. There will be one round: a final bout. The middle schools will also be competing for the middle school trophy and individual awards.
The cost for the event is $5 and can be purchased online at Local Level Events or at the door.
Click here to download the flyer.
