Word Up Poetry Slam to Be Held Virtually January 28 on Birmingham Public Library Facebook Page

 

What: The Word Up! Festival, a poetry slam featuring high school students from all 7 Birmingham High Schools 

Who: The Flourish Alabama in partnership with Birmingham Public Library and the Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative to host the 2022 Word Up! Festival.  The Flourish Alabama is a local arts and arts education nonprofit organization dedicated to helping artists Bloom. 

When: Virtually via Zoom Friday, January 28, 2022 and on the Birmingham Public Library Facebook page. Semifinal rounds will be held at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 pm. The Final Round begins at 6:30 p.m. 

About the Event: Come see the top poets from Birmingham’s seven high schools compete for $5,000 in cash prizes at the 2022 Word Up! Festival. This festival is a culmination of The Flourish's Word Up! Program, a city-wide poetry competition featuring high school students from across Birmingham. 

Birmingham, Ala. – Want to see some of Birmingham's most talented spoken word artists? Then make plans now to tune in virtually on Friday, January 28, 2022, as poets from Birmingham’s seven high schools compete for $5,000 in cash prizes at the 2022 Word Up! Festival. This poetry slam will air online via Zoom and also on the Birmingham Public Library Facebook page. 

This poetry slam is sponsored by The Flourish Alabama in partnership with The Birmingham Public Library (BPL), the Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Magic City Poetry Festival and the Woodlawn Foundation. 

Founded by Eric Marable Jr. and Jahman Hill, The Flourish Alabama is a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting seeds that allow young people's talents to bloom. Marable and Hill are veteran performers of BPL's Bards & Brews spoken word poetry/craft beer event.  

"We are very excited to hear the incredible students of Birmingham share their work. We hope this event reinforces the message to our youth that they are powerful, and their voices deserve to be heard," said Eric Marable, Jr. and Jahman Hill, co-founders of The Flourish Alabama.

The 2022 Word Up! Festival will culminate a poetry slam team The Flourish Alabama helped build last fall at the seven Birmingham high schools – Woodlawn, Jackson-Olin, Parker, Ramsay, Carver, Wenonah, and Huffman.

“We demonstrate proper technique in Slam Composition, Slam Performance, Building the Squad, and Poetry as Competition, and the focus is on the importance of using your voice to speak your truth,” said Marable and Hill in a statement. 

Word Up! is made possible with support from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and Magic City Poetry Festival.

In December 2020, BPL partnered with The Flourish Alabama and Birmingham City Schools to host the 2020 "Word Up" poetry festival online on the BPL Facebook page virtually. 

The Word Up Festival will air one week before the Birmingham Public Library hosts its first Bards & Brews Poetry Slam of the year on Friday, February 4, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at the Boutwell Auditorium.