“Let me hear your stories 
The bones and skin of it 
The grit and bite of it 
The truth of all of it.”

Have your preconceptions of poetry rattled at Rising Voices Youth Poetry Grand Slam, the pinnacle event for Aotearoa’s emerging spoken word talent.

Through the power of words, young poets will slam out their thoughts, question the status quo, bring to life their experiences and inspire with their talent and passion.

Rising Voices is the first youth poetry slam in New Zealand to incorporate artistic development workshops. Now in its sixth year, Rising Voices provides a platform for our finest young poets, developing their skills and a new audience for spoken word poetry.

These young spoken word poets have been crafting their writing and performance skills through a seven week workshop series with experienced spoken word artist mentors in Auckland and Christchurch. Each region has hosted a Regional Slam to determine the country's top youth poets who will be battling it out at the Grand Slam.

Poets are judged by a panel of three special guest judges. In the final round, the audience takes control of the vote to decide who will be their Rising Voices Grand Slam Champion.