Pompano Beach Arts Presents Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival

The Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department will present the 3rd Annual Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival, an enriching and entertaining showcase of the best local and national spoken word artists and writers. While poets will be competing live at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center from December 10-12, due to COVID-19, the festival will be live streamed to the public.

The preliminary and final bouts are $10 each, in addition there will be free virtual artist talks and workshops that require registration to receive the links. An all-access virtual pass is $25.

For tickets, registration and details, visit http://www.pompanobeacharts.org/exit36.

"We are thrilled to broadcast some of the best slam poets in the country to a national audience via our virtual platforms," said Phyllis Korab, Cultural Affairs Director. "The Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival is an entertaining and inspiring event, featuring 15 acclaimed poets sharing their authentic selves as they battle it out for the top prize."

The first prize winner will receive $2,500, second prize is $1,500 and third prize is $1,000. The prizes are generously underwritten by the Pompano Beach Arts Foundation.

This year's competitors include:

Alex Tha Great from Dallas, TX; Meccamorphosis from Baltimore, MD; Ed Mabrey from Los Angeles, CA; Ninel Ninel from Atlanta, GA; Jahman Hill from Birmingham, AL; Lady Brion from Baltimore, MD; Ephraim Nehemiah from Baltimore, MD; Aleathia "GG" Dupree from Orlando, FL; Blacqwildflowr from Tampa, FL; Jonkel from Miami, FL; Charles Hines fromTampa, FL; Jazzmen Victoria from Dallas, TX; Alex Lu from Los Angeles, CA; Ed Figures from Orlando, FL; and Byrd from Pompano Beach, FL. Last year's winners, Jahman HIl, Lady Brion and Jonkel, are all returning to defend their titles.

Event Coordinator Sharonda 'Eccentrich' Richardson is the 14th ranked female poet in the world, an honor she received during the Women of the World Poetry Slam. 'Eccentrich' was born and raised in Pompano Beach, is the winner of a Pompano Beach Cultural Arts Award recognizing outstanding creativity and has graced the stages of over 45 venues from Florida to California. She is a member of the celebrated spoken word team, Dada, which finished first in the nation during the 2017 National Poetry Slam. Her poetry is also featured on Button Poetry, an acclaimed platform committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for performance poetry.

"I am very proud of how this festival has grown, and despite COVID-19, we have an incredible lineup of spoken word artists who arriving from all over the country to participate in this festival, which grows in prestige each year," said Richardson. "We hope every poet's hometown friends and family reserves a spot to experience all the emotional performances and dynamic events scheduled."

To view the daily schedule of events, workshops and artist talks visit http://www.pompanobeacharts.org/exit36