to Join the PYPM Email List
Help PYPM Match funds for our Knight Arts Grant. We must match our grant funds for each year we are a recipient. Fundraising for year one ends on May 31, 2012.
Or mail check payable to
Philly Youth Poetry Movement to
Philly Youth Poetry Movement
P.O Box 42832
Philadelphia, PA 19101
___________________
Check out PYPM in the
2009 HBO Docuseries
"Russell Simmons Presents: Brave New Voices"
___________________
PYPM Performs at Art for Relief Benefit at The George School
"10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman" by Joshua Bennett (PYPM Alum)
PYPM Takes Top Honors at Brave New Voices 2011
The Philly Youth Poetry Movement’s (PYPM) slam team competed against 50 youth poetry teams from across the country and beyond in the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Festival to win the championship. Brave New Voices is the largest spoken word event in the world and was featured on HBO in 2010 and 2008. This year the festival took place in San Francisco, California from July 20-23.
On July 23, the Brave New Voices Grand Slam Finals took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,000 people in the San Francisco Opera House. The Philly Youth Poetry Movement joined teams from Denver, Detroit and New York City to compete in finals for the title. PYPM, who trailed throughout the final slam, pulled out the victory by 0.3 points.
The Philly Youth Poetry Movement is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to helping local youth ages 13-19 discover the power of their voices through spoken word and literary expression. The 2011 Philadelphia Youth Slam Team members include: Sinnea Douglas, Jamar Hall, Chamira Nelson, Kai Davis, and Safiya Washington who earned their spot on the team by competing in local poetry slams hosted by PYPM throughout the year. The team was coached by Perry “Vision” DiVirgilio and Kavindu Ade, who was a member of last year’s youth slam team.
The trip was made possible through generous donations from the City of Philadelphia by Mayor Michael Nutter who contributed $5,000, The Lomax Foundation who matched the City’s contribution, Southwest Airlines who provided air travel, individual donors, and fundraising by the youth poets. These collective efforts allowed PYPM to take the Youth Slam Team, plus seven additional Philadelphia youth poets who demonstrated commitment to the organization and their community. Yesterday, Mayor Nutter called to congratulate Team Philly on their championship win, saying that they are an “inspiration to our entire city.”
More than the poetry competitions, Brave New Voices created an opportunity for Philadelphia youth to meet other youth poets and leaders from around the world, including Guam, Toronto, Leeds, and teams from the Bay Area, Chicago to Greensboro, North Carolina. Youth participated in workshops, lectures, conferences, impromptu ciphers, and poetry open mics that were open to any youth who wanted to share a poem throughout the festival.
In 2007, the Philadelphia Youth Slam Team won first place at Brave New Voices, beating over 50 cities and more than 600 poets from around the country and Europe. In 2008, the Philly Youth Slam Team was featured as HBO covered the festival in “Russell Simmons Presents: Brave New Voices.” This year, PYPM earned the championship, finishing #1 out of 50 teams. PYPM returns to Philadelphia from Brave New Voices today.
Click here for media coverage about PYPM winning Brave New Voices.
Watch one of the winning poems performed by PYPM at the 2011 Brave New Voices Grand Slam Finals.
"Post Partum" - Kai Davis, Sinnea Douglas, Safiya Washington
More Features
PYPM Featured on CNN
CNN reporter, Sarah Hoye, recently shadowed the PYPM 2010-2011 Slam Season and Saturday Workshops for a feature story on their website about the Movement. Listen to the stories from the youth themselves, about how poetry and the organization is helping change their lives, their outlook and how they feel about themselves as people. Click here for the full article. Click here for the follow up article "Philly kids want city to be known for more than flash mobs."
PYPM Helping Hands Week at Trolley Car Diner & Cafe! - July 4-10
We're personally inviting you, and as many of your friends and family as you can invite, to dine at Trolley Car Diner & Café anytime during the entire week of July 4-10, 2011 (Monday - Friday 7AM -9 PM; Saturday and Sunday 3PM-9PM). Trolley Car Diner & Café will generously donate 15% of the cost of your meal to PYPM. All you need to do is eat and drink at our favorite Diner or Café and present the special coupon when paying the cashier (click to open & print coupon). Read More
PYPM Receives Grant To Establish Community Space For Young Writers
The Philly Youth Poetry Movement (PYPM) is a proud recipient of a $40,000 grant that will go toward establishing a permanent gathering space to run literary arts education programs for youth from around the Philadelphia area. The grant comes from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge and will fund a space that will offer free poetry and cultural workshops, homework tutoring, and life-skills mentoring.
The Philly Youth Poetry Movement is one of 36 projects out of over 1,700 applicants to receive such an award. The Knight Foundation's Knight Arts Challenge is a $9 million initiative supporting innovative projects that inspire and enrich Philadelphia's communities. The grant will help ensure that PYPM is a sustainable fixture in the community by funding a space that will expand its programs. Read More
PYPM Performs Original Choreopoem for the 2011 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts
Directed by Greg Corbin, PYPM Executive Director, and Cait Miner, PYPM Director of Educational Affairs, "Breathe-Body-Move: Reflections of an Urban Wasteland" is an original choreopoem featuring a compilation of poetry written by PYPM poets Jamarr Hall, Victor Jackson, Seff Al-Afriqi, Hiwot Adilow, Jamillah Harris and Kai Davis, with Shakari Drame providing acoustic guitar. PYPM premiered this stage show at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts for the 2011 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts in April. Those interested in booking a performance of "Breathe-Body-Move" can request additional information by completing the PYPM Booking Form.