Celebrate National Poetry Month and the talented young poets of Sonoma County at our TEEN POETRY SLAM!

A poetry slam is a competition in which individuals perform their own personal poetry before an audience, which judges the poems and the artists' performances. A typical poetry slam might include all sorts of different types of poetry, including love poems, critical social commentary, hilarious comic poems and moving personal confessions. This poetry slam, with its focus on teens in our community, hopes to encourage and inspire teens to engage in, perform, and experience the world of poetry--particularly spoken word poetry. It also gives teens a platform to speak their truth and to share their creativity with the larger community.

This Sonoma County-wide event is open to performers between the ages of 13-19, and Sonoma County teens will also serve as the emcees, judges, and scorekeepers.

Prizes will be awarded to the three top-scoring poets.

The Teen Poetry Slam will be held on Saturday, April 13 at the Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library. The order of events includes:

• 3:00 pm Open Mic (sign up at the event)
• 3:30 pm Featured Teen Poet Estrella Pacheco
• 4:00 pm Poetry Slam (to compete, email temerson@sonomalibrary.org)

Our featured poet, Estrella Pacheco, is a 16-year-old poet, actress, and activist from Sebastopol California. She loves art, the human experience, food, and goosebumps, especially when they accompany each other.

All ages are welcome to attend this fun creative event to cheer on our talented teens!