“Summer time, and the livin’ is easy . . .” and the poetry . . . . HOT!  For the fourth year in a row, the Austin Youth Poetry Slam Team will take on the nationally recognized veterans of Central Texas poetry slam in a no-holds-barred spoken word smack down to raise money to get the youth team to Chicago next month for the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival (BNV)(Check out last year’s BNV on HBO!). This year’s Austin Youth Slam juggernaut, a team of feisty, all-female teen poetry titans, will take on the adults of the Neo Soul Poetry Slam Team (2^nd in the nation 2006), the Killeen Poetry Slam (2^nd in the nation 2007), and the Austin Poetry Slam (3^rd in the nation 2008).

To find something hotter than this on the 4^th of July weekend, you would need a set of oven mitts, wear an asbestos suit, and ask the Fire Department for directions! This fundraiser will be filled with spoken word by some of the most accomplished, nationally recognized writers and performers in Austin.  Performers that night include: Shay Harris (2-time Austin Youth Slam Champion, 6^th in the nation - 2007), Cora Lee (member of the Cipher, winners of the 2009 Austin Battle of the Bands), Big Poppa E (HBO Def Poetry Jam), Christopher Michael (former Austin Slam Champ and 2^nd at the National Poetry Slam – 2007), and Michelle Desiree (Neo Soul Slam Team 2006) to name just a few.  These performances will be so hot you will be able grill the ribs and have enough heat left over for s’mores! Smack talk between the teams has already begun . . .

So, if you are looking for a way to get your 4^th of July weekend started with a bang, make plans to come to the 4^th Annual Slam Bowl.  Please come for a night of stirring, thought-provoking poetry.  The Austin Youth Slam is a project funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.