The Academy of Music Theatre presents the Fourth Annual Academy Regional Youth Poetry Slam on the Academy’s historic stage, where young poets perform original work for cash prizes.
Hosted by Lyrical Faith, this is the only poetry slam in Western Massachusetts showcasing the talented and powerful voices from Pioneer Valley high school students!
The whole school was buzzing all day. The poets feel so special and loved. This was an excellent experience for our community!!
It was an amazing experience, and I’d do it again! To anyone questioning their interest in poetry, just do it! Share your story, your feelings, your life—it’ll be so worth it. Move people with your words and poetry!
Rules and Entry
Please mark your calendars:
- Wednesday, October 1, 2026 – Applications open at 10am
- Friday, January 16, 2026 – Applications close at 5 pm
- Friday, January 23, 2026 – Participants are notified via email (parent and teacher emails)
- Friday, January 30, 2026 – Consent to Participate Forms must be submitted by this date.
- Monday, March 2, 2026, 5:00-8:00 PM – Mandatory participant workshop at the Academy of Music
- Friday, April 3, 2026, 6:30 PM – Poetry slam event
- Educators, youth leaders, or parents/guardians (recommenders) may nominate their high school-aged students online only.
- Online nomination forms are available October 1, 2025, through January 13, 2026.
- Nominated student participants must be from Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden County.
- Recommenders are encouraged to prioritize their top 2 nominations.
- Recommenders who are not the parents or caretakers of the nominated student must include the caretaker information on the nomination form.
- Additional nominated poets will be placed on a waitlist.
- Nominations are at the recommenders’s discretion and may be a combination of personal judgment of the poet’s skill and commitment level.
- Selected poets and waitlisted poets must attend the mandatory dates of the workshop on March 2, 2026 and the Slam on April 3, 2026.
- 10 finalists and 3 semi-finalists will be chosen from the educator’s nominations.
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners are selected at the Slam on April 3rd.
- Prizes are $250 for 1st place, $100 for 2nd place, and $50 for 3rd place
- Poets will prepare a total of 4 poems, one poem for each of the 3 rounds, and one additional poem in case of a tie-breaker round.
- Poems must be original works – of the poet’s own creation.
- Memorization is not required. Poets may bring a sheet of paper, chapbook/notebook, or read off their phones or tablets.
- Poets may NOT engage in sexist, racist, homophobic, or transphobic comments on or off the stage. Poets who engage in inappropriate or offensive language will be disqualified and asked to leave.
- Poets may NOT use props, costumes, recorded music or sounds, or musical instruments.
- Poets may sing, beatbox, or make other sounds with their bodies only.
- The host will announce a general trigger warning at the beginning of the slam. Poets may also choose to announce additional trigger warnings which will count against their time.
- Poets receive 3 minutes, plus a 10-second grace period to perform one poem.
- Timing starts upon first interaction with the crowd.
- 0.5 points are deducted from scores for every 10 seconds poets go over time.
- Judges will be impartial and will not know or have communication with any poet in the slam to avoid bias.
- Poets will be asked if there are any conflicts of interest with the chosen judges. If poets do not speak out immediately, the slam will proceed with the chosen judges.
- New judges will be selected if conflicts are voiced immediately.
- The slam has 3 rounds of eliminations, with the possibility of a tie-breaker round, if needed.
- Poets receive scores from 0 to 10, with decimals highly encouraged.
- The highest and lowest scores are dropped. The remaining three are added together to calculate the total score, not exceeding a maximum of 30 points.
- 0.5 points will be deducted from a poet’s score for every 10 seconds they go over time.
Nominate a student to participate!
High school educators, youth leaders, or parents/caretakers of high school-aged from Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden Counties, nominate your students today! Check the rules, then make your nomination.
Nominations close Friday, January 16, 2026!
Questions? Call 413-584-9032 x103, or email youthpoetry@aomtheatre.com.
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We’ve been featured!
Academy of Music to host upcoming youth poetry slam | Western Mass News
Slammed | Talk the Talk | WHMP
Artsbeat 04-04-25 (Lyrical Faith) | WSKB Community Radio
Regional Youth Poetry Slam brings young voices to the stage | The Reminder
They ‘don’t come to play around’: Ten local students will compete in Third Annual Academy Regional Youth Poetry Slam next month | Daily Hampshire Gazette | Amherst Bulletin
Academy Regional Youth Poetry Slam Amplifies Multilingual Voices | El Sol Latino
Poetry, Protest and Potential at WMass Youth Poetry Slam | Springfield Republican
News About the Slam!
Academy Regional Youth Slam Past Winners
2025 Winners
1st Place – Julianys Centeno (Holyoke High School- Dean)
2nd Place – Adrianna Serrano-Rios (Holyoke High-North)
3rd Place – Izaria “Izzie” Thomas (Springfield Honors Academy)
Honorable Mention – Samara “The Chef” Thadison (Holyoke High School-Dean)
2024 Winners
1st Place – Cecelia Allentuck
2nd Place – Ayotide Baptiste
3rd Place – Marcielo Aquino
2023 Winners
1st Place – Victor Cruz Castro
2nd Place – Cecelia Allentuck
3rd Place – Joel Blandon
About Lyrical Faith
She is a graduate of the Public Relations program at Syracuse University, a Masters degree recipient of the Higher Education & Student Affairs program at NYU, and a current Social Justice Education Doctoral student at UMass Amherst studying the intersections of arts and activism. Her work has been featured on NPR, Button Poetry, Write About Now Poetry, Huffington Post Black Voices, and News 12 The Bronx.
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