4-day poetry slam competition, with up to $2500 in cash prizes.

(Black PR Wire) Pompano Beach, FL - Calling all writers who enjoy cash prizes, a beach party, happy hour, and vendors! Coming up on your calendar, Pompano Beach Arts Foundation will be holding the 4-day poetry slam competition, Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival, with up to $2500 in cash prizes.  This event hosts some of the best poets in the country ready to slam! Now you may ask what Slam Poetry is.  Slam poetry is a playground. It's an opportunity. It’s freedom to rein your awesomeness and fly any flag you wish to wave without scrutiny.

It's the Planet Fitness of the poetry world - judgement free. What that means is slam poetry is open to anyone and everyone who wishes to put some power behind their opinion and voice their thoughts and views. Slam poetry is never "bad". It’s an expression of someone's feelings. Those feelings can't be wrong - they can only be evaluated based on your own opinion. That evaluation is what makes slam poetry enjoyable, exciting and even controversial.  Here's the kicker: Slam poetry is about feelings, emotions and stories, but: it’s mixed with personal style and it displays intimate characteristics. ​That style has to be your own and those characteristics must be innate - and that's what makes poetry slam poetry. Once you nail that concept, you're ready to impart your wonder to the world.

Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival is a four-day festival founded by spoken word artist and cultural programmer, Sharonda “Eccentrich” Richardson in 2018. Eccentrich, who is a Pompano Beach native, recognized an opportunity to celebrate her love for her craft and her city while creating an opportunity for the spoken word community to soak up South Florida’s warm climate and experience

Florida’s Warmest Welcome in the City of Pompano Beach! In addition to being

the only poetry festival in the Southern United States to be held during the winter season, the

Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival strives to nurture, support and showcase regional, national and international writers and poets while providing the local community with arts experiences facilitated by visiting.

After a successful inaugural competition in which, one artist representing the state of California

walked away with the grand prize of $2,000 the festival was acquired by the City of Pompano Beach’s Cultural Affairs Department and will benefit from increased financial and physical resources while upholding a commitment to the spoken word tradition.

The City

The City of Pompano Beach is a a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just to the north of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2010 census the city’s population was 99,845. The City is located off of Exit 36 on I-95

which was the inspiration for the festival’s name.

Cultural Affairs Department

The City’s Cultural Affairs Department works to support the City’s growth as a cultural arts destination and currently includes four cultural facilities offering a mix of innovative arts programming across all cultural disciplines for the enjoyment and enrichment of residents and visitors.

Cultural Facilities

The Pompano Beach Cultural Center, adjacent to City Hall is located in revitalized downtown Pompano Beach and headquarters the City’s Cultural Affairs Department. Through this cultural venue, the City offers cultural opportunities in many artistic disciplines while providing the public access to world –renowned music, dance, theater performances and art exhibitions.

The Historic Ali Cultural Arts Center is the steward for the history of the Northwest district of Pompano Beach and is the nexus for musicians, visual artists, dancers and spoken word poets that have been influenced or inspired by black culture.

Located in the heart of Pompano Beach’s new Creative Arts District,

Bailey Contemporary Arts (BaCA) houses a dozen art studios and also features large galleries that serve as exhibition and education spaces, and an open social area for artistic dialogue. BaCA offers studio space for visual artists, and is occupied with

painters, ceramicists, photographers and interdisciplinary artists. Here we provide the opportunity for residents to explore their creative side with workshops, events, studio visits and monthly exhibitions.

The Blanche Ely House celebrates the professional and personal accomplishments of educational pioneers and community activists Blanche and Joseph Ely. The museum offers an abbreviated glimpse into the couple’s extensive collection of photographs, letters and artifacts, through exhibitions and creative and cultural programming.

 Writing workshops and community service hours will also be available to the public.  Visit exit36slampoetryfestival.org or call (954)545-7800 to find out more.