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Team Hawaii wins Brave New Voices
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Current and former members of Hawaii's youth slam team
This year, fifty teams from the U.S, the UK, and the Caribbean competed in Chicago July 14-19 for the 12th Annual Brave New Voices Poetry Slam. Brave New Voices is an important part of both slam poetry and the youth poetry movement. All featured contestants are between thirteen and nineteen years old.
These teen poets represent their city and themselves as they pour their hearts out on stage. In less than four minutes, these poets speak volumes. A panel of judges then rates the poems on a scale of 1 to 10 and the teams with the highest scores move on until one team stands.
Hawaii proved victorious with its distinctive voice. The team may be laidback offstage, but once on stage, the team’s attitude, cultural pride, and raw energy take over. This was Team Hawaii’s second consecutive victory. Last year, HBO captured the win on television.
The Brave New Voices competition experienced a surge in popularity thanks to HBO’s docu-series Brave New Voices.
Poetry is no new feat for HBO. After the success of Def Comedy Jam, the network premiered its spin-off Russell Simmons Presents: Def Poetry in 2002. The show took the work of poets from New York City’s Supper Club and introduced it to the late night set. Def Poetry gained momentum through 2007, especially once released on DVD. Six seasons and six years later, the show has vanished from HBO’s line-up with little to no warning.
Where would poetry aficionados turn to experience the liveliness of Def Poetry? Brave New Voices. The docu-series, which concluded last month, chronicles ten teams as they prepare for the 11th Annual Brave New Voices Poetry Slam. Viewers see the dedication and tension leading up to the competition held July 15-19, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
The show even caught the attention of the Obamas, who invited Team Hawaii veteran Jamaica Osorio to perform at the 1st annual White House Poetry Jam.
Hawaii has turned out amazing poets and has become the new team to beat.
For more information, visit http://www.bravenewvoices.org or http://hbo.com/bravenewvoices.
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