George Wythe High School Wins First Prize At 2nd Annual RPS Poetry Slam

The 2nd Annual RPS Poetry Slam presented by The Writers’ Den took place at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Six Richmond City Highschools coached by professional poets from the Writers’ Den competed to win, and the team from George Wythe High School, coached by Rieka Speaks, took first prize. The event was hosted by Roscoe Burnems, Richmond’s inaugural poet laureate and founder of the Writers’ Den, a spoken word collective.

Participating students performed their pieces in a packed auditorium, publicly performing courageous pieces in front of friends, family, teachers and the general public.  “Students prepared for months with some of the most talented and reputable poets in RVA,” states a social media caption by the Writers’ Den. “A Huge thank you to our coaches for giving our youth permission to use their voice and making them brave enough to speak their truths in front of an audience.”

Open High School won second prize, coached by former VisArts’ Writer-in-Residence and Writing Program Coordinator, Rosa Castellano, who co-created the RVA Poetry Festival which took place at VisArts in April.