Performance Poetry Competition is Open to Ages 14 to 18

Young poets take note! SpeakNOW, The Nature of Words’ first annual spoken word competition, will take place Wednesday, October 5 at 7pm at PoetHouse Art, 55 NW Minnesota Ave. in Bend.
The competition, which is free to enter, is open to ages 14 to 18. One winner will be chosen to receive a $100 cash prize, a scholarship to a guest author workshop during The Nature of Words literary festival in November, and an opportunity to read the winning poems during the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition Awards Ceremony on November 2.
The awards ceremony is the opening event of the literary festival.
Twelve contestants will be chosen to read at the competition, based on a first-come basis during signup at 6:30pm.
Contestants should come prepared with two original poems and will be allowed up to four minutes to perform each poem. Six final contestants will be chosen from the first round of performances.
The finalists will perform their second poem, and a winner will be chosen from that group. Judging will be based on content, delivery and audience response. Audience participation is welcome and general admission to the event is $3.
Full contest details are available at www.thenatureofwords.org. Info: Jamie Houghton, Programs Director, at 541.647.2233 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .