NJSDL Online Speech Festival Series November

2026 — Online, NJ/US

• Invite
• Register

Original Spoken Word Poetry (MS)

Event Description:

Time is 5 minutes with a 30 second grace period.

Original Spoken Word Poetry is poetry writtenfor performance to express ideas, experience, or emotion through the creative arrangement of words according to their sound, their rhythm, their meaning. The delivery must be memorized, and no book or script may be used. No more than 150 words of the original poetry may be direct quotation from any other speech or writing, and such quotations must be identified in a printed copy of the speech. An introduction is permitted, but not required. A successful performer will craft a piece that elicits critical thought, reflection, or emotion. As opposed to traditional Poetry, Spoken Word Poetry is created to be performed aloud and may feature rhythmic flow, vivid imagery, word play, gestures, lyrical elements, and repetition.