Spoken Word Across Virginia
Virginia currently has 6 adult slam teams, one of which is Norfolk’s verb benders, ranked #3 in the U.S. and 8th in the world. Richmond’s Writer’s Den slam team is captained by Roscoe Burnems, the capital city’s first Poet Laureate (2021 – 2023).
Poetry venues and arts organizations across Virginia host spoken word events, open mics and slams year-round. Some of these events are long-running series. To explore spoken word in Virginia, please visit the PSV Events Calendar for local events.
PSV Spoken Word Adult Contest inaugural winner Cassandra Spruill (Cass IsFree) performing her poem “Revelations.”
Ekphrastic Projects in Virginia
Views of Virginia Project
Curated by PSV member Dr. Kathleen P. Decker for PSV, VIEWS OF VIRGINIA is a reverse ekphrastic project, beginning with a series of poems to which artists were called to respond. Both the poems and the artworks created in response— including photographs, paintings, drawings, and even quilts—were on display at The Muse Writers Center until July 31, 2023. The project book, Views of Virginia is available for purchase.
Poems for this project were submitted from PSV members and students of the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, and art was created by local Virginia artists.
Firnew Farm Artist Circle Ekphrastic Project
In 2023, current PSV President David Anthony Sam organized an ekphrastic project through a partnership with Firnew Farm Artists’ Circle. Featured poets represented three PSV regions: North Central, Northern, and Northwestern.
The project called on artists and poets to respond to each other’s works. The artists will select a poem from submissions that inspires them and respond to it visually. The artists, in turn, will send photos of their artwork to poets, who will respond to the art with poems.
Poets and artists presented work during a March 2024 exhibition ceremony at The Arts Center in Orange located in downtown Orange, Virginia, as well as in at Firnew Farm that April. A follow up ekphrastic project was held over the summer. In August, ooets and artists presented works themed around “Sanctuary” at the Baker Gallery located at the Woodberry Forrest School.
Quilted Poem: An Ekphrastic Collaboration of Poets and Quilters
Dr. Kathleen P. Decker co-led the PSV project, QUILTED POEMS with former PSV President Terry Cox-Joseph. The book is an ekphrastic collection of 45 quilts and the 65 PSV member poems that inspired them. Some of the quilts were designed as concrete representations of a poem, others use abstract symbols or abstract quilt block designs. The poems address various subjects including nature, the process of quilting and quilters, and spirituality.
The quilts and poems were exhibited in 2022 at:
- Fredericksburg Expo Center (Fredericksburg, VA)
- Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival (Hampton, VA)
- Original Sewing and Quilt Expo (OSQE) (Fredericksburg, VA)
Ecopoetry
Poetry on the Trail
The mission of Poetry on the Trail is to our connection to the environment through the intersection of poetry and nature. The project began in 2023, and now features seventeen poems across two trails, the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail in King George County and the Elizabeth River Trail in Norfolk.
Poetry Society of Virginia 