University Heights Poets Take To Website

Power Poetry is the world’s first mobile poetry community for youth. It is a one-of-a-kind place, a place where you will get to mix your words with different media and technology.

Power Poetry is where you share your work with other poets around the country and around the world. Here you have an opportunity to find your voice, use your voice and speak as loudly as you want. Because we believe you need “to be heard” (See the link to our award-winning documentary, To Be Heard).

Power Poetry is not just about poetry. It is about using poetry as a tool, a weapon if you will, for change and growth—personal change and social engagement. As we roll out all the exciting features of our new community, you will be able to participate in the world’s first online mobile Poetry Slams—where you judge the work. Some of these slams will be just like regular poetry slams in spoken word venues and competitions, and other slams will be focused on important issues and themes.

But that is not all… Power Poetry is a place where people believe that words are powerful and that words can change the world; so we are creating a way for you to use your words as tools for change. We are reaching out to organizations and movements who need strong young voices to help them out. Just imagine, one day you write a poem about missing your dad who is locked away in prison. You share this poem with the Power Poetry community, and Power Poetry shares your poem with a bunch of organizations working hard to help reform prisons. The folks at one of those organizations reads your poem, loves it and posts it on their website… But wait… they are so impressed with your work, that they give you a paid internship to help them write their prison reform literature! Now you are not only writing poetry, but you’re writing poetry that helps make the world a better place and you’re getting paid to be creative.

Power Poetry is a mash-up of words and technology, so you can share your poetry many different ways: through laptops and desktops, tablets and i-Pods, smart phones and not-so-smart phones. You can use straight up text, (text "POEM" to 41411) you can use your phones to record your voices, you can add photos and images, and finally, you can share videos of your poems—we call these filmed poems “poemisodes”.

The website can be viewed here.