Meta4 Houston wins national youth poetry slam for the second year in a row

Houston’s youth poetry team, Meta4 Houston, was named champion of the 2024 Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam, held July 17-20, 2024 in Washington D.C.

Sixteen youth teams from around the world competed in this year’s semi-finals. Meta4 Houston made the Top Four—along with teams from Orlando (Exodus United), Nashville (Southern Word), and Baltimore (Dew More)—advancing to the Final Stage and winning the competition on July 20.

This marks the second consecutive year that Houston has taken the title as top youth poetry team in the country, following the team’s historic 2023 win and Top Ten performances in past years.

Founded in 2007, Meta4 Houston is a program of the literary arts education nonprofit Writers in the Schools (WITS). Six teen poets are selected each year through competition at the annual Space City Grand Slam.

This year’s Meta4 Houston team includes four new members and two returning members: Bela Kalra (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), Amaya Newsome (Humble High School), Cristina Perez-Ruiz (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), Mya Skelton (Humble High School), and returning teammates Samiyah Green (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts) and Adriana Winkelmayer (Emery/Weiner Jewish School).

Considered one of largest, long-running youth slam festivals in the world, Brave New Voices aims to encourage and amplify youth voices by connecting poetry, spoken word, youth development, and civic engagement.

“We are proud to be two-time champions of Brave New Voices, spreading youth expression and literacy through poetry slam,” stated Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean, former Houston Poet Laureate and Meta4 Houston head coach, in an email.

Bean and Alinda “Adam” Mac, Assistant Coach and Meta4 Houston alum, mentored the team, as they wrote, choreographed, and rehearsed a collection of poems inspired by their experiences living in Houston. At Brave New Voices, the 2024 Meta4 Houston team performed original poems “on difficult topics including Texas climate change, gun violence, fast fashion, the human condition, and how the best role model is one willing to make change,” according to WITS.

On social media, Bean shared photos that documented the final days of preparation leading up to winning the competition:

“We’re ecstatic for the Meta4 Houston Fellows. These powerful young artists have been hard at work honing their craft for months and are deserving of this great win,” said Giuseppe Taurino, WITS Executive Director, in a statement.

“Their dedication to exploring, investigating, and genuinely interacting with the world around them is inspiring,” said Taurino.

Houston is home to an active slam poetry scene, which includes both youth and adults. Earlier this summer, Smoke Slam—featuring Houston Poet Laureate Aris Kian Brown, LeChell “The Shootah,” R.J. Wright, Blacqwildflowr, and Sherrika Mitchell, coached by Ebony Stewart—also brought home a national title, taking first place at the 2024 Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Pompano Beach, Florida in June.