Let It All Out

If you want to find reasons to feel terrible, it ain’t hard: Mine your personal history, try on clothes under fluorescent lights, read the newspaper. But if you’re looking to burst with optimism and keep riding that Obama wave, Youth Speaks slam events are the answer. Feel your joy synapses fire with the glistening spectacle of empowered, confident, intelligent youth and their masterful handling of current events. It’s sharp entertainment delivered with high-energy, socially conscious wordsmithing. During March, more than 500 poets fought it out in six preliminary rounds of competitive spoken word. This weekend, the winners take the stage for the Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam Semifinals, jockeying to be one of the 18 to reach the April 11 finals, hosted by Youth Speaks director James Kass and local word-art luminaries Marc Bamuthi Joseph and DJ Funklor. Call it “The Secret” or good old-fashioned thoughtful self-care; just make Youth Speaks part of your mental recovery package.
Fri., March 27, 7 p.m.; Sat., March 28, 7 p.m., 2009