Page to Stage: Exploring the Poetry Slam – New!
Adult Multi-Week | Available
A course for poets that want to try out poetry slam competitions. Throughout the weeks poets will analyze, write, perform "slam poems" with National Poetry Slam Champion and inaugural poet laureate Douglas Powell/Roscoe Burnems.
- This class was originally scheduled for 9/22-11/10, but has been pushed back one week. The dates are now 9/29-11/17.
Poems may discuss sensitive topics. Please bring notebooks and writing utensils.
Accessibility notes: Many artmaking processes require the ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time, fine motor skills/finger dexterity, repetitive motions, vision, and some amount of physical strength. VisArts values making classes accessible to everyone, and is always happy to work with students to make accommodations when possible. Please reach out to info@visarts.org with specific questions related to accessibility or accommodations.
Classes are confirmed one week prior to the start date. In order to help us confirm classes, please register as early as possible.
On-site courses do not come with studio access outside of class time. Paid open studio access is available through our Studio Access Program. Please visit visarts.org for more information.
Roscoe Burnems
Roscoe Burnems, also known as Douglas Powell, is a father, author, spoken-word artist, educator, and Richmond, Virginia’s first poet laureate. He is the author of the collections God, Love, Death and Other Synonyms (310 Brown Street, 2019); Chrysalis Under Fire (The Writer’s Den, LLC, 2018); Fighting Demons (Prysmatic Dreams Publishing, 2014), and defyne (Lift Bridge Publishing, 2024). During his time as a slam poet, Burnems has been a three-time Southern regional team finalist, National Poetry Slam Champion, and two-time NUPIC/Undeground Poetry Slam Champion. As a poetry slam coach, he has been a NPS Group Piece finalist and taken Virginia Commonwealth University’s poetry team to rank third internationally. Burnems is a TEDx speaker and the founder of the poetry-based art collective The Writer’s Den. In 2021, he received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. He recently claimed two Telly Awards as a host and producer of "Verses" for VPM.