Registration is now open!
Saturday 15 February
National Library, Abercromby Street,
Port of Spain,
10 am to 4 pm
Sunday 16 February
Boba and Brew, Gopaul Lands,
Marabella
10 am to 2 pm
Friday 21 February
East Yard, 27 Prince Street,
Arima,
5.30 to 8pm
Sunday 23 February
Scarborough Public Library,
10 am to 2 pm
On Sunday, April 28, Queen’s Hall was ablaze with high-powered poetry performances for the 2024 First Citizens National Poetry Slam and crowning this year’s champion, Shakira Burton. A pool of 80 auditionees was whittled down to 16 through semifinal rounds at the Central Bank Auditorium on March 23 and 24, all vying for the coveted title of Grand Slam Champion. The event brought the curtains down on the 14th annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
This year’s Grand Slam judges included Natalie Fiawoo, Rose Ann Walker, Nicholas Sosa, Nickolai Salcedo, and head judge Arielle M. John.
The winner’s row took home a total of $80,000 courtesy First Citizens, with first, second, and third places receiving $50,000, $20,000, and $10,000 respectively.
2024 finalists
Kyle Hernandez
Abdul Majeed Abdal Karim
Alexandra Stewart
Alicia Haynes
Daniel Baptiste
Darion Cunningham
Derron Sandy
Dershawn Hernandez
Gabrielle Murray
Kedisha Thomas
Keeron Isaac
Michael Logie
Renaldo Briggs (WC)
Ronaldo Mohammed
Seth Sylvester
Shakira Burton
Standby Poets
Kevin Soyer . Soleil La Barrie
For more information email [email protected]
HISTORY
The First Citizens National Poetry Slam celebrates its 14th year in 2025 as the leading stage for Spoken Word in the Caribbean. With a total prize pool of TT$80,000 and TT$50,000 awarded to the champion, it proudly offers the largest cash reward for Spoken Word artists in the English-speaking Caribbean.
2025 marks the 14th edition of the First Citizens National Poetry Slam which is renowned as the largest stage for Spoken Word in the Caribbean, with a TT$50,000 first place prize, the biggest cash prize for Spoken Word artists in the world.
In 2024, the Slam reverted to in-person auditions in Trinidad and in Tobago through a partnership with the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS). The Grand Slam was held at Queen’s Hall for the first time.
The championship was a televised event with live judging broadcast and streamed to the public for free in in 2020 and 2021. Closed auditions were held via Zoom, where twenty poets were chosen for the semi-final rounds airing in August of both years.
In 2022, all stages of the championship were accessible for public viewing, for free, and was hosted by popular personalities each year. 2023 marked the return of the annual Spoken Word championship to its traditional in-person, pre-covid schedule, with the reintroduction of the popular Wild Card feature of the Slam.
In 2025, the Slam’s organising committee continues its partnership with the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) and other locations to host Slam auditions at National Library locations across Trinidad and Tobago.
The Grand Slam (First Citizens National Poetry Slam Final) continues to draw sold-out audiences and remains the greatly-anticipated, high-energy closing event of the Bocas Lit Fest’s annual literary festival.
Over thirteen years, the First Citizens National Poetry Slam has seen:
1329 poets auditioned (2013-2024)
408 semi-finalists (2013-2024)
160 finalists (2013-2024)
42 winners (1st – 3rd places)
TT $719,000 distributed in prize money
81 Slam events to date