Poetry Slam

In 2013, First Citizens, the Bocas Lit Fest and the 2 Cents Movement came together to create a unique closing event for the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, then in its third year. The Verses Bocas Poetry Slam, as it was called, was a free poetry show drawing an audience that exceeded the capacity of our Festival home in The Old Fire Station. The following year we moved to a bigger venue, but the scene at the Central Bank Auditorium was the same; spoken word poetry was on dazzling display to an overflowing audience eager for more. 2015 brought significant upgrades, in both form and substance. The Slam was held at the Globe cinema, with 1200 seating capacity, and would become the First Citizens National Poetry Slam of Trinidad and Tobago and it’s been on the rise ever since!

In eight years, the National Poetry Slam has established itself as the largest stage for spoken word in the Caribbean, with a TT$50,000 first place prize, one of the highest value awards for Spoken Word artists in the world.

In 2020, the FCNPS was a televised event with live judging broadcast and streamed to the public for free. In 2021 the competition will take place in the same way. Auditions were held in July via Zoom, where twenty poets were chosen for the semi-final rounds airing in August 2021.