It's up and it's stuck SMS family! This year, we made magic. Let's do it again next year. The SMS Poetry Summit will commence with an open mic experience on Friday, April 26th and conclude with a cash prize slam competition on Sunday, April 28th.

General Admission Experience

The General Admission Experience will include:

• Open Mic experience to be held on the evening of Friday, April 26th 
• Saturday programming (panel discussions, activations, live music, workshops, vendors)
• Saturday concert by LaRussell
• Sunday cash prize slam competition

VIP Experience

The VIP Experience will include:

• VIP lounge access
• Preferred seating
• Preference for open mic slots
• Video recording of performances
• VIP photo package: includes 5-7 professionally taken photographs

Our VIP Gold Experience sold out early this year. Don't miss out in 2024! 

What is SMS?

The SMS Poetry Summit is an immersive, annual festival experience for poets and creatives. By blending entertainment and education, we have re-imagined the design of a poetry festival. The summit promotes creative innovation and celebrates the art of poetry across disciplines. The summit features live performances, panel discussions, workshops, activations, vendors, live music, networking, an open mic experience, and a cash prize slam competition. Our 2023 cash prize ($500) slam champion was Gabriel Ramirez. Our 2023 slam finalist was Eric "Sunny" Taylor. 

What is the goal of SMS?

For creatives, SMS Poetry Summit is a large-scale event that leverages industry experts to build business acumen and promote innovation among the creative community by celebrating art across disciplines. The panel discussions are designed to shed light upon the parts of poetry that often go undetected (e.g. intellectual property rights, writing as a wellness tool, landing corporate gigs, etc.). When the turn up meets collective evolution, magic happens.

Our Why

For years, the creative scene has been oozing with art and music festivals, but we have been missing opportunities to celebrate the poetry community amongst these disciplines.

The poetry culture is shifting. In 2020, Brandon Leake became the first poet to win America’s Got Talent and he has since gone on to film a documentary series. This demonstrates a newfound presence in both the entertainment and film sectors. In 2021, Amanda Gorman shared her poetry at the presidential inauguration. This demonstrates a newfound presence in the political sector. In 2023, the Grammy Award introduced its first ever “Best Spoken Word Poetry Album” category. This demonstrates a newfound presence in the music sector. 

This shift in culture creates a unique opportunity for us to celebrate the convergence of poetry, music, film, and culture. 

If there was ever a time, it's now. Poetry festivals have never been done like this before.

Location

Braid Mill. 441 High Street Philadelphia, PA.