LeChell the Shootah, 2023 Right2Write Slam Champion. Photo by Guerilla God Marketing.
“I want you to come in with no expectations,” says Alexandria Gurley, AKA Alex Tha Great. “I promise you will be wowed.”
Gurley is the mind behind Right 2 Write, an Oak Cliff-based poetry festival set to hold its second annual event this weekend. Made up of local and national performers, the festival has three days of programming, all hosted at local venues, including the Texas Theatre, Oak Cliff Cultural Center and Snookie’s.
“I have people who were volunteers last year who are now paid staff members,” says Gurley.
Those three, Wayne Henry, Gabby Elvessie and Lyrik Hunter are helping her organize the event this year. Gurley is a poet too, and will be performing at and hosting the Poetry Slam event on Saturday night.
The competition features fifteen poets who will each be competing in front of a panel of five judges for $3,500 in cash prizes. Judges will score each poet’s piece from 0-10, then the lowest and highest scores will be dropped leaving the poet with a maximum of 30 points.
Poets will compete in two rounds with cumulative scores added, then the leaders will advance to a final round to determine the champion.
Tickets to the slam are $30 per person, but most other events at the festival are free. View the full list of ticket options via Eventbrite.
Here is the full schedule for events at R2W 2024:
Friday, August 30, 2024
8:00pm-10:00pm Last Chance Slam hosted by Purpose Laicos Aidem (Snookie’s)
Saturday, August 31, 2024
9:00am-11:00am Scavenger Hunt (Bishop Arts District)
11:00am-12:00pm Yoga Class with Dawn Che’ (Oak Cliff Cultural Center)
12:15pm-1:15pm Gi’s Spot: A Community Workshop (Oak Cliff Cultural Center)
1:30pm-2:30pm Poets Spotlight Hour ft. Wayne Henry (Oak Cliff Cultural Center)
2:45pm-3:45pm Haiku Battle hosted by Christopher Michael (Oak Cliff Cultural Center)
4:00pm-5:00pm Networking Mixer ft. Blacqwildflowr (Oak Cliff Cultural Center)
5:00pm-7:00pm BREAK/Scavenger Hunt (Bishop Arts District)
7:00pm-10:00pm Poetry Slam hosted by Alex Tha Great (Texas Theatre)
11:00pm-1:00am Underground Slam hosted by Wayne Henry (Snookie’s)
Sunday, September 1, 2024
9:00am-11:00am Scavenger Hunt (Bishop Arts District)
11:00am-1:00pm Poets Farewell Brunch Laicos Aidem (Snookie’s)
“This festival is a grand labor of love,” Gurley says. “There is something within this event that will indeed cater to anyone with all dimensions of wellness.”
