Brave New Voices
Poetry in Motion
Event Details
The World's Premier Youth Poetry Event
Brave New Voices is coming to Madison, WI, for the first time! Join the nation's leading artists and activists for four days of live events where hundreds of young poets will attend youth workshops, town halls, educator sessions, performances, and the biggest youth poetry slam in the US.
Day 1: Wednesday, July 16 (tickets)
- 7:30–9 p.m. Opening Ceremonies
- 9:30–10:30 p.m. Queerosity
The events will be held on UW–Madison campus. The exact location will be emailed to registered attendees.
Day 2: Thursday, July 17 (tickets)
- 10:30 a.m.–noon Youth Town Halls, Writing Workshops, Adult Workshops
- 2–3:30 p.m. Youth Town Halls, Writing Workshops, Adult Workshops
The events will be held on UW–Madison campus. The exact location will be emailed to registered attendees.
- 7:30–8:30 p.m. Body Politics, a play by Shasparay (Lake Mendota Room: Dejope Hall)
- 7:30–8:30 p.m. MC Olympics (Play Circle Theater, Memorial Union)
Day 3: Friday, July 18 (tickets)
- 10:30 a.m.–noon Semifinals Round 1 (Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra)
- 2–4 p.m. Semifinals Round 2 (Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra)
- 8–10 p.m. Evening Showcase: OMAI GAWD (The event will be held on UW–Madison campus. The exact location will be emailed to registered attendees.)
Day 4: Saturday, July 19 (tickets)
- 5–7 p.m. Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Slam Finals (Shannon Hall, Memorial Union)
Powered by Youth Speaks
Co-presented by Madison Metropolitan School District, First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Scholarship Program, Recreation & Wellbeing, Wisconsin Historical Society, and Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives
All events are free. Donation suggested for finals.
We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations for this event. Please call 510-944-7967 or email safety@youthspeaks.org to make a disability-related accommodation request. Requests should be made by Today, July 4, 2025, though reasonable effort will be made to support late accommodation requests.