Urban Word

Urban Word champions youth voice through literary arts education and youth programs in the areas of creative writing, spoken word poetry, hip-hop, college prep and civic engagement. Our host of programs and artistic development opportunities expose more than NYC teens to the art of spoken word poetry, offering young, creative voices, often those who are marginalized, the tools, training, and platforms to rewrite the narratives that shape their lives and their communities. We host programming in over 100 schools in NYC annually, and we are the founder of the National Youth Poet Laureate Program, a renowned program that celebrates youth for their excellence as writers and their impact on their communities. We also offer educator trainings that link inquiry-based classroom practices with the most progressive academic trends in student-centered culturally responsive pedagogy.