Last Poet Standing IV

Last Poet Standing is considered a “spoken word competition” that has a $1,000 prize for the last poet standing. The competition brings together performing artists from the Midwest in a one-of-a-kind oral competition that brings poetry to life.

Last Poet Standing offers the largest prize for individual poets and is a collaboration between Oral Funk Poetry Productions and several other organizations in the industry.

The format for the event was masterminded by Oral Funk 13 years ago in an effort to spread the love of poetry. The competition will feature numerous segments, including:

Poetry will use the Spoken Word in this one–night–only competition at the Arnoff Center. Poets will face off, head-to-head, using only their original works and words. The event is expected to lure in thousands of poetry fans and will feature Just Greg, the ‘Brave New Voices’ coach.

The night will feature an infusion of music spanning several genres, including Funk, Blues, Reggae, Jazz, R&B and several more.

Only the best poets from the Midwest are invited to join the competition in a battle to the Last Poet standing. The event will be held at the Jarson-Kaplan Theater on August 25, 2017. The Cincinnati Edition of Last Poet Standing IV is expected to the year’s biggest poetry event and marks the third time that Oral Funk has presented the Last Poet Standing in the last decade.

Cincinnati Arts Association will present the event, with parking garages and lots located near the Aronoff Center. Guests can also request valet parking at the show for just $7.

Poets have been selected from thousands, with only the very best in the region invited to go head-to-head during the Last Poet Standing IV competition. The poets that will represent their cities have all been required to submit their photos along with a 3 –  5-minute video of themselves performing their own original work.

Entry fees were required for all poets to ensure that only the top poets who are really serious about winning the competition have been invited.

A panel has reviewed every video tape and made their decisions on who will join in on the event based off of the poets’ tapes. This allows for only the best poets in the region to advance andshow-off their poetry skills to the world.

The event is expected to draw in fans of poetry from across the country. The winner of the competition will walk away with $1,000 in prize money.