Sponsored by Credit Karma
The CIAF Poetry Slam Invitational will be one for the ages as 11 of the most talented, national award-winning slam poets from North and South Carolina converge on Charlotte to compete for cash prizes and bragging rights! It will be a night of some of the most powerful poetry in the country and it all happens Sept 22nd in Charlotte, NC!
The CIAF Showcase will feature the amazing Amir Safi and Yaw Osafo-Kantanka Kyeremateng. These two award winning poets will bring a night of storytelling and words that connects their experiences, victories, losses, joy, and pain to the audience for one special night.
Before the showcase, award winning poets Amir Safi and Yaw will be teaching a FREE WORKSHOP at 11 a.m.-1 p.m. that will focus on creative writing to draw out the poet in you and a workshop on performance poetry, moving from page to the stage.
Amir Safi
Amir Safi is from College Station and is based out of Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He is the co-founder of Mic Check 501(c)3, the Texas Grand Slam Poetry Festival and the founder of Write About Now. He is a 2017 Houston Poet Laureate Finalist, a 2013, 2015, 2023 Southern Fried Poetry Slam Champion, a 2013 National Slam Poetry semi-finalist and his work has been featured by A plus, Upworthy, The Huffington Post, Whataburger, Total Frat Move and more..
Amir’s poetry is a blend of American culture and Iranian heritage that sheds light on the unique narrative of being Muslim in America, immigration, inter-sectional identity, and popular culture. He is a writer, a poet, and a masterful story-teller. Aside from nationally recognized performances, Amir also shares his gift through writing workshops. His work has been published by Pittsburgh Poetry Review and Tincture Journal, and he has received recognition as a semi-finalist for the Crab Creek Review 2017 Poetry Prize as well as a finalist for the North American Review’s 2018 James Hearst Poetry Prize.
Yaw Osafo-Kantanka Kyeremateng
Yaw Osafo-Kantanka Kyeremateng better known as Yaw is a Ghanaian artist from Accra, Ghana. Yaw is a writer, educator, and activist who connects to his audience through poetic storytelling on topics related to racial identity, family and immigration. Yaw finds joy in being a professional laugher and a rooted dancer with specialty in Afrobeats and West African tribal dance. On stage, Yaw becomes his stories, channels language through time and space to give the audience a cathartic experience.
