Our Story

Behind the Scenes

Formed in 2011 from the open mic Word Wednesdays, Hear Here was founded as a response to a city-wide need for a dedicated poetry venue. With energized and dedicated leadership the monthly event experienced rapid growth, popularity, and success. Hear Here has operated ongoing public events serving all audiences by providing opportunities to hear and share written and spoken word poetry.

In 2013 Hear Here Poetry sent its first competing team to the 24th annual National Poetry Slam in Boston, joining 55 teams of the country's best performance poets, and returned having placed on the final stage of collaboratively written pieces. In 2014 the Hear Here Slam Team garnered a first place title at the National Poetry Slam in Oakland of "Group Piece Champions", highlighting Hear Here's focus on community building through skilled writing. 2014 also saw Hear Here become a 501(c)3 non-profit, and send its first high school youth team to a national poetry tournament and festival in Washington, D.C.. The Brave New Voices festival is a week of civic engagement, writing workshops, and friendly slam competitions bringing hundreds of young people together annually. For the past six years Hear Here has brought a team of high school poets from across Colorado Springs to this national tournament, returning full of inspiration and knowledge. In 2018 our youth team wrote a poem recognized as one of "The Best of BNV"!

Hear Here continues event programming, poetry education, building relationships with academic institutions, coaching performance poetry, and competing locally, regionally, and nationally in slam forums. We aim to celebrate poetry in a variety of dynamic ways. In more recent years, the organization's focus has centered on youth and being present in the academic school system. Through online, classroom, and community workshops, assemblies, and events, Hear Here Poetry is dedicated to activating and amplifying young voices from the Pikes Peak region.