The Writer's Den RVA

The Writer's Den RVA RVA art collective that hosts open mics, poetry slams, and showcases. What is a slam?

The Writer's Den Poetry Slam is a weekly event that offers a poetry slam, open mic with a twist, with a dj, and more. Spoken-word artists from all over compete to earn a spot on the team that will go on represent Virginia regionally and nationally or come and share their poems, songs, jokes, and talents. A poetry slam is a performance spoken-word competition in which poets perform their original w

ork and are scored by 5 judges. These judges are picked randomly out of the audience based on having no affiliation with any of the performers. Every round, judges score the poets on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0 based on the writing and performance of the poem. At the end of 3 elimination rounds our top two finalists walk away with some cash and the chance to come back in March to compete in our Grand Slam for a spot on the team that will represent Virginia on a regional level. Rules
-3 elimination rounds(Ex: 1st round: 10 or more poets, 2nd round: 7 poets, 3rd round: 4 poets)
-poets get 3 minutes and 10 seconds to perform. Anything past that is an automatic disqualification-every round is clean slate. We do not add up the scores from each round-each round is COMPLETELY RANDOM
-no nudity (unfortunately) and no props of any kind. that includes gesturing to clothes or tattoos.
-time when you engage the audience. most of the time that's when you start talking.... but if you start with sign language, jumping jacks, or if you are on "stage" and tell your homeboy something... we've started your time.

Get ready to snap until your fingers give out and laugh until your abs (or lack thereof) hurt. It’s time for another rou...
06/17/2026

Get ready to snap until your fingers give out and laugh until your abs (or lack thereof) hurt. It’s time for another round of Haha Snap Snap at Busboys and Poets.

When: Monday, June 22nd (every 4th Monday)
Doors: 7:30 PM | Show: 8:00 PM
Host: Roscoe Burnems
Cost: $5 in advance | $8 at the door
Tickets: www.busboysandpoets.com

✨Feature: Frederick Eberhardt ✨

‼️Open Mic ‼️

Got poems, jokes, songs, or something unexpected? Open mic slots are first come, first served, so get there when doors open at 7:30 PM.

Don’t meet us there, beat us there.

See you on the 22nd. 🙌🏾

✨Community, Connections, Creation. ✨We have all that and more at our open mics! 🎊Swipe through to see the good vibes cap...
06/16/2026

✨Community, Connections, Creation. ✨

We have all that and more at our open mics! 🎊

Swipe through to see the good vibes captured. ☺️

Thank you to everyone who touched stage
for gracing us with your talents!

Thank you to our amazing feature Ashanti and guest host Roscoe Burnems

If you don’t want to miss the magic, catch us next time Resist Booksellers on July 12th.

📸: Roscoe Burnems

06/08/2026

Shout out to our next open mic feature, 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Ashanti is a culinary instructor, spoken word artist, and mini podcast host whose work reflects fighting for peace, positivity, resilience, and deep introspection drawn from her personal experiences. She regularly performs her poetry at local open mics in Richmond, including Tuesday Verses and BAD Thursdays, and placed 3rd in Writer’s Den poetry Grand Slam in 2026. Much of her poetry can be found on her podcast Gospel of Feeling. Through her art and voice, Ashanti strives to grow and remain authentic in everything she creates.✨

Catch her on June 14th

Hosted by
🕕 Doors: 6 PM | Show: 7 PM
💵 Admission: $10

All art forms are welcome! Spoken word, music, dance, comedy, whatever moves you. Whether you’re an artist, an arts lover, or just want a great night out, this is the place to be.

Support the arts, share your voice, and catch a special guest each month!

See you ✨

The mic is always open for you! Petersburg has a fun, intimate show for all the poetry, music, comedy, and book lovers! ...
06/06/2026

The mic is always open for you! Petersburg has a fun, intimate show for all the poetry, music, comedy, and book lovers! See y'all June 14th at 7pm!

06/05/2026

Join us for our VA IS FOR LOVERS slam. ❤️💋

Poems exploring the many sides of love— intimacy, romance, partnership, & heartbreak. So bring all those love poems! We wanna hear them and swoon and cry.

Doors: 7PM
Show: 8PM
$10 Entry

Hosted by
Vibes by

With an amazing feature from our Southern Fried Indie Rep 🙌🏾

The Virginia poetry teams have joined forces to provide you with a joint calendar! Here are the happenings for June. 😎🎤H...
05/26/2026

The Virginia poetry teams have joined forces to provide you with a joint calendar! Here are the happenings for June. 😎🎤

Hope to see you at ATLEAST one of these amazing poetry events! Whether you’re a performer or an avid poetry fan, VA’s got you for everything poetry.

events:
6.1 | Open Mic | 8PM | IG LIVE
**Open Mic Every Monday**
6.19 | Live in Da Garden | 8PM | Gold Lion Cafe

events:
6.1 | Open Mic | 7PM | The Venue at 35th
**Open Mic Every Monday**
6.3 | F Tha Rules Slam | 7PM | The Venue at 35th

events:
6.5 | Open Mic | 6:30PM | Column 15 Coffee
6.25 | Open Jam | 7PM | Voodoo Brewing
6.27 | Workshop | 2PM | Williamsburg Regional Library

events:
6.6 | Workshop | 5PM | Artspace Richmond
6.6 | Open Mic | 8PM | Artspace Richmond

events:
6.7 | VA is for Lovers Slam | 8PM
Addis Ethiopian Restaurant
6.14 | Open Mic | 7PM | Resist Booksellers
6.22 | Haha SnapSnap Open Mic | 8PM
Busboys and Poets Shirlington


6.5 | SoFried Sendoff Showcase | 9PM
Busboys and Poets Washington DC

Our next slam is June 7th! Our theme is VA is for Lovers. ❤️💋 A night dedicated to poems about love. Hope to see you the...
05/22/2026

Our next slam is June 7th! Our theme is VA is for Lovers. ❤️💋 A night dedicated to poems about love. Hope to see you there!

📸:

Address

9 N 17th Street
Richmond, VA
23219

Opening Hours

7pm - 11pm

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