B.C. Youth Week 2013 has arrived and the 91原创 Arts Council and 91原创 Centennial Museum have teamed up to present the second annual Fraser Valley Youth Poetry Slam on Saturday, May 4 at the 91原创 Arts Council Centre on Fraser Highway.

Scriptum Vox is the name of this annual competition in which youth ages 13 to 18 can present their original poems on stage before a live audience.

No music, no props and no costumes. Just a poet, a microphone and three minutes to impress the audience with a couple original poems.

A slam is a competition where poets and writers have a set time to read, recite, rant or rap original work without accompaniment. Performances are judged on a numeric scale by five members of the audience, who are picked at random before the competition starts.

Slam poetry has found popularity as a form of self-expression among many teenagers across North America. It has been recognized in the movie documentary 鈥淟ouder than a Bomb鈥� and in the HBO television series 鈥淏rave New Voices.鈥�

In British Columbia, the annual youth poetry slam championship 鈥淗ullabaloo鈥� attracts many high school teams from around the province.

If you are or know a young budding author or poet who is willing to get on stage to present two or three sets of his or her original work, encourage them to sign up for this event.

Pre-registration is required, and youth can call the museum at 604-532-3536 for further information or to get on the competitors鈥� list before Friday, May 3 at 5 p.m.

Youth can also register online at recexpress.ca quoting barcode #420176.

This event takes place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at 91原创 Arts Council Centre located at 20550 Fraser Hwy. Participants must arrive by 1:30 p.m.