Yemipoet July Spoken Word Contest ’26 Theme: The Place I Broke, I Bloom

The Yemipoet July Spoken Word Contest invited poets to share their stories through spoken-word poetry.

The theme, “The Place I Broke, I Bloom,” encouraged poets to speak about painful moments, and how they healed. It reminded poets that a difficult experience does not have to be the end of their story. Sometimes, the place where a person breaks can also become the place where they experience healing, growth and blooming.

Poets were encouraged to use their voices to share stories that could bring hope, healing and encouragement to others.

Submission Process
The contest was announced on 1st July, 2026.

Submissions closed on 12th July, 2026.

Submission: Poets were instructed to create and share a 40 to 55-second spoken-word video on Instagram in collaboration with @yacsofoundation.

They were also instructed to use the hashtag #HealingStory.

A total of 36 entries were received from poets who shared their stories through spoken word.

Evaluation and Winners
Entries were evaluated based on creativity, originality, proper interpretation of the theme and the quality of the spoken-word presentations.

Ten poets were selected as the Top 10 finalists after the first stage of evaluation.

From the Top 10, three poets emerged as the winners of the Yemipoet July Spoken Word Contest after going through the second stage of evaluation.

Winners’ Spotlight
The Top three winners of the Yemipoet July Spoken Word Contest were:

@poeticqueen_001

@chinedu favoured72

@revelaresarah

Winners’ Award
A total cash prize of ₦100,000 was shared among the winners in recognition of their creativity, courage and powerful spoken-word performances.

Moral Lesson
Life may bring painful moments, but pain does not have to be the end of the story. With healing, courage and hope, the place where we once broke can become the place where we grow and bloom.

Appreciation
We appreciate Yemipoet, the pioneer of this vision, and the YACSO Foundation for their continued support in promoting poetry, spoken word and literary creativity.

To every poet who submitted an entry, every person who watched and engaged with the videos, and everyone who participated in one way or another, thank you!

Your voice and story really matters. Your healing story can bring hope to someone else.

See you in the August Edition.

Written and Edited by:
 Adetutu Oluwapelumi-Deuel