ONE WORD POETRY FESTIVAL

6th ANNUAL
ONE WORD POETRY FESTIVAL

WHEN

MAY 29 - May 30, 2026

WHERE

DOWNTOWN ROCK HILL, SC

The One Word Poetry Festival is an in-person poetry festival, founded in 2021, to share the Power of Poetry and celebrate the countless ways poetry positively impacts our lives.

Support the Artists

Featured

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Vibes & Verses Open Mic

$0.00

Join us for this FREE immersive outdoor open mic experience featuring live music from R&B band Mellogroove, live painting, vendors, food trucks and good vibes!

Friday, May 29 | Gettys Center parking lot

Sign up begins at 6:30pm. Show starts at 7pm

Rain location: Gettys Center Courtroom

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One Word Poetry Slam

$15.00

Join poets from across the country engage in an epic battle of words! You will hear words that will inspire you. You don’t want to miss this!

Saturday, May 30th

Gettys Center Courtroom

Starts @7pm

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One Word Poetry Slam registration

$25.00

Register to compete in the One Word Poetry Slam on May 30th for $1,500 in cash prizes! Sign up and put your poems to the test!

Prize Breakdown

1st place: $700
2nd place: $500
3rd place: $300.

Support Your Writing

Join a Free Poetry Workshop -Saturday May 30

Sonic Poetics & Daily Life. Facilitated by De'Angelo Dia

Saturday, May 30
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Arts Council of York County
Upstairs Gallery
This workshop explores how sound, breath, rhythm, silence, and noise shape our daily lives and become a site for poetic creation. Participants will engage in listening practices, writing exercises, and embodied reflection to transform ordinary sonic experiences into meaningful text. The workshop invites a deeper awareness of how we live, move, and create within the music of the everyday.
Adults 18 &up
Learn more about Dia
Flat Poems? Learn to Leap! Facilitated by Angelina Books

Saturday, May 30
11:15 a.m.. - 12:15 p.m.
Arts Council of York County
Upstairs Gallery
Are your poems fixed to the page? Using Robert Bly’s idea of “leaping poetry,” this workshop will help your work move beyond the initiating subject and explore the subconscious. Part-poetry class, part-enchantment, this workshop will help you let go of what you want to write about and leap off the page--composing poems that glitter with multifaceted wisdom.
Adults 18 & up
Learn more about Angelina

Sign Up for Free Workshops

Mix and Mingle!

Poetry Mixer & Showcase
Saturday, May 30th
2 p.m
York County Library (main branch)

Come fellowship and network with other poets and poetry lovers and then enjoy amazing readings from Poet Laureate Carlo Dawson and Youth Poet Laureate Kh’Mani Gilliam

Free Entry

Volunteer with us

We’d love to have you volunteer at this year’s festival.

Join the team!

Click HERE to sign up

Support One Word

There would be no festival if it were not for our amazing sponsors and generous community partners. And in keeping in line with our dedication to inclusivity and accessibility, there are options for every budget!

Become a sponsor for this year’s festival.

Sponsor the Festival

Haiku $250

Organization name in announcements, festival brochure, press release, and at least one social media tag. Logo on website.
Stanza $500

All Haiku sponsor benefits + logo in festival brochure and vendor table at one event of your choice.
Prose $1,000

All Stanza sponsor benefits + priority placement, named sponsor of one event of your choice, vendor table at 2 events & stage shout-outs daily.
2 Free Festival Passes
Epic $5,000

Be the Official Sponsor of the Entire Festival. Your organization’s name, logo, & branding will be displayed prominently in all marketing materials and at festival events. .
6 Free Festival Passe