Each year, VERVE grants of up to $3,000 are awarded to emerging Minnesota spoken word poets. The VERVE grant program is designed for emerging artists who are ready to achieve their next level of artistic success, and who are interested in developing their abilities to become artistic leaders in their communities.

We are looking for artists who:
• Have a history of performance and involvement in the spoken word community
• Articulate interest in participating in a creative and critical process with peers
• Have begun to receive some recognition for their artistic ability and potential

An emerging artist is someone whose work demonstrates a sustained level of accomplishment and commitment to the art form, but who has not yet received widespread recognition or acknowledgement as an established creator from fellow writers and/or other arts professionals.

2009 Program Overview:

2009 VERVE grant winners will spend 12-months supporting one another as they complete their grant projects and work to achieve their next level of artistic success. Grant winners will explore new venues for performance throughout the year, stage a final performance of their work at the end of the grant year, and attend bi-monthly meetings to discuss and workshop new ideas with other grantees.

Our goal is to provide financial assistance, professional encouragement, and recognition to a culturally and socio-economically diverse groupof literary artists, in an effort to strengthen and support Minnesota's literary community.

Past VERVE grant recipients have used the grant to:

• Plan a tour
• Work with an artistic mentor
• Attend a festival or a conference
• Develop a full-length performance
• Create a CD or DVD

These are just a few of the possibilities. We encourage you to give serious thought to how this grant could make a difference in your career!

This program is supported by the Jerome Foundation.