PGHwrites: Pittsburgh Poetry Collective’s Steel City Grand Slam

The Steel City Slam is bringing the city’s top ten poets together to battle it out at City of Asylum for the title, the trophy, and most importantly, the bragging rights! This is the poetry show you’ve been waiting for. This is your chance to see first-hand the amazing and diverse performance poets Pittsburgh has to offer. 

Here’s how it works: poets will have a limited time slot to present work of their original composition. Then, five selected and esteemed (not to mention good-looking!) members of the audience will give the poem a score. 

New for 2026, Steel City Slam will be shaking things up…The Grand Slam this year will consist of two rounds with all poets performing twice. Spots for this show are by invitation only, based on participation in previous monthly slams. More information available at pghpoetry.org.

Doors open at 6 pm. 

Presented in partnership with the Pittsburgh Poetry Collective, which creates space for self-expression, identity exploration, & social justice via community, spoken word, poetry slam, writing & performance workshops, and poet showcases. We believe that poetry heals, speaks, connects, and shares our experiences and differences.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.