Had slams been a thing 100 years ago, then the feisty and brilliant writer, poet, folklorist, queen of the Harlem Renaissance (and childhood resident of Eatonville) would have also been a legend on the coffeehouse circuit.
Next June, five notable local Black women poets will channel Zora Neale Hurston’s creative spirit for motivation—or “sharpen their oyster knives,” as Hurston might have put it—ahead of their performances at Southern Fried Poetry Slam (SFPS) when the annual event comes to Orlando from June 9 to 12, 2026. (Locations hadn’t been finalized at press time, but finals will be held at the Eatonville Branch Library.)
The slam—sponsored by Southern Fried Poetry Inc., a nonprofit based in Duluth, Georgia—is part of a larger effort spearheaded by outgoing City of Orlando Poet Laureate Shawn Welcome dubbed #ReviveZora. “This is super exciting for our community,” says Welcome. “We’ve always sent people but never hosted.”
Welcome, also an educator and a speaker, calls SFPS “the Olympics for performance poetry,” one complete with judges, rules and time limits as well as cash prizes and serious bragging rights. Also featured will be writing workshops and noncompetitive poetry readings. Last year’s slam was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, and attracted more than 200 spoken-word artists.
If you’ve ever been to a poetry slam, you know that presentations are primarily from a first-person perspective and rely on emotion, theatricality and body language to convey messages. Often, slam poets share personal experiences; explore their identities (race, gender, sexuality); or comment on weighty social issues. Competitions can include individual poets and teams of poets.
Once SFPS committed to Orlando, Welcome set about finding ways to ensure that the experience would be a memorable one. With funding through the American Academy of Poets Laureate, he commissioned the five women to write and perform pieces that in some way reflected inspiration from Hurston.
Among those slated to compete in the slam are Blu Bailey, founder of The Write, a nonprofit organization focused on mentoring teens through creative writing, poetry, spoken-word and hip-hop culture; and Camara Gaither, a mental-health therapist who has won numerous slams, including the 2023 and 2024 Spoken Word Championship at FusionFest.
Also participating are Alana Jackson, a speaker and former faculty member at the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine; Ayanna Albertson Gay, who was crowned the No. 1 woman slam poet at the 2021 Women of the World Poetry Slam in Dallas, Texas; and Aretha Rodney-McDonald, a speaker, singer, songwriter and voiceover artist originally from Jamaica.
All are eager to highlight their talents while paying homage to the enduring importance of Hurston. “As a Black woman and a spoken-word poet rooted in Orlando, being part of this project feels both personal and purposeful,” says Gaither. “Zora’s legacy is woven into the cultural soil of this region, yet her brilliance has too often been overlooked.”
Adds Bailey: “Being on this project means I get to help fortify the legacy of Zora as a pioneer, poet and venturer, and to inspire others like her. I wanted to be involved to showcase Zora as a person and as an enthusiast of her craft.”
Jackson describes the project as “an opportunity to acknowledge rich cultural legacies that are connected to this region, and to honor a lineage of writers and others who have understood the power of words and stories to remember, uplift and transcend.”
Gay calls the decision to participate “a no-brainer.” As a southern Black woman who writes poetry, she says that she considers herself to be a kindred spirit of Hurston’s and is eager for the opportunity “to honor Zora’s legacy, authenticity and creativity while ensuring we Black women writers maintain our voice and continue to take up space, just as Zora did.”
Rodney-McDonald describes Hurston as “a monumental figure in both literature and Black history whose words have touched the hearts of many and continue to resonate with readers across generations. I am beyond humbled as a writer myself to have the opportunity to shine a light on her life and the power of her work.”
As for Welcome, he sees poets as contemporary griots (in West African tradition, griots are storytellers, historians, poets and musicians). “Modern-day griots have the same spirit and tell the history and story of our community,” he notes.
#ReviveZora has taken many forms during Welcome’s time as poet laureate. In February, he coordinated Zora Education Day at the 2025 Zora Fest in Eatonville, and in May he launched the Words & Wonders Poetry Contest with the City of Orlando. The competition used the theme “Slice of Life in Central Florida” as an homage to Hurston, whose anthropological work included documenting daily life in Eatonville.
As for the Southern Fried Poetry Slam, the location was just selected and no official plans or schedules of events had been finalized at press time. To find out more, visit southernfriedpoetryslam.com for regular updates.
Shawn Welcome, the City of Orlando’s outgoing poet laureate, has always looked for new ways to honor the legacy of Hurston, who was raised in Eatonville. At next summer’s Southern Fried Poetry Slam, these five local Black women will help him do just that: Ayanna Gay; Alana Jackson; Aretha Rodney-McDonald; Camara Gaither; and Blu Bailey. | Courtesy Shawn Welcome, and the Poets
