One Mic Open is a grass roots slam and open mic series geared towards young adults. The ultimate goal of the slam series is to put together a four person team to compete at a festival called Brave New Voices sponsored by YouthSpeaks.

The heart of the operation is comprised of, Eric Odum host of One Mic Open, coach of Cleveland's Youth Slam Poetry team and CSU student, Alana Belle CSA Creative Writing Grad, Co-Host of One Mic Open and coach of Cleveland's Youth Slam Poetry team, Daniel Gray-Kontar Creative Writing instructor at Cleveland School of the Arts, as well as Eva Barrett, James Irby, Myranda Ayala and Demetria McCulloh, all recent Cleveland School of the Arts graduates. Our youngest member is Mary Barrett, currently enrolled at Cleveland School of the Arts.

One Mic Open was created to reach the youth of not only Cleveland, but surrounding suburbs, in an effort to create a sense of community among the youth in North East Ohio. By sharing their talents, not limited only to poetry, at the open mic, we feel that they are creating a space in which they are free to be themselves, in the most complete sense.