I know millions of TV viewers watched last May as a seventh-grader from Plano, Texas, won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, spelling éclaircissement to secure the title. Faizan Zaki’s mastery of words like “promyshleennikor,” “autochthonous” and “insouciant” show the remarkable results that come from a true commitment to one’s craft.

Faizan’s triumph should remind us of the incredible talent and poise teenagers possess when given the opportunity.

Thoughts of such talent bring me to a local event that deserves similar recognition and support. On Tuesday, May 12 at 5:30 p.m., teenagers from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District will transform the auditorium at John Hay High School  into an event just as compelling as the Spelling Bee.

A dozen teenagers will step on stage and display their talent with the spoken word. In a Poetry Slam, they’ll stitch together rhythm and words into dazzling performances that should captivate an urban audience.

For those unfamiliar with poetry slams, I ask you to imagine the lyrical intensity of rap music stripped of its beats, which leaves pure verbal artistry behind. In your imagination, think how powerful rap is at blending emotion, linguistic creativity into powerful presentations that can inspire and electrify an audience.

Isn’t that what poetry slams do?

The art form has deep roots in the Black experience, sharing DNA with hip-hop and the competitive battle with words which shaped that genre in its early development. The verbal duels in the 2002 movie “Eight Mile” captured this competitive spirit, although poetry slams seem to focus on more personal expression and storytelling — more universal truths.

Too often, I hear criticism about how uninterested teenagers are in anything but video and sports. I wouldn’t necessarily call the critics wrong, but when urban youngsters have the opportunity to put their creativity and intellect on display, they don’t often disappoint.

Yet they can face name-calling like the boys and girls in Spelling Bees probably hear. I’m not sure what the flavor of the day is in that regard. I’d guess words similar to “nerds,” “geeks” and “bookworms” are slapped on those who aren’t into the cooler sort of activities. But in pursuing excellence, teenagers ought to tune out impolitic terms, and to stand up to the name-calling tells me they deserve recognition for what they do.

Whether éclaircissement on national TV or crafting verses for a local audience, teenagers share something critical to their maturation: They’re willingness to put themselves out there. For the pressure they face is real, just as the pressure in life is real — for the young and for the old.

I would argue that, regardless of the outcome, everyone who participates in events like these walks away enriched by the experience. They’ve shared their talents with an audience of mostly strangers; they’ve stretched boundaries; and they’ve demonstrated that they have profound messages to share when people give them create spaces to voice those messages.

I don’t expect the poetry slam here in August to achieve the national recognition, the Scripps Spelling Bee does, but the fundamental elements mirror each other: teenagers who dedicate themselves to words, though the slam is a more artful performance.

For those teens entered in the slam, they will look into a 1,000-seat auditorium and wrap poetic words around their authentic experiences. No complex Latin, Greek or French roots required — just a powerful voice, an open heart and a clever mind ready to move others with what are everyday words.

I have no idea how those words will come out, or what message they will deliver. Now, five months away from the event, I’m unsure the teenagers know either. But I hope they can count on their elders (and their peers) to sit in front of them and enjoy the performance.

Think of the Poetry Slam as the Def Comedy Jam with a millennial spin on it.