Joshua Braunstein, a winner at TEDxRVA Open Mic Night, is interested in sharing ideas and fostering dialogue through slam poetry. Currently a junior English major at VCU, Joshua began writing in his parents' basement when he was 16 years old. Although he has been named the Association of College Unions International Region 5 Individual Poetry Slam champion at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, he still considers one of his most prestigious accomplishments to be winning the Westfield High School's talent show with an original slam poem.

Joshua is a member of VCU's slam poetry team, which placed 3rd in the nation at the 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational at Barnard College in New York City. He is also the Vice President of Slam Nahuatl at VCU. Joshua has performed at the University of Virginia and the Lewisburg Literary Festival in Lewisburg, W.Va., and he opened for Lianne La Havas at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx