LeJuane "El'Ja" Bowens is a writer, poet, author, host, and workshop facilitator who has performed in numerous slams and featured in 15 states In 2013,he was ranked 24 at Southern Fried 2013 and was featured as the 1st poet to have his work in the Obama Art Museum located in Raleigh, NC (the 1st and only of its kind in North Carolina). In 2014,he was recognized as the 1st ever NC Poet to compete in three different Grand Slam Finals in three different cities & win ALL three slams(Fayetteville, Charlotte, and Durham) and, along with the Bull City Slam Team, won the 22nd Southern Fried Poetry Slam. In 2016, El'ja was awarded the Rising Star Award:Male Poet for the state of NC and the Southern Region of the US at the 2016 GANSPA Awards and is ranked 9th in the country alongside the Bull City Slam Team at the 2016 National Poetry Slam