Part performance, part poetry slam, part comedy, the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton will host a spoken word festival called What’s the Word on Saturday, March 16 at 8pm. Renowned writers and storytellers Larry Smith, Vanessa Hidary, Steve Almond, Lou Cove, Piper Kerman and Rachel Sklar will share personal stories, song and poetry in this unique form of performance art.

Larry Smith’s Six-Word Memoir project is a New York Times bestselling book series, as well as a calendar, board game, live event series and popular lesson plan in classrooms. Vanessa Hidary, aka The Hebrew Mamita, is known for her nationally touring solo show Culture Bandit that chronicles her coming-of-age during the rise of hip-hop. She tackles stereotypes and speaks about Jewish identity.

Steve Almond’s memoir Candyfreak was a New York Times bestseller. His short stories have appeared in the Best American and Pushcart anthologies. His journalism has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.

Lou Cove is author of the forthcoming Man of the Year, a memoir about serving as campaign manager for Mr. November’s bid to become Playgirl Man of the Year 1979. Lou was 13 at the time, and the project was in lieu of a Bar Mitzvah. Piper Kerman is the author of the memoir, Orange Is The New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, now being made into an original series on Netflix. Rachel Sklar is the former media editor of The Huffington Post. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Glamour, and The Financial Times,

At the show’s end, audience members will be invited to share their own six-word memoirs during a participatory six-word slam.

Tickets are $23. What’s the Word is part of the Ryna Greenbaum JCC Events and Performances Series. Purchase tickets online at www.bostonjcc.org/artsevents or contact boxoffice@jccgb.org, 617-965-5226 or 866-811-4111.  The JCC is located at 333 Nahanton Street in Newton.