Poetry Speaks presents Kevin Coval

Celebrate National Poetry Month with Louder Than A Bomb: Chicago Youth Poetry Festival founder and celebrated Def Poetry Jam poet and author Kevin Coval

Kevin Coval is a poet and community builder. As the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors, founder of Louder Than A Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival, and professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he teaches hip-hop aesthetics. He’s mentored thousands of young writers, artists, and musicians.

He is the author and editor of 10 books, including "The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop" and "Schtick." He is also co-author of the play, "This is Modern Art." His work has appeared in Poetry Magazine, The Drunken Boat, Chicago Tribune, CNN, Fake Shore Drive, Huffington Post, and four seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Coval’s forthcoming collection, "A People’s History of Chicago" dropped in April 2017 on Haymarket Books.