Saturday, April 13th * 7 PM * Young Chicago Authors * 1180 N. Milwaukee, 2nd floor * (Accessible by elevator or stairs)

The event is free and refreshments will be available.

H. Melt’s SIRvival in the Second City (New School Poetics) contributes to a powerful movement in Chicago’s queer culture for self-determination. It documents the daily lives of Transqueer communities who are often ignored and kept hidden, placing them out in the open to encourage a public understanding. It traces H. Melt’s experiences growing up in Chicago from visiting traditional landmarks like The Art Institute to frequenting queer spaces such as Big Chicks. This collection is a historical artifact of intersecting queer and trans communities to be archived and shared with all audiences in Chicago and beyond. Books will be available for sale at the event and through Haymarket Books online.

From the back of the book:

What is normal is what urgently needs serious and radical inquiry and profound re-consideration. H. Melt’s SIRvival in the Second City: Transqueer Chicago Poems is a guide and lightning rod; a contestation of every border imaginable and a celebration of the necessary and ingenious spaces created by the public presence(s) of courageous Trans & Queer people(s) engaged in the construction of new culture(s) and identities for us all. – Kevin Coval, co-founder of Louder Than a Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival and author of Schtick

H. Melt is a poet and artist who was born in Chicago. Their work proudly documents Chicago’s queer and trans communities. They have published, performed and exhibited in: All the Writers I Know, Broad Magazine, Chicago IRL, F Newsmagazine, In Our Words, Salonathon, Temporary Allegiance & Woman Made Gallery. They are currently an emerging teaching artist with Young Chicago Authors and a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

For more information please contact Demetrius Amparan at Demetrius@youngchicagoauthors.org or 773.486.4331

Kuumba Lynx has competed in Louder Than A Bomb for the last twelve years and this is their third time winning the slam. KL had an audience of over 2,000 at The Cadillac Palace Theatre on their feet as they delivered a flawless four rounds of poetry.

Kuumba Lynx will now go on to represent Chicago in Brave New Voices (BNV), the national poetry competition. To learn more about this amazing organization visit them online at http://www.kuumbalynx.org/

Demetrius Amparan

With Mayor Rahm Emanuel in attendance, Emma delivered a flawless performance of her poem “Even the Toilets in Catholic Middle Schools are Blessed.” If you are ever on twitter be sure to follow Emma @filmlikecrazy or catch her at Team Finals this Saturday, March 9th at The Cadillac Palace Theatre. Limited tickets will be release at 5:45pm

Demetrius Amparan

It is with great pleasure that I present to you the finalists for Louder Than A Bomb 2013:

Team Finals:
Simeon Career Academy
Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep
Oak Park and River Forest High School
Kuumba Lynx

Indy Finals:
Antoine Funches, Simeon
Gerardo Duran, Little Village North Lawndale
Mariah Starks, Simeon

Emma Coleman, Northside College Prep
Mia Harris, Brooks College Prep
Jada-Amina Harvey, Kenwood

Camara Brown, Oak Park and River Forest HS
Kyle Morshita, Maine West
Joseph Faragio, Parker School

Tanya Smith, Kuumba Lynx
Sejahari Villegas, Kuumba Lynx
Taylor Robinson, Phoenix Military Academy

Hope to see you at finals!

Join us for a reading and conversation at Young Chicago Authors (1180 N. Milwaukee) with Adam Mansbach and local chicago grafitti artists about writing on the page and writing on the walls.

Adam Mansbach is one of the premier hip hop novelist of our generation. His fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Esquire, The Times of London, The Believer, N+1, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.Adam’s new book, Rage is Back, is his 4th novel, a grafitti revenge thriller.

Special thanks to The Public Square of The Illinois Humanities Council for making this event possible. http://www.prairie.org/programs/public-square

This event is Free 99. What?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? RSVP NOW: https://www.facebook.com/events/482498258482148/

Buy tickets to #LTAB2013 Finals on March 9th, 2013 at The Cadillac Palace Theater! http://www.wbez.org/louder-bomb-2013-13th-annual-chicago-youth-poetry-festival-105037

Join us for a night of dialogue and performance by Patricia Smith, accompanied by Kush Thompson and Essie Linzy from the YCA/LTAB All Stars. February 16th, 2013 at Young Chicago Authors 1180 N. Milwaukee Ave. 2nd Floor.

Born and reared on the West Side of Chicago, Patricia Smith has been called “a testament to the power of words to change lives,” Patricia is a renaissance artist of unmistakable signature, recognized as a force in the fields of poetry, playwriting, fiction, performance and creative collaboration.

She is the author of six critically-acknowledged volumes of poetry, including Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah, Blood Dazzler, a National Book Award finalist, and Teahouse of the Almighty, a National Poetry Series winner (all from Coffee House Press), Close to Death and Big Towns, Big Talk (both from Zoland Books), Life According to Motown (Tia Chucha), just released in a special 20th anniversary edition.

Patricia is a rare blend of orality and page poetry in one person and is one of the most important voices in the country and in the Louder Than A Bomb Community.

This event is Free 99. What?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Buy tickets to #LTAB2013 Finals on March 9th, 2013 at The Cadillac Palace Theater! http://www.wbez.org/louder-bomb-2013-13th-annual-chicago-youth-poetry-festival-105037

Age: 15

Young Chicago Authors (YCA)

LTAB Experience: Two years

High School slam participant

Background

Shelyse Opio is a Junior at Whitney Young High School. She became involved at YCA through our weekly open mic, WordPlay. Opio is a regular participant at all free programming and is quickly becoming a household name on the poetry scene. Shelyse will be competing as an individual poet in this years LTAB.

A few words with Shelyse

Describe your first LTAB experience?

“My first LTAB experience was in 2012, when I first joined my school’s poetry slam team. It was amazing and I absolutely loved hearing everyone’s stories.”

How has it been preparing for LTAB?

“This year preparing for LTAB has been rough and exciting at the same time. I can’t wait to finish my piece and perform it for all the other poets.”

How does the college slam work?

The college slam is was created to offer a stage to college aged poets who can’t compete during the high school competition yet still want to be apart of LTAB, and it operates the same way a traditional slam does as far as rules go.

What is your indy piece about?

I actually have multiple pieces that I’m working on and I’m waiting to see which one comes out best to perform at LTAB.

Excerpt from They Think They Know Us

We’re all pupils.

Dilated.

We got bags,

            filled with more bodies than exist

at your school.

Bodies of murky water,

Geography can’t wash away.

Chemistry class can’t trick us into believing

initiation bonds break bullets.

We’re smart.

All enrolled in Gang

            sign language,

get straight D’s.

Catch Shelyse and over 750 amazing students at Louder Than A Bomb 2013. Buy tickets to LTAB now!

Age: 20

Teaching Artist Young Chicago Authors (YCA)

LTAB Experience: Four years

College Slam participant

Background

Malcolm London grew up on the West side of Chicago and attended Lincoln Park High School. He joined YCA in 2009 as a participant in Louder Than A Bomb. After winning LTAB as an individual poet, Malcolm went on to be featured in the television series “Verse and Flow,” and is currently a member of YCA’s teaching artist core. This year London will be competing in the College Slam portion of the festival.

A few words with Malcolm

How would you describe your high school years participating in LTAB?

“In a very literal since, LTAB was high school for me. I started my junior year and the moment I came to compete I fell in love with the community and felt I learned more about my peers, my city, and this world through the writing of young people. High school was a place of cliques, gossip and guarded insecure teens judging everyone else, and ironically LTAB, being a place where you bring poems to get judged, made me feel accepted and apart of a community where sharing hurt, insecurities and even ecstatic stories earned you enrollment.”

What is the most important part of the LTAB experience?

“Well in a city like Chicago, being extremely segregated, its an incredible experience to have so many schools from so many different neighborhoods under one roof exchanging their stories, connecting and getting to know one another. Bringing folks together to hear young people report from their perspective instead of being fed one through television or the internet or a newspaper is a very important and eye opening experience.”

How does the college slam work?

The college slam is was created to offer a stage to college aged poets who can’t compete during the high school competition yet still want to be apart of LTAB, and it operates the same way a traditional slam does as far as rules go.

Catch Malcolm and over 750 amazing students at Louder Than A Bomb 2013. Buy tickets to LTAB now!

Join us! Thursday, December 6th 2012 Live at The Metro as we host our first ever Chicago Annual of Style, a fundraising concert and yearly performance series celebrating the city's many traditions of Cultural expression.

This year, Movement takes center stage as YCA Artistic Director and nationally acclaimed authors/poet Kevin Coval emcees a night that will trace the evolution of Chicago dance, as well as the rhythm of our daily commute. Spoken word performances that explore this rich history will coincide with a backdrop of music - led by DJ Itch 13 - and dance, featuring styles ranging from stepping to breaking to footworking. The even will also feature YCA poets crafting poems for guests on old school type workers. Soul/Jazz group The O'My's will cap off the night with a feature performance.

Step out in style with YCA & purchase your tickets now!

$50 General Admission Ticket

$30 Student/Educator Ticket

Group Tickets & Packages Available  - Please contact Alissa Goldwasser at 773.486.4331 or at alissa@youngchicagoauthors.org

Buy tickets here: http://metrochicago.com/shows#Dec06