Join The Public Square and Chicago Public Radio for WORD: Across Generations with poets Carloyn Rodgers, John Murillo, and Aja Monet.
Each poet will perform their work and then participate in a post-performance conversation, followed by an Open Mic Showcase. WORD: Across Generations will be hosted by Kevin Coval.
- Carolyn Rodgers emerged from the Black Arts movement in Chicago in the 1960s as a “revolutionary poet,” creating a distinct and profound black aesthetic.
- John Murillo is an Afro-Chicano poet and playwright, a graduate of New York University’s MFA program, and a recent fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
- Aja Monet is a Cuban-Jamaican poet originally from Brooklyn, now residing in Chicago. At 22 years old, she is currently the youngest Grand Slam Champion of the Lower East Side’s legendary Nuyorican Poet’s Café.
- Kevin Coval is the author of everyday people and slingshots (a hip-hop poetica). Coval can be heard regularly on Chicago Public Radio, where he is resident poet and hip-hop correspondent. Coval is the founder of Louder Than A Bomb, the largest youth poetry festival in the world.
This event is taking place as part of Chicago Public Radio Presents… The 2nd Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip-Hop Arts. For more about this exciting day, visit Chicago Public Radio’s website.
“The Block Party is a tribute to the working artist of the hip-hop generation in Chicago and an opportunity for the city, traditionally segregated, to see each other across neighborhood and viaduct.” – Winter Block Party Artistic Director Kevin Coval.
This event is co-sponsored by The Public Square and Chicago Public Radio.
For more information, call 312.422.5580.