Kevin Coval | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kevin Coval |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Glenbrook North High School |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, playwright, writer |
Kevin Coval is an American poet. Coval is a Chicago-based writer who is known for exploring topics such as race, hip-hop culture, Chicago history, and Jewish-American identity in his work. [1] [2] [3] He is also known for his appearances in four seasons of the Peabody Award-winning television series Def Poetry Jam on HBO. [4] [5] [6]
Coval attended Glenbrook North High School, graduating in 1993. [7] After high school, Coval attended Ohio University, briefly studying abroad at Swansea University before he left school to play semi-pro basketball in Wales. [8]
In 1996, Coval returned to Chicago and began working different jobs to pay rent, including as a furniture delivery man, caterer, and waiter. He also began performing his poetry at open mics around the city. [8]
In 1997, Coval became a regular at open mics at the Alt-X bookstore. [8] He went on to perform at venues such as Mad Bar, Estelle’s, and the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. [7]
Coval was named artistic director of Young Chicago Authors, an organization that sends professional writers to schools to teach, in 1999. [9]
In 2001, Coval co-founded the youth performance-poetry competition Louder Than a Bomb with Anna West. By 2017, the competition was considered the largest youth performance-poetry competition in the world. [9]
Coval also appeared in an episode of the HBO series Def Poetry Jam that was broadcast in January 2002, in which he performed his poem “Family Feud.” [7] After the first airing of the episode, Coval was contacted by an agent and went on a college tour, becoming a full-time professional poet. [7] He went on to appear in three more episodes of the series and eventually served as one of the show’s creative consultants, scouting for local poets to appear on the show. [7]
Coval was interviewed by Trevor Noah on an episode of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah that aired in 2017. [10]
Coval co-wrote the play This Is Modern Art , which premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults in Chicago in February 2015. [11] The play was also performed off-Broadway at the Fourth Street Theater in Manhattan in 2018. [12]
Coval produced the segment “Word on the Street” for the local talk show Windy CIty Live, which was nominated for a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award in 2020. [13]
Coval was removed from his position as artistic director at Young Chicago Authors in 2021 [14] [15]
Coval has written for publications such as CNN, [16] Rock the Bells, [17] Slam, [18] Sarasota Magazine, [19] and Interfaith America Magazine. [20]
Coval published his first poetry book, Slingshots: A Hip-Hop Poetica, in 2002. [7] Slingshots is a semi-autobiographical poetic memoir. [21]
His second poetry book, Everyday People, was published in 2008. [7]
Coval released the poetic novella L-Vis Lives! RaceMusic Poems in 2011. [22] [23] The poems in the book form a narrative about a character named “L-Vis,” and examine race, music, and the appropriation of hip-hop culture, while referencing figures such as Elvis Presley, Eminem, and Rick Rubin. [22] [24]
Coval published the poetry collection Schtick in 2013. [25] Schtick centered around themes of Jewish identity. [25] [26]
Coval served as one of the editors of the poetry anthology The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop, which was published in 2015. [27] [28] [29]
His 2017 collection A People's History of Chicago, whose title is inspired by Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States , comments in 77 poems, one for each neighborhood in Chicago, on the city, its history, and the people that live in it, from its Native American beginnings and its appropriation by whites to the present day, the inauguration of Rahm Emanuel and the World Series win by the Chicago Cubs. [30] [31] [32] Along the way he comments on Robert de LaSalle's mispronunciation of the Native American word "checagou", which he bastardizes with his "misshapen mouth", erasing its original history. [5] A People’s History of Chicago was a finalist for the 2017 Chicago Review of Books Award for Poetry. [33] [10]
In 2019, Coval published the poetry collection Everything Must Go: Life and Death of an American Neighborhood, which examined the topic of gentrification in Wicker Park, Chicago and featured illustrations from Langston Allston. [34] [35] The collection was a finalist for the 2019 Chicago Review of Books Award for Poetry. [36]
Coval edited the poetry anthology The End of Chiraq: A Literary Mixtape, which was published in 2018. [37]
Coval has also published poems in several anthologies, including Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas’s Illmatic, [38] Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop, [39] The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip-Hop, & the Poetry of a New Generation, [40] and The Spoken Word Revolution Redux. [41]
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery.
Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play, such as the performer's live intonation and voice inflection. Spoken word is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, pianologues, musical readings, and hip hop music, and can include comedy routines and prose monologues. Unlike written poetry, the poetic text takes its quality less from the visual aesthetics on a page, but depends more on phonaesthetics, or the aesthetics of sound.
A poetry reading is a public oral recitation or performance of poetry. Reading poetry aloud allows the reader to express their own experience through poetry, changing the poem according to their sensibilities. The reader uses pitch and stress, and pauses become apparent. A poetry reading typically takes place on a small stage in a café or bookstore where multiple poets recite their own work. A more prominent poet may be chosen as the "headliner" of such an event and famous poets may also take the stage at a bigger venue such as an amphitheater or college auditorium.
Kevin Powell is an American writer, activist, and television personality. Powell is the author of 14 books, including The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy's Journey into Manhood and When We Free the World published in 2020. Powell was a senior writer during the founding years of Vibe magazine from 1992 to 1996. Powell's activism has focused on ending poverty, advocating for social justice and counteracting violence against women and girls through local, national and international initiatives. He was a Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives in Brooklyn, New York, in 2008 and 2010.
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Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry, better known as simply Def Poetry Jam or Def Poetry, is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by established and up-and-coming spoken word poets. Performances also include special appearances by well-known actors and musicians, as well as occasional performances by Mos Def himself. Co-created by Bruce George, Danny Simmons, Deborah Pointer, Stan Lathan, and Russell Simmons, the show is a spin-off of the popular Def Comedy Jam which began airing on HBO in the 1990s. As with Def Comedy, Simmons appears at the end of every episode to thank the audience.
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Jamila Woods is a Chicago-based American singer, songwriter and poet. Woods is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep and Brown University, where she received a BA in Africana Studies and Theater & Performance Studies. Her work focuses on themes of Black ancestry, Black feminism, and Black identity, with recurring emphases on self-love and the City of Chicago.
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