Synopsis

Young Chicago Authors' Louder Than a Bomb is Chicago's most exciting youth spoken word event, engaging over 60 schools and community organizations and over 6,000 Chicagoans each year through a poetry "slam" competition. Louder Than a Bomb enhances literary and cultural literacy among youth and creates exchanges between communities of students who may otherwise remain disparate. This 2-week event supports an ever-growing youth writing community in Chicago, providing resources to schools and organizations to invigorate their curriculums and regain students’ interest in education.
Presented annually, Louder Than A Bomb engages schools and community organizations from all over the Chicago area in workshops, showcases, panel discussions and a teen poetry slam. The poetry slam is an Olympic-style poetry contest, created in Chicago in 1985 and now an international phenomenon. Using friendly competition to gather the best and brightest young writers from the Chicago area, Louder Than a Bomb is a safe space that emphasizes community building, education, and youth empowerment. By carrying on the rich tradition of oral storytelling and the spoken word, Louder Than a Bomb will engage over 650 youth participants representing over 60 schools and community centers to share stories, break stereotypes, speak the truth, challenging themselves and their audience. Now in its tenth year, the festival is bigger than ever. This is the first time these young poets will grace the stages of the historic Steppenwolf Theatre, and it will take place over the course of four semi-final bouts. The competing teams in these semi-finals will have been selected as the top sixteen teams, and the top twelve individual poets, from the enormous field of youth talent LTAB gets each year. The winning team from each semi-final bout, as well as the top six scoring individual poets, will compete together at the Vic Theater on Saturday, March 6th to see who are the champions of Chicago youth poetry. The winners will go on to compete at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam in Los Angeles.

Content Advisory

Steppenwolf does not offer advisories about subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person.If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness or stage effects(such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.

Watch & Listen

Content Advisory

Steppenwolf does not offer advisories about subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person.If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness or stage effects(such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.