Hosted by Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin, The BreakBeat Poets Live is a virtual, multi-generational showcase of some of the illest writers on the planet rock. Each chapter features writers and performers who are part of the Haymarket Books family. --- Kevin Coval is a poet and author of A People’s History of Chicago and over ten other collections, anthologies, and chapbooks. ​He is the founder and editor of the BreakBeat Poets series for Haymarket Books, artistic director for Young Chicago Authors, and the founder of Louder than a Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival. --- Idris Goodwin is the playwright, producer, educator, who coined the term “breakbeat poet.” He is the author of Can I Kick It? and the Pushcart–nominated collection These Are the Breaks. His publications also include Inauguration, cowritten with Nico Wilkinson, and Human Highlight: An Ode to Dominique Wilkins and This Is Modern Art, both cowritten with Kevin Coval. --- Comprised of two gifted musicians, The O’My’s channel their experiences and perspective into gritty, polished music that grabs listeners with its sound, and holds them with its content. Nick Hennessey and Maceo Vidal-Haymes, two Chicago natives, man the keys and guitar respectively, with Maceo handling vocal duties. --- Penelope Alegria is the Chicago Youth Poet Laureate for 2019-2020 and a two-time member of Young Chicago Authors’ artistic apprenticeship. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in La Nueva Semana, Muse/A Journal, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT, and elsewhere. She is a Brain Mill Press Editor’s Pick and was awarded the 2018 Literary Award by Julian Randall. --- Tarfia Faizullah is the author of two poetry collections, Registers of Illuminated Villages (Graywolf 2018) and Seam (SIU 2014). The recipient of a Fulbright fellowship, three Pushcart prizes, and other honors, Tarfia has been featured in periodicals, magazines, and anthologies both here and abroad. --- Krista Franklin is a writer and visual artist, the author Too Much Midnight (Haymarket Books, 2020), the artist book Under the Knife (Candor Arts, 2018), and the chapbook Study of Love & Black Body (Willow Books, 2012). She is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant, and a frequent contributor to the projects of fellow artists. Her visual art has exhibited at Poetry Foundation, Konsthall C, Rootwork Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Studio Museum in Harlem, Chicago Cultural Center, National Museum of Mexican Art, and the set of20th Century Fox’s Empire. --- chicago born and raised, roy kinsey is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to tradition in his respective industries. where being a black, queer-identified, rapper, and librarian may be an intimidating choice for some, roy kinsey’s non-conformist ideology has informed his 4th album, and self proclaimed, “best work yet,” blackie: a story by roy kinsey. --- Willie Perdomo is the author of The Crazy Bunch, which recently won the New York City Book Award for poetry, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, Smoking Lovely, winner of the PEN Open Book Award, and Where a Nickel Costs a Dime, a finalist for the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award. He is also a co-editor of the BreakBeat Poetry Series anthology, LatiNext. Watch the live event recording: https://youtu.be/BbAovRbt6Zw Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks