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Avery r. young
American poet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Avery R. Young (stylized in all lowercase) is an American poet. His work includes the poetry volume neckbone as well as the albums booker t. soltreyne: a race rekkid and tubman. In 2023, he was appointed Poet Laureate of Chicago and inducted to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.
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Biography
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Early life and career
Avery R. Young was born in Chicago; his ancestors were from Lexington, Mississippi.[1] Raised in the West Side neighborhood of Austin, he studied at Hanson Park Elementary School, Mather High School and Loyola University Chicago, earning a BA in English.[1]
Young became interested in poetry as a young child after reading Arnold Adoff's I Am the Darker Brother and appearing at a Chicago Public Schools oratory contest.[2] In the 1990s, he began working in the spoken word scene, with one of his works dedicated to revolutionary Fred Hampton.[1]
Poetry
Young's work has appeared in several anthologies, including The Golden Shovel Anthology.[3] In 2019, he published his poetry volume neckbone through TriQuarterly.[4] He has also worked at Bridge magazine as poetry editor.[3] Deirdre Robinson of the South Side Weekly said of Young: "when he's onstage, his powerful voice fills the room and his impassioned words serve as a testimonial that speak to the realities of the Black experience."[1]
On April 24, 2023, he was named Poet Laureate by the city of Chicago, serving for two years;[2] he was the first person appointed for the newly-created Poet Laureate program.[5]
Career outside of poetry
Young is leader of avery r. young & de deacon board, a blues/funk/gospel band.[2][6] He has released two albums through FPE Records: booker t. soltreyne: a race rekkid (2013) and the spoken poetry album tubman.[7][3] Jose Luis Benavides of Newcity Music said that Young's music is blk folk and neo-soul and called him "notorious for blowing the roof of venues throughout Chicago".[8] He was vocalist for Nicole Mitchell's Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds; John Corbett of DownBeat said that despite Young's vocals the lyrics were "evocative, political and symbolic—not plot-driven".[9]
Young is part of The Floating Museum, a non-profit art collective that depicts Chicago neighborhoods as galleries of a museum that Chicago itself represents.[2][10] He has worked as a teaching artist for University of Chicago's Arts + Public Life and non-profit Urban Gateways.[2][3]
Accolades and personal life
In 2022, Young received the Leader for a New Chicago award.[2] In 2023, Young, an out gay man, was inducted into Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.[11] He is also a Cave Canem Foundation Fellow.[2]
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References
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