Patricia Smith is a poet, teacher, performance artist and author. Her new book “Shoulda Been Jimi Savanah” will be the focus of the event. Smith has also written “Blood Dazzler” and “Teahouse of the Almighty.” A four-time individual champion on the National Poetry Slam, Smith has also been a featured poet on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and has performed her work around the world.

The largest of its kind in the world, Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) is Chicago’s rapidly-growing teen poetry festival, this year taking place at various venues around Chicago beginning February 18 and continuing through to the finals on March 10, 2012. Aiming to bring teens together across racial, gang, and socio-economic lines, LTAB is a friendly competition that emphasizes self-expression and community via poetry, oral story-telling, and hip-hop spoken word.