WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The residents of Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center give heartfelt spoken word performances talking about their hopes, dreams, fears, longings and aspirations, in this inagural CCJTDC Louder Than a Bomb poetry slam.

The 2013 Individual Poet Finals, took place Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm at Chicago Cultural Center's Preston Bradley Hall.  The top individual poets in the city worked to earn a spot on the 2013 Louder Than a Bomb All-Star Team.

The Louder Than a Bomb 2013 Semi-Final bouts featured the top 12 individuals vying for a spot in the Indy Finals and the top 16 teams competed for a slot at Team Finals.

Poet Asha Ransby-Sporn was a 17-year-old senior at University of Chicago Laboratory High School when she competed in the Louder Than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival in the Spring of 2012, representing her high school. Brown Girl Grows Up Black poetically recants Asha's ancestry given her mother's adoption as a child, which presents another take on racial identity.

Poet Ashley Gonzalez was an 18-year-old senior at Northside College Prep High School when she competed in the Louder Than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival in the Spring of 2008, representing her high school. 51 Stars is an intense look at collonialism in Puerto Rico, calling out the United States for the way the island - both its people and its land - has been treated.

Chicago can proudly boast its reputation as the city that made poetry cool for teenagers -- slam poetry, at least.

The new documentary Louder than a Bomb depicts the world’s largest youth poetry slam, which takes place here in Chicago. Every year, students from local high schools gather to tell their stories in the form of highly emotional, expressive spoken word poetry.