I’m Not an Envelope Opener

I’m Not an Envelope Opener

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Poet Tova Benjamin, 17, participated as an individual poet representing In One Ear Open Mic at the Heartland Cafe.  This is her first year participating in Louder Than a Bomb. I’m Not an Envelope Opener is a piece Tova wrote about her upbringing as an Orthodox Jew.

Though everyone knows “the points are not the point, the point is the poetry” – congratulations to Tova, who successfully advanced to the Final round of competition, one of the top 13 individual poets in the 2012 Festival, out of a field of over 800 young writers.

You can also listen to Tova speak with WBEZ’s Steve Edwards about participating in Louder Than a Bomb and share more about the story behind this piece.

The largest of its kind in the world, Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) is Chicago’s rapidly-growing teen poetry festival, taking place February 18 - March 10, 2012, at various venues around Chicago. 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.

Click here to hear all the other 2012 recordings, alongside nearly 200 Louder Than a Bomb Finalist pieces recorded by Chicago Public Media (WBEZ-Chicago) over the past eight years.