Louder Than a Bomb: A young Chicago poet’s inspiration

Louder Than a Bomb: A young Chicago poet’s inspiration
The Louder Than a Bomb poetry festival was featured in a documentary last year. Getty/File
Louder Than a Bomb: A young Chicago poet’s inspiration
The Louder Than a Bomb poetry festival was featured in a documentary last year. Getty/File

Louder Than a Bomb: A young Chicago poet’s inspiration

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

On Saturday, March 12, four teams competed in the final round of the Louder Than a Bomb, the annual youth poetry festival at the Vic Theatre in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.  The competition is the largest of its kind in the world and showcases the literary and performance talents of high school students in Chicago individual and group settings.

This year marks the 11th year of competition and it may be the biggest yet for the Louder Than a Bomb crew.  That’s its also the subject of a recent, acclaimed documentary of the same name.

The 2010 release followed the stories of several of the youth competitors as they rode the ups and downs of the competition - and the camaraderie and connections that result. 

Eight Forty-Eight borrowed a page from the doc and spotlighted one of this year’s participants – Chanel Sosa, from Innovations Charter School.  Chanel’s story can be heard by clicking the audio link atop the page.

Click here to listen to each of the finalists from this year’s Louder Than a Bomb youth poetry festival, as recorded by WBEZ.