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.

Indy finals are designed for the top 12 high school students participating in the Louder Than a Bomb Poetry Festival to compete against each other for top honors. Not only are the stories real and inspiring but the program boasts an 85% high school graduation rate among its participants and has had zero incidents of violence in its 11-year history.

Please note this event contains explicit language.

Click here to hear many of these pieces as part of the 2012 studio recordings, alongside nearly 200 Louder Than a Bomb Finalist pieces recorded by Chicago Public Media (WBEZ-Chicago) over the past eight years.

Recorded Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at Steppenwolf Theater.