avery r. young
avery r. young | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Young in 2024 | |
| Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Alma mater | Loyola University Chicago |
| Notable awards | Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (2023) |
Avery R. Young (stylized in all lowercase) is an American poet. His work includes the poetry volume neckbone as well as the albums booker t. soltreyne: a race rekkid and tubman. In 2023, he was appointed Poet Laureate of Chicago and inducted to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.
Biography
[edit]Early life and career
[edit]Avery R. Young was born in Chicago; his ancestors were from Lexington, Mississippi.[1] Raised in the West Side neighborhood of Austin, he studied at Hanson Park Elementary School, Mather High School and Loyola University Chicago, earning a BA in English.[1]
Young became interested in poetry as a young child after reading Arnold Adoff's I Am the Darker Brother and appearing at a Chicago Public Schools oratory contest.[2] In the 1990s, he began working in the spoken word scene, with one of his works dedicated to revolutionary Fred Hampton.[1]
Poetry
[edit]Young's work has appeared in several anthologies, including The Golden Shovel Anthology.[3] In 2019, he published his poetry volume neckbone through TriQuarterly.[4] He has also worked at Bridge magazine as poetry editor.[3] Deirdre Robinson of the South Side Weekly said of Young: "when he's onstage, his powerful voice fills the room and his impassioned words serve as a testimonial that speak to the realities of the Black experience."[1]
On April 24, 2023, he was named Poet Laureate by the city of Chicago, serving for two years;[2] he was the first person appointed for the newly-created Poet Laureate program.[5]
Career outside of poetry
[edit]Young is leader of avery r. young & de deacon board, a blues/funk/gospel band.[2][6] He has released two albums through FPE Records: booker t. soltreyne: a race rekkid (2013) and the spoken poetry album tubman.[7][3] Jose Luis Benavides of Newcity Music said that Young's music is blk folk and neo-soul and called him "notorious for blowing the roof of venues throughout Chicago".[8] He was vocalist for Nicole Mitchell's Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds; John Corbett of DownBeat said that despite Young's vocals the lyrics were "evocative, political and symbolic—not plot-driven".[9]
Young is part of The Floating Museum, a non-profit art collective that depicts Chicago neighborhoods as galleries of a museum that Chicago itself represents.[2][10] He has worked as a teaching artist for University of Chicago's Arts + Public Life and non-profit Urban Gateways.[2][3]
Accolades and personal life
[edit]In 2022, Young received the Leader for a New Chicago award.[2] In 2023, Young, an out gay man, was inducted into Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.[11] He is also a Cave Canem Foundation Fellow.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Robinson, Dierdre (May 19, 2023). "Poet Laureate avery r. young on Reminding Chicago that Things are Beautiful, Too". South Side Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Di Nunzio, Miriam (April 24, 2023). "avery r. young named first-ever Chicago Poet Laureate". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "avery r. young". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ "neckbone". Northwestern University Press. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ Horng, Eric (April 30, 2023). "'Hear it and feel': 1st-ever Chicago poet laureate melds language with music and visual arts". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ Kaufmann, Justin (April 28, 2023). "Best Day Ever with Chicago's first poet laureate avery r. young". Axios. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ "avery r. young - tubman". FPE Records. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ Hieggelke, Brian (March 19, 2016). "Preview: Avery R. Young/The California Clipper". Newcity Music. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ "Nicole Mitchell: Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds". Downbeat. 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ "Research Impact: Artist reimagines conventional museums 'through the lens of an art practice'". News at IU. December 4, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ "AVERY R. YOUNG". Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- Living people
- 21st-century African-American musicians
- 21st-century African-American writers
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American poets
- African-American poets
- American gay musicians
- American gay writers
- American LGBTQ poets
- American male poets
- American spoken word poets
- Gay poets
- LGBTQ people from Illinois
- Loyola University Chicago alumni
- Mather High School alumni
- Municipal poets laureate in the United States
- Poets from Chicago
- People with lower case names and pseudonyms