Avery r. young

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avery r. young
Avery r. young 1018801 (cropped).jpg
Young in 2024
BornChicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationPoet
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.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

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

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

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

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

  1. 1 2 3 4 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Di Nunzio, Miriam (April 24, 2023). "avery r. young named first-ever Chicago Poet Laureate". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "avery r. young". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ "neckbone". Northwestern University Press. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ Kaufmann, Justin (April 28, 2023). "Best Day Ever with Chicago's first poet laureate avery r. young". Axios. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  7. ↑ "avery r. young - tubman". FPE Records. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ Hieggelke, Brian (March 19, 2016). "Preview: Avery R. Young/The California Clipper". Newcity Music. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Nicole Mitchell: Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds". Downbeat. 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Research Impact: Artist reimagines conventional museums 'through the lens of an art practice'". News at IU. December 4, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  11. ↑ "AVERY R. YOUNG". Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
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