avery r. young is a Chicago polyglot and performer whose work uses phonetics, linguistics, hymns, jazz, and hip hop to illuminate and amplify stories, and to hold the room.  A Cave Canem Fellow, he has published widely, for example in The Teaching Artist Journal, swaggerzine., Callallou, Warpland, and MAKE. young has performed regularly in venues including Lollapalooza and Wordstock, as well as on on television (B.E.T., M.T.V., A.B.C., and W.G.N.), and as a 3Arts Teaching Artist Awardee and a Public Life Artist-in-Residence at the University of Chicago. A teaching artist at places including Young Chicago Authors, Rebirth Poetry Ensemble, Freewrite Jail Arts, and Chicago Public Schools, young mentors youth in neighborhoods all across the city, with love, stories, and time. be blk.