About LOUDER THAN A BOMB JUDGES

Entering its 17th season, Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) is the largest, youth poetry festival in the world. Founded in Chicago in 2001 and hosted by Young Chicago Authors (YCA), the event has attracted upwards of 1,200 participants from 130 schools in over 125 different Chicagoland zip codes. Running annually from February to March, the festival attracts participants from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Of the over 10,000 young people served in Chicago through the various year-round YCA programs in writing, publication, and performance education, approximately 68% are African- American and 18% are Hispanic- Latino. More than half come from low-income households. Over 15,000 audience members and participants attended YCA programming across Chicagoland in 2016. The individual and team finals bring together a showcase of Chicago’s most talented spoken word youth poets over the course of its 5-week, 90+ event citywide celebration of youth culture. The finals this year will be held at the Auditorium Theater on Saturday, March 18th. We hope you’ll be able to join us as an honorary judge throughout the 5 week festival -- contact us for more information.

Family-Friendly

Parents and children are invited and encouraged to get involved.