Poetry with a Pulse

Poetry? Really? Before the form conjures up dreary verse, think Kerouac, Gwendolyn Brooks and Dr. Seuss. A poem shouldn’t be a riddle. It’s the sound of truth in your ear. The touch of common experience. The beat of a bass under your feet.

Emily started scribbling poems as soon as she could write, but it wasn’t until the mid 1990s that she began performing in bars, libraries, schools and festivals. Her accessible, yet well-crafted work spans humor to commentary while straddling the line between academic and spoken word styles. Emily’s work has been published in After Hours, Colere, the City of Chicago’s web site and others.

A dedicated organizer, she is also a founding member of Chicago Slam Works, which promotes the blend of poetry and performance to excite nontraditional audiences with quality work. She was a core planning committee member for the 1999 and 2003 National Poetry Slam Championships. As an educator, she was also poet-in-residence in the Poetry Center of Chicago’s Hands on Stanza program.

Writing poetry has proven valuable, not only as a cathartic avenue for growth and connection, but also as an exercise is concise writing. After all, who better than a poet can elicit an emotional response with the fewest possible words?

Find out how booking Emily gives your event or class a fresh shot in the arm.