Malcolm London is an American poet, educator, "artivist" and musician.[1][2]

Early life

London was born in 1993 and grew up in the west side of Chicago in Austin.[3][4] He first started writing poems at age 12.[4] He attended Lincoln Park High School. In his sophomore year, London won individual honors at the Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry competition.[5][4] When he was 20, he gave a TED talk where he read a portion of his poem, "High School Training Grounds".[3][6]

After graduating from high school in 2011, London began working for Kevin Coval, a fellow poet and educator who helped create the Louder Than A Bomb poetry festival. London was paid to help with the organization Young Chicago Authors, talking at local schools and running poetry workshops with students in the area.[4]

Career

In 2012, London worked with actor Matt Damon as part of an event called "The People Speak Live!".[4] He appeared on a television series called "Verses & Flow". He read a poem entitled, "The First Time in a While" which was based on a peer of London's who had been killed in a fight. London was the youngest poet to appear in the first three seasons of the show.[4]

London appeared in several TED Talks with John Legend and Bill Gates, and hosted events and performances with fellow YCA alum Chance the Rapper[1] and rapper Lupe Fiasco.[2] His performances of poetry have taken place at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Du Sable Museum, the Vic Theater, The Metro, The Chicago Theater, Victory Gardens Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theater.[6] London was the co-chair of the Chicago chapter of the Black Youth Project[7] and has done service for Chicago Public Schools.[1] He was a member of UCAN's National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention.[6]

Some of London's most famous poems are "High School Training Ground,” "Never Too Late,” “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day (Love Sosa),” and “Why You Talk Like That.”[8]

Police encounters

In 2015, London was arrested at a protest against the murder of Laquan McDonald. London was a leader in the Black Youth Project 100, a group that helped organize the protests. London suffered a broken finger and filed a lawsuit with the Westside Justice Center.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kogan, Rick (17 April 2017). "Malcolm London is a Chicago poet with places to go and a person to be". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  2. 1 2 "About". Malcolm London. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  3. 1 2 "Interview with Malcolm London". WNUR. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sidewalks, Rick Kogan's (12 October 2012). "Teen poet thirsts for knowledge". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  5. ↑ "Malcolm London on Activism and Using Art to Create Change • EBONY". EBONY. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  6. 1 2 3 "Poet Malcolm London Performs on TED Talks Education | PBS". TED Talks Education. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  7. ↑ "Poet Malcolm London Performs on TED Talks Education | PBS". TED Talks Education. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  8. ↑ "The Poetry Of Malcolm London". www.wbur.org. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  9. ↑ "Chicago Police Release Activist Malcolm London". WBEZ Chicago. 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
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