Reading & Conversation: Idris Goodwin & Kevin Coval

Idris Goodwin and Kevin Coval, co-authors of This Is Modern Art: A Play and Human Highlight: An Ode to Dominique Wilkins, as well as respectively the authors of Can I Kick It? and Everything Must Go, will be coming to White Whale for an evening of poetry, reading, and conversation, followed by a book sale and signing. For more information, visit the event link here.

Idris Goodwin is an award-winning break beat poet and playwright. He is the author of the pushcart nominated essay and poetry collection These Are The Breaks (Write Bloody). In addition to the forthcoming poetry collection Can I Kick It?, he’s had several publications with Haymarket Books including the poetry chapbooks Inauguration, winner of the 2017 Literary Arts Award from The Pikes Peak Arts Council and Human Highlight: Ode To Dominique Wilkins and the controversial play This Is Modern Art, co-written with Kevin Coval. His words have appeared on HBO, Sesame Street, NPR and BBC radio and Discovery Channel. He’s received support from the NEA, The Ford, Mellon and Edgerton Foundation, and The Playwrights’ Center’s Mcknight Fellowship. Idris and his family live in Louisville, KY where he is the Producing Artistic Director of Stage One, a professional theatre company for young audiences. His widely produced stage plays include And In This Corner : Cassius Clay, How We Got On, and Hype Man: a break beat play.

Kevin Coval is an award-winning poet & author of Everything Must Go: The Life & Death of an American Neighborhood, A People's History of Chicago & over ten other full-length collections, anthologies & chapbooks. He is the founding editor of The BreakBeat Poets imprint on Haymarket Books, & Artistic Director of the MacArthur Award-winning cultural organization, Young Chicago Authors, & founder of Louder Than a Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival, the world's largest youth poetry festival, now in more than 19 cities across North America. He's got a lot of hustles. He's shared the stage with The Migos & Nelson Mandela, has published in Poetry Magazine, The Chicago Tribune & CNN.com & co-hosts the podcast, The Cornerstore, on WGN Radio, as he loves to listen to people tell stories. He can be found on the internets at @kevincoval.