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Northbrook native and Glenbrook North High School alumnus Kevin Coval

will read selections from his collection of poetry 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Oakton Community College's

Student Center (Room 1530), 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines. Admission to this Chicago Writers Series event

is free and open to the public.

An award-winning poet, Coval is the author of "Everything Must Go: The Life and Death of an American

Neighborhood." A professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he teaches hip-hop aesthetics, Coval

also penned "A People's History of Chicago." Chance the Rapper expressed his gratitude to the poet in the

book's forward, writing, "Kevin Coval made me understand what it is to be a poet, what it is to be an artist, and

what it is to serve the people."

Coval is also the artistic director of the MacArthur Award-winning cultural organization, Young Chicago

Authors, and founder of Louder Than a Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival, the world's largest youth

poetry celebration, now in over 19 cities throughout North America. He co-hosts the podcast "The Cornerstone"

on WGN Radio.

"Kevin is a brilliant writer and activist whose work shows his passion, love and understanding for Chicago,"

Tina Fakhrid-Deen, associate professor of English at Oakton, says. "People are drawn to his truth, sincerity,

humility and strong storytelling abilities. He is truly a gem of the Windy City."