Kevin Coval played semi-pro ball in Wales in the mid-90s which says more about the condition of ball in Wales at the time then it does about his game. Coval is also the author of ten books including A People’s History of Chicago, editor of The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop, & co-wrote the play, This is Modern Art with Idris Goodwin. Artistic Director of Young Chicago Authors which won a MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Institutions in 2016. Coval is the founder of Louder Than A Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival & co-hosts the podcast The Cornerstore on WGN Radio. His work has appeared on The Daily Show, 4 seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, CNN.com, Poetry Magazine & Fake Shore Drive, He teaches hip-hop poetics in high schools, colleges & community centers around the globe. Find him on the interconnected networks @kevincoval.

Idris Goodwin was voted most improved player at Isiah Thomas basketball camp in the summer of 1988. Since then he’s become an award-winning playwright, break beat poet and essayist. He is the author of the pushcart nominated essay collection These Are The Breaks (Write Bloody Books), the e-chapbook Inauguration co-written with Nico Wilkinson (Haymarket Books), which won a literary award from Pikes Peak Arts Council. He’s appeared on HBO, Discovery Channel and Sesame Street. His widely produced stage-plays include: How We Got On, This is Modern Art (co written with Kevin Coval), Blackademics and Bars and Measures. His play And In This Corner Cassius Clay received the 2017 Distinguished New Play Award from The American Association of Theater and Education. Idris is a regular contributor to NPR affiliate KRCC in Colorado Springs and assistant professor in The Department of Theater and Dance at Colorado College . Find him on social media or at www.idrisgoodwin.com.