This one is better late than never: Check out 17 year old Chicago slam poet Tova Benjamin perform her poem “I’m Not an Envelope Opener” at Louder Than a Bomb (a Chicago youth slam poetry competition) this past March. Her piece, which powerfully explores her upbringing as an orthodox Jew in West Rogers Park, helped her successfully advance to the final round of competition. Tova was one of the top thirteen individual poets in the festival, out of a field of over 800 young writers.
If you’re interested in learning more about Tova and her work, click here to hear her and another LTAB finalist, Keith Warfield, interviewed on Chicago Public Radio.
Yedid Nefesh 
Louder than a Bomb is one of those things that gives me hope. These kids learn the awesome power of words.
Thank you for sharing. For anyone who enjoyed Tova Benjamin’s piece, I highly recommend the movie “Louder Than a Bomb” (http://www.louderthanabombfilm.com/).