Kevin Coval is the author of ALA "Book of the Year" finalist Slingshots: A Hip-Hop Poetica, Everyday People, and most recently, L-vis Lives! Racemusic Poems. Founder of Louder Than a Bomb: The Chicago Teen Poetry Festival, Coval is the Artistic Director of Young Chicago Authors. He is a regular contributor to WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and teaches creative-writing at schools across the city.

1. gensis or(-igin) barstranslationon disaporismchosensemitekikemidrash of the bodymezuzahtwo portraits of the wandering jewbenshtick: an arse poeticadvarimkol nidre2. famon becoming a manshtick at e's bar-mitzvahthe speech's at E's bar-mitzvahNot Kanemidrash of my parents doomed marriageat the passover seder ode to gelfite fishhamotziRosh Hashanah in the suburbswriting on Yom Kippurmy father is a tzaddikmidrash chicago fire3. assimlation and its discontentstreifno judenthe parables of jesusexplaining hanukawhy we may wish to be whitelost at the seder tablediaspora or ennuiDerrickGame Overallegory of the jewish how jewish boys get irish names4. shiksasportnoy's complaintshiksasdebbie doesassimilation nightmare 1assimilation nightmare 2diamondsinheritance5. an american parody in partsundoing the pyramidsjoyce nose job poempunch line-mom nose jobremembering babyWarhol nose americaboxerno nose jobBabsbirdode to the schnozzyacub's theory6. shtickal jolsonthe cabal of x-ian namesmonica lewinskyallen ginsberg nothing sacred- lenny bruce odeMean Woman Joan Riversthanking G-d later-Drakesid ceaserl'art of silenceRoseannewwLBdthe white dream of irving berlinDon Rickels roasts Ronald Reagan7. tuesdays with mel gibsonold testament one liner (a hai coup)The Centurion Classicnazi popehenry ford wraps hitlers assimilation nightmare #4strange bedfellows:quisling- joe libermanhill billy bob's plan of actionpassion of the kikeseason's greetingson the charge of deicidedeicide8. blacks & jewson how jews became whitematzah is a big ass crackerThe Break(oceanhill)assimilation nightmare #3easta timematisyayu as the jazz singerportrait of israel's favorite rapperblonde ambitionunlearning the hard wayjesse jackson/ tailsmanpublic enemy #1Louis Farrakhanthe serect relationshop between Blacks and jewsthe conversion of SammyDon Rickels roasts Sammy Davisjewtown48 hours ars poeticathe holocaust calls for its orthonymAvraham, The Parriarch was Black9. palestineself-hating jewwhat it's like to be the grandson of ziontistwhy i stopped going to shulexplaining myselfassimilation nightmare #5birthrightburning booksthe wallsharks/piratesisrael as golemvetting the mayorportrait of a slumlordportrait of ariel sharonNows the Time to be fresh- SJP odeshiksa angel ode to rachel corrieoccupationdavid v. goliathall the pharaohswhat will i tell my jewish kids

Poet Kevin Coval offers both tragedy and comedy in this stirring exposition on the Jewish American cultural experience.