LOUDER THAN WORDS Spoken Word and Music Benefit Held 2/12

Behind the Book, a non-profit that promotes literacy in New York City public schools, will host an evening of spoken word and musical entertainment to benefit the organization. The event, Louder than Words, will be held at the Bowery Poetry Club on Friday, February 12th, from 7-9 pm. 

Behind the Book is honored to present acclaimed poets, Staceyann Chin and Emanual Xavier as the evening's featured artists. A bona fide celebrity in the world of spoken word, Chin is a captivating artist and performer who appeared in several one woman shows Off-Broadway, written and performed in the Tony Award-winning Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, and made her film debut in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. She is also the author of the newly released memoir, The Other Side of Paradise (Simon and Schuster, April 2009).

Like Chin, Xavier's work as a writer and artist extend beyond the realms of poetry and spoken word, to include promoting upcoming authors and acting. A published author and an award-winning artist, Xavier is the creator of the "House of Xavier Glam Slam Poetry Contest" and is the editor of the poetry anthology, Bullets & Butterflies: Queer Spoken Word Poetry. His semi-autobiographical novel, Christ-Like (Rebel Satori Press, June 2009) has been critically acclaimed by Book Marks, the Lambda Book Report, and Michael Nava, author of The Little Death and Rag and Bone.

A variety of celebrated writers and musicians, including Samantha Thornhill, Rich Villar, and Akili Jamal Haynes, will join Chin and Xavier to create an unforgettable evening in support of Behind the Book.

Behind the Book's mission is to inspire a love of reading among low-income students in New York City's K-12 public schools. Behind the Book brings authors and their books into the classrooms to build literacy skills and nurture a new generation of readers. Beginning in 2003 with 15 classroom visits in five schools, this year Behind the Book will reach more than 980 students in eleven schools located throughout Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan. To date, Behind the Book has donated more than 7,000 books to students and school libraries.

To learn more about LOUDER THAN WORDS, visit www.BehindtheBook.org or email info@BehindtheBook.org.