RIVES

Session host: Rives, academic turned slam poetry powerhouse.

Equally savvy at freestyles or sonnets, Rives is a poet's poet, an academic-turned-slam powerhouse, and one of the most original talents on the spoken word scene.

Rives has appeared on the last three seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam, and was a cast member of the Def Poetry Jam international touring group. He was an Individual Finalist at the 2002 and 2004 National Poetry Slams, and his team, Team Hollywood, won the national title in 2004, as seen in the documentary Slam Planet.

Rives performs and conducts workshops at clubs, theaters, and universities across the United States. Originally trained as a "paper engineer," Rives has designed and written several pop-up books for children, available from Simon & Schuster. Visit Rives' website at shopliftwindchimes.com.