Houston Hughes is a performance poet whose work covers comedy, drama, tragedy, storytelling, and political commentary, all expertly worded and performed with a tremendous stage-presence which lends his words even more power. Hughes was introduced to poetry slam in 2006, and by 2010 had made finals stage at the Individual World Poetry Slam, placing him among the top 12 performance poets in the world. In 2012, Hughes helped lead the team that put on that years wildly successful Individual World Poetry Slam, bringing it to Arkansas for the first time ever. The following year. he was asked to be part of the prestigious TEDx program, and gave a talk on storytelling at Hendrix College. Hughes often collaborates with others, and has produced stage works with musicians, dancers, culinary artists, burlesque groups, and more. He has toured across the country, and opened for a variety nationally known acts such as Saul Williams and Otep. He currently resides in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he serves as co-host of the informational-variety radio program The All You Need To Know Show, and as slam master and emcee for the poetry slam and variety show Last Saturday Fayetteville. Programs can be tailored to fit your unique needs, and include anything from hour-plus featured performances, facilitating writing and performance workshops, hosting or emceeing events, integrating poetry with live music, and more. In-school programs for grade school groups may have a heavy emphasis in initiating creative writing, encouraging students to work from writing prompts such as pictures and songs, as well as encouraging writing in the style of a given author such as Dr. Seuss or Lewis Carroll. Programs for middle schools might focus on writing originality, as well as reading and oral presentation skills. Programs for high school or adults often focus heavily on public speaking and presentation, as well as the finer points of poetry writing. For many academic settings, the best option may be a multi-day program, teaching students the history of spoken poetry, exposing them to modern poetry, encouraging them to write their own pieces, and finishing with a performance of their own work for their peers.

PA system and at least one microphone, non-wireless, if presentation in large room.