WORDS + WOMEN + LOVE

BLACK + BEAUTIFUL + PERFECTION

Joshua Bennett is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, double majoring in English and Africana Studies with minors in Spanish and History. He is a 3-time national poetry slam champion (BNV 2007, CUPSI 2007 and 2009), the youngest poet ever to hit finals stage at the Individual World Poetry Slam, and has recited his original work at events such as the Sundance Film Festival, The NAACP Image Awards, and, most recently, President Obama's evening of poetry and music at the White House. When he is not performing or writing, Joshua enjoys reading contemporary African American fiction (Percival Everett and Colson Whitehead are his favorite authors of the moment), blogging (entirely too much), and falling in love with all the wrong women (he attributes this to his affinity for musicians and hipsters). Joshua plans on pursuing a PhD after graduating from Penn next year, and hopes that he will be able to incorporate his craft into his academic work for years to come. He hails from Yonkers, NY. Shout out to Brooklyn. Thanks to Karen Richburg for the clip.