Javon Johnson facts for kids

Javon Johnson is an American poet, writer, and professor. He is well-known for his spoken word poetry. He also leads the African American and African Diaspora Studies program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Johnson wrote the book Killing Poetry: Blackness and the Making of Slam and Spoken Word Communities.

Growing Up and Learning

Javon Johnson was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 15, 1968. As a high school student, he discovered the works of famous poets like Amiri Baraka and Langston Hughes. Their words inspired him to start writing his own poetry.

While attending California State University, Los Angeles, Johnson showed great talent. In 2002, he won first place in Drama Interpretation at a national competition. He later earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

A Career in Poetry and Teaching

Javon Johnson has shared his poetry on many TV shows. You might have seen him on HBO's Def Poetry Jam or BET's Lyric Café. He also appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show and The Steve Harvey Show. He even helped write a documentary called Crossover for Showtime.

Johnson is a big part of the poetry slam world. He was on the Da Poetry Lounge slam team many times. This team competed in the National Poetry Slam, which is a big poetry competition. His team won the championship in both 2003 and 2004! He won again with the San Diego PoetrySLAM team in 2017.

Besides performing, Johnson also writes. He wrote essays about race and popular media for the Huffington Post blog. In 2015, he performed at a Fourth of July celebration in Los Angeles.

After finishing his Ph.D., Johnson began teaching. He worked at the University of Southern California and San Francisco State University. Now, he is a director and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His studies look at how poetry communities in Los Angeles work. He explores how these groups offer chances for everyone to share their voice.

In 2017, he published his book Killing Poetry. This book explores the history of slam and spoken word poetry. He also helped put together a poetry collection called End of Chiraq in 2018. More recently, in 2022, he turned his poem "Cuz He's Black" into a short film.

Featured Performances

Javon Johnson's performances are known for being powerful and thought-provoking. Here are some of his well-known pieces:

• "Cuz He's Black" (2013 National Poetry Slam)
• "Last Conversation Between Malcolm X and His Daughter" (2014 National Poetry Slam)
• "Debt" (2017 Button Poetry Live)
• "Black and Happy" (2017 Button Poetry Live)