Rudy Francisco facts for kids

Rudy K. Francisco (born July 27, 1982) is an American spoken word poet and writer. Spoken word poetry is a type of performance art where poems are spoken aloud, often with rhythm and emotion. Rudy has won many poetry slams, which are competitions where poets perform their work. He has also written several books of poetry, including Helium and I'll Fly Away. You might have seen him perform his poems "Complainers" and "Rifle" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Rudy Francisco's Early Life

Rudy Francisco grew up in San Diego, California. His family comes from Belize. When he was in his last year of high school, he wrote a love poem for a class. He got excellent grades for it!

Rudy was inspired by a TV show called HBO's Def Poetry Jam. This show featured many amazing spoken word poets. He started going to open mic events in his area. These are places where anyone can perform. Later, some of these places closed down.

With a group of local poets, Rudy helped open a new open mic event. It's called Elevated and is in San Diego. This event has been open for over ten years, giving many new poets a chance to share their work.

Rudy went to Alliant International University in San Diego. He studied psychology and earned a degree. He also started a master's degree in a field called industrial and organizational psychology. While at school, he hosted open mic nights. This helped him meet other poets. He even worked as a statistical analyst before deciding to become a full-time poet.

Rudy Francisco's Poetry Career

Rudy got into performance poetry after seeing a poet named Shihan perform. He loved the style of spoken word. Reading a book called The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten also changed his life as a poet. Rudy has performed in many competitions and shows all around the world.

His first poetry book, Getting Stitches, came out in 2013. He then wrote Scratch in 2014 and No Gravity in 2015. His first full-length book, Helium, was published in 2017 by Button Poetry. It took him about a year and a half to write the 58 poems in Helium. This book was very popular and received good reviews.

When asked about the meaning of Helium, Rudy said that "helium allows you to defy gravity." He explained that poetry always gave him a "temporary escape" from everyday life. The poems in Helium talk about important topics like race, social class, gender, love, and thinking about yourself. Rudy's poems often mix personal stories with humor.

Rudy Francisco is also the founder and coach of the San Diego Poetry Slam Team. This team won the 2017 National Poetry Slam Championship!

Rudy performed his poem "Complainers" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2018. He was the first person to perform a full-length poem on the show. Many of his poems are available on YouTube. Some, like "Scars/To the New Boyfriend," have been viewed millions of times. He also has a large following on Instagram.

Rudy Francisco's Personal Life

Rudy Francisco feels that the poetry slam community is like a family. He has said that some of his closest friends are people he has competed with or against. This feeling of community is what makes him keep coming back to poetry events.

Rudy has a daughter who is five years old.

Rudy Francisco's Tours and Events

Rudy Francisco has traveled to many places to perform his poetry. In May and June 2018, he toured the UK. He also planned to perform in India with another poet, Sabrina Benaim, but those shows were canceled. In August 2018, he performed at a slam poetry competition in Chicago. He also toured the UK again in October with poets Neil Hilborn and Sabrina Benaim. In April 2019, he performed in Washington, D.C. He also helped organize the Individual World Poetry Slam in Southern California in May 2019.

Books of Poetry

• Getting Stitches (2013)
• Scratch (2014)
• No Gravity (2015)
• No Gravity Part II (2016)
• Helium (2017)
• I'll Fly Away (2020)
• Excuse Me As I Kiss The Sky (2023)

Filmography

Poetry Awards

• 2007 San Diego Grand Slam Champion
• 2007 Poet of the People Slam Champion
• 2008 Member of the Hollywood Poetry Slam Team
• 2009 National Underground Poetry Individual Champion
• 2009 3rd place in the Individual World Poetry Slam
• 2010 La Poloma Slam Champion
• 2010 Chico Invitational Slam Champion
• 2010 San Diego Grand Slam Champion
• 2010 San Francisco Grand Slam Champion
• 2010 Member of the San Diego Poetry Slam Team (Regional Champion/6th ranked team in the nation)
• 2010 Individual World Poetry Slam Slam Champion
• 2017 National Poetry Slam Champion (as part of the San Diego Poetry Slam Team)