SpokenHeard with Rik Vazquez and Susan Dobbe Chase

RIK Vazquez, is Chicago’s best kept secret. As performance poet, writing coach, slam champ, dragon tamer, and teddy bear smuggler, RIK’s poetry has silenced a room with haunting surrealism or incited a riot of laughter with autobiographical narratives. RIK has been a member of poetry collectives such as Lethal Poetry, Four Star Poets, and Marc Smith’s Speak’Easy Ensemble. Bouncing around the country RIK has been tackling sociological issues through his poems since 2005.  2015- RIK competed with Lethal Poetry in a Midwest grudge match known as Win And You’re In. From there he went on to coach the Lethal Poetry Team headed to Rustbelt, as well as the Lethal Poetry Team headed to the National Poetry Slam. 2014- RIK slammed with the Lethal poetry team at Rustbelt. 2013- RIK coached the Lethal Poetry team for National Poetry Slam. 2012- Green Mill and represented Chicago on the RIK became the slam Champ of the very last Green Mill team to compete at the National Poetry Slam. That year he also competed with the 4 Star Poets at Rustbelt, the Midwest regional slam, while simultaneously competing on the Lethal Poetry team at Southern Fried, the southern regional slam. 2011- RIK competed on the Mental Graffiti at the National Poetry Slam. 2009- RIK competed on the Mental Graffiti at the National Poetry Slam. Endorsements “Known for the poems that break you in half, what most people don’t know about RIK is that he’s a funny MFer. The only thing that would make him better is if he stopped eating and drinking all the pizza crust and expired milk from my fridge.” – Marc Smith "If you did a live autopsy on Rik Vazquez, you would see 100% of his insides contained his giant heart. But please don't do that. The world still needs him." – Robbie Q Telfer RIK is the third best poet in this family. – RIK’s Mom I’m the only poet in this family. – RIK