It's not every day that I get an email from someone who wants me to know they are a true Chicago character who deserves to be in my column. No, that only happens every other day.
When Marc Livingston emailed to tell me that he's not just a character, not just Englewood's poet laureate, not just the best poet in Chicago, but the Greatest Poet Alive, I had to meet him.
Our chat at the Starbucks on 87th Street was truly enlightening. Livingston is a relentless rhymer who fancies himself part Langston Hughes part 50 Cent and all poet. He gets a fair share of ribbing for calling himself the greatest, but they way he sees it if he doesn't think he's the best no one else will. So there you have it. Check out the column, and here's a video of his latest poem, Facebook(A Hell of a Drug) on YouTube. (The picture is bad, but the audio is clear.)