Born in 1970, he is widely regarded as one of the leading poets of his generation. "gift of storytelling and understanding of the music inherent in the oral tradition of language�" - Eminent poet Lucille Clifton Young's newest book is "Black Maria: Poems Produced and Directed by Kevin Young" (2005). The collection is a "film noir in verse," a playful homage to the language and imagery of Hollywood detective films. The title, "Black Maria," is vintage street slang for both "police van" and "hearse," as well as the name of Thomas Edison's first film studio. The poems follow the adventures of two characters, the private eye A. K. A. Jones, and the femme fatale Delilah Redbone, through "a maze of aliases and ambushes, sex and suspicions, fast talk and hard luck�"