Release date:
August 25, 2026
ISBN:
979-8-9925941-8-8
105 pages
Cover art:
Maya Hunter
4th Shift is a multidisciplinary literary work that uses poetry, performance text, and narrative to explore memory, identity, and the unseen emotional labor of survival within Black urban life. It explores the layered realities of growing up on Chicago’s West Side and the ongoing process of self-definition across changing environments—street, stage, memory, and interior life. Moving between poetry, monologue, and performance score, the work traces how masculinity, race, sexuality, class, and artistic identity are formed, challenged, and reimagined over time.
Marvin Tate is a Chicago-based poet, multidisciplinary artist, and performer whose work bridges spoken word, music, and visual art. Born and raised in the North Lawndale neighborhood, Tate emerged from the city’s vibrant slam scene in the 1980s, becoming Chicago’s poetry slam champion in 1990 and a defining voice in its experimental arts community.A longtime cultural innovator, Marvin Tate blends surreal humor, social critique, and lyrical storytelling across forms, from his acclaimed poetry collections Schoolyard of Broken Dreams and The Amazing Mister Orange to his work as frontman of the genre-defying ensemble D-Settlement. For decades, he has remained a vital presence in Chicago’s creative landscape—mentor, collaborator, and boundary-pushing artist—crafting work that reflects the complexity, struggle, and imagination of urban life.
More Praise for 4th Shift
“I feel this is the moment we need to celebrate the intellectual power of poets like Marvin.”
—Theaster Gates
