Rives poet biography project

American poet, storyteller, and author (born )

Rives (born ) is an American poet, storyteller, and author. He appeared on Seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam^[1] and was a member of Team Hollywood, which won the National Poetry Slam.

His best-known poems include "Kite,"^[2] about waking up alone in a new lover's apartment, and "Mockingbird," which he performs differently every time, incorporating the words of other poets and speakers in the program.

In , Rives hosted the television special Ironic Iconic America with Tommy Hilfiger and Bar Refaeli, examining how pop culture has influenced American tastes and styles.^[3] In October of that year, he began appearing as the "first poet" in a series of ads for telecom company Orange S.A.^[4]

Rives has made multiple appearances at the TED Conference^[5] and is the regular co-host of TEDYouth.

His multimedia performances touch on themes of connectedness, wordplay, and romance.