EventsPoetry Fest

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Poetry Fest

9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Harold Washington Library Center

Description

Join us for the 24th Annual Poetry Fest, a festival of poetry readings, workshops and exhibitors!

HAIKU FEST 19th Annual Awards Ceremony

10 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Cindy Pritzker Auditorium

Poets ages 8 to 14 will read their original, award-winning haiku!

Regina Harris Baiocchi is a poet, author, and composer. She founded Haiku Festival, now in its 19th year of celebrating children through poetry readings and workshops, while promoting literacy.

Writing the Everyday: A Generative Workshop

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Multipurpose Room B

How do we make the mundane sparkle? In this generative workshop, we learn from poets, authors, and artists that turn the everyday into something fresh and unfamiliar. Students will develop the tools and practices to draw inspiration from their day-to-day experiences, transform observations into captivating narratives, and learn how to confront and ultimately overcome writer’s block.

Mina Khan
was awarded an Honorable Mention by the American Academy of Poets and authored the chapbook Mon— monuments, monarchs & monsters. Her poems have been featured in Epiphany, Prelude, Berkeley Poetry Review, The Margins, and more. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University.

The Business of Poetry Panel

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Multipurpose Room A

If you are reading or listening to poetry, someone is getting paid and not necessarily the poet. Learn how to monetize your art with a panel including Jennifer Brown-Banks, Eros the Prince of Poetry, and Mariah Scott.

Jennifer Brown-Banks is an award-winning poet who has been extensively published in numerous poetry publications and literary journals for more than a decade. Additionally, she is the "resident poet" for the Beverly Branch Library, presenting numerous workshops and readings for patrons of all ages.

Eros the Prince of Poetry is an award-winning international spoken word artist with over 18 years of experience. He is an author, a recording artist and creator of the largest open mic in Illinois, Talk it Out Tuesdays. Eros is co-creator of Haikings and SoliloQueens and founder/CEO of Hot Chocolate Poetry.

Mariah Scott is a life cultivator, storyteller and native of Milwaukee. In her most recent success, she wrote and produced her first sold-out, one-woman show called The Crown She Wears, which piloted off-Broadway in NYC. Since then, she has toured nationwide. Ms. Scott’s work has been featured in multiple publications such as: VoyagerMIA, WE Empower Magazine, and Milwaukee Neighborhood News.

Poetry Book Tasting

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Reception Room

Sample some beverages and books of poetry recommended by the Chicago Public Library staff while you wait for the rest of our programs. Poets and poetasters alike will savor our word buffet.

Gwendolyn BrooksBlacks Workshop

12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Multipurpose Room B

The legendary Gwendolyn Brooks is often portrayed as part Chicago's history but in this workshop, we will explore the poems that made her famous and dive deeper into the collected work Blacks. We will read some poems from the book and write new ones to celebrate her legacy and the city that she captured so well.

Dr. Tara Betts is the author of Refuse to Disappear, Break the Habit, and Arc & Hue. She is the Inaugural Poet for the People Practitioner Fellow at University of Chicago. Betts currently teaches at DePaul University and serves as Poetry Editor at The Langston Hughes Review.

After Hours Press Reading

12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Auditorium

Come hear the acclaimed poets of After Hours Press read some of their latest and greatest poetry. After Hours Press has been publishing a literary journal for 22 years and is a longtime participant in Poetry Fest. Most recently, they have partnered with the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame on Wherever I'm At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry.

You Can Write Rengay

1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Multipurpose Room A

Rengay is an English adaptation of a Japanese form involving cooperation between poets writing haiku. Three leading rengay poets (Deborah P. Kolodji, Marcyn Del Clements and Susan Rogers) will discuss the history and “rules” of rengay, read some samples, and answer questions. Participants will pair up with partners to draft rengay and, if they wish, share their new work.

Sponsored by Poets & Patrons of Chicago.

40 Love Poems: Writing Workshop

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Multipurpose Room B

Who said that true love comes once in a lifetime? In this workshop we will explore the many lifetimes of love that you can experience in the one wild and wonderful life we have. Whether it is romantic love, sibling love, parent love, friend love, pet love, food love, hobby love or tree love, love can manifest in so many ways. Join us as we explore the love in our lives through a marriage of list and narrative poetry writing.

Faith Rice is a librarian and author of She, Dragon a collection of poems, published in 2018. As a graduate of Columbia College Chicago’s Poetry Program, she has performed, mentored, and taught poetry to youth for over sixteen years.

Poetry and Social Justice Panel

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Reception Hall

Poetry and social justice have always been intertwined, but never so much as now. Join panelists Jeanine Harrison, David Masciotra, H. Melt, and avery r. young for a lively discussion about the meeting of poetry and social movements.

Janine Harrison is the author of Weight of Silence and If We Were Birds. Her work has also appeared in Haiku for Hikers, Veils, Halos, and Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women, Not Like the Rest of Us: An Anthology of Contemporary Indiana Writers and other publications.

David Masciotra is the author of five books including I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters and Mellencamp: American Troubadour. His poetry has been published at this Zine Will Change Your Life, Be About Press, and the Pangolin Review.

H. Melt is a poet, artist and educator whose work celebrates trans people, history and culture. They are the author of The Plural, The Blurring and editor of Subject to Change: Trans Poetry & Conversation. Their latest collection, There Are Trans People Here, includes a free study guide for trans youth, educators, and artists. Available online through Haymarket Books.

Interdisciplinary artist and educator avery r. young is a 3Arts Awardee, Cave Canem fellow and a co-director of The Floating Museum. His poetry and prose has been featured in Breakbeat Poets and Teaching Black. young’s latest full-length recording Tubman is the soundtrack to his first collection of visual and traditional poetry, neckbone: visual verses.


Chicago Poet Laureate Keynote Address

2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

An award-winning poet, educator, composer, performer, and producer, avery r. young’s work spans the genres of music, performance, visual arts and literature. He is co-director of The Floating Museum, a Cave Canem fellow, Leader for a New Chicago 2022 awardee, and performer with his band, de deacon board. With more than two decades as a teaching artist, he has mentored generations of young poets. His poetry and prose are featured in several anthologies and periodicals. In the foreword of his most recent book, neckbone: visual verses, Theaster Gates called young, “one of our greatest living street poets.”

young will be in conversation with Dr. Eve L. Ewing, writer, scholar and cultural organizer in Chicago. Learn more about our inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate.

24th Annual Poetry Fest Open Mic with Caroline Watson

3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Reception Hall

Join us for our 24th annual open mic! Speak, sing, or play your heart out! Join us and share your work with other creatively minded Chicagoans.

Caroline Watson produces and hosts Grandma's House, a monthly poetry show and open mic. For the past five years, Grandma’s House has grown and flourished with a warm and supportive open mic and such featured performers as Tim Stafford, Bianca Phipps, and Kwyn Townsend Riley.

Song of Myself Slide Show

Video Theater 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Come take a gander at a running slideshow of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself. Relax in the simplicity as the verses cycle on the screen.


Poems While You Wait

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Grand Lobby and Lower Level Lobby

Poems While You Wait poets will write your very own personal poem on our handy, vintage typewriters! Give us your topic and in about 20 minutes your poem will be ready for you to take home and cherish.

Vendors

Lower Level Lobby

After Hours Press

Bridge Art NFP

Columbia College

Free Spirit Media

James Gordan

Chicago Poetry Center

Poets and Patrons

Illinois Poetry Council

How to Attend
This event takes place in person. Masks are strongly encouraged in all CPL locations. Questions about visiting the library? Check out our Using the Library FAQs.

Accessibility
Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.

Program:
Poetry Month
Suitable for:
Teens: 13 to 19 years
Adults: 18 and up
Tweens: 10 to 13 years
Type:
Writing and Poetry
Language:
English

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