Events › Flex Your Pen

Flex Your Pen is a creative writing workshop led by Nile Lansana intended to welcome folks interested in expressing themselves through engaging and responding to poetry and music along with crafting their own first drafts to take home.

Nile Lansana (he/him/his) is an acclaimed interdisciplinary artist from the South Side of Chicago. His work is centered around revealing radical truths and amplifying marginalized voices and narratives through a lens of Black imagination and visionary intention. He is currently an inaugural awardee of the Healing Arts Chicago apprenticeship, teaching writing workshops at the Lawndale Mental Health Clinic. He earned his Community Health Worker Certificate from Malcolm X College in 2024. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with BA degrees in Journalism and English - Creative Writing in 2021. He was nominated for a 3Arts Teaching Artist Award in 2024 and the inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate position in 2023. He would not be without hip-hop. He loves playing soccer, going to concerts, and chilling with his loved ones. He’s just trying to be even better than he was the last time! He is a proud uncle and the oldest of four Black boys.

For teens in high school.

This program will be limited to 20 participants.

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.

Photo provided by the presenter.