Tuesday Funk

at Flourish Cafe (1138 W. Bryn Mawr, Chicago, IL). August 4th.
Readers: Jotham Burello, William Allegrezza, and Parneshia Jones.
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Series A

Aug 5, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Tom Orange Angela Szczepaniak

As usual, the event takes place the Hyde Park Art Center at 5020 S. Cornell, Chicago, IL. Parking is easy, and the HPAC is easy to access via CTA or Metra. BYOB.

W4tB

7:30 p
Jaks Tap
901 W. Jackson
Waiting 4 the Bus

Help Save Cracked Slab Books

Special Economic Recession Offers!

Cracked Slab Books is trying to stay alive through the recession. In order to do that, we are offering the books below at 45%-60% off their usual price in order to raise some funds. Please help us by purchasing a book.


To purchase the books at the special price, visit http://crackedslabbooks.com/facebook.html

Word: Across Generations, August 1st

08/01/2009
3:00pm - 5:00pm

Perry Mansion Cultural Center in Englewood
7042 S Perry Ave

Join us for an afternoon of poetry, conversation, and sunshine as some of the most prolific and profound poets in Chicago come together. Each of the poets will perform their work and participate in a post-performance conversation, moderated by spoken word artist Kevin Coval about the power of words.

This intergenerational and intercultural event will include Quraysh Ali Lansana, director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center at Chicago State University and author of They Shall Run-Harriet Tubman Poems and southside rain; Adrian Matejka, author of Mixology; Angela Jackson, acclaimed poet, playwright, and fictionist; and FM Supreme, Louder Than A Bomb poetry slam champion. The event will be emceed by Kevin Coval.

Taking place at Englewood's new Perry Mansion Cultural Center, this outdoor program is not to be missed! Reservations are recommended and can be made online, by email at events@prairie.org, or by calling 312.422.5580.

This program is part of The Public Square's "Looking for Democracy Through the Arts" series made possible in part by the Woods Fund of Chicago.

More about our featured poets

Quraysh Ali Lansana is the author of They Shall Run--Harriet Tubman Poems (Third World Press, April 2004) and the poetry collection southside rain (Third World Press, 2000); a children's book, The Big World (Addison-Wesley, 1999); and a poetry chapbook, cockroach children: corner poems and street psalms (nappyhead press, 1995). He is the editor of Glencoe/McGraw-Hill's African American Literature Reader (Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2001) and I Represent and dream in yourself, two anthologies of literary works from Chicago's award-winning youth arts employment program, Gallery 37 (Tia Chucha Press, 1996 and 1997, respectively). He is also co-editor of Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art (Third World Press, 2002). He is currently Director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing and an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Chicago State University. He is also a former faculty member of The Juilliard School's Drama Division. Quraysh also serves as Poetry Editorial Review Board Director for Third World Press, Associate Editor-Poetry for Black Issues Book Review, and serves on the Editorial Board of Tia Chucha Press. Passage, his poetry video collaboration with Kurt Heintz, won the first ever Image Union/Bob Award from WTTW-TV (PBS).

Kevin Coval is the author of everyday people and slingshots (a hip-hop poetica), named Book of the Year-finalist by The American Library Association. Coval's writing has appeared in The Spoken Word Revolution and The Spoken Word Revolution: Redux (SourceBooks), Total Chaos (Basic Civitas), I Speak of the City: New York City Poems (Columbia University Press), The Bandana Republic (Soft Skull Press), Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reporter, Cross Currents, and Crab Orchard Review; seen on C-SPAN, WGN; and can be heard regularly on Chicago Public Radio, where he is resident poet and hip-hop correspondent. Coval is the founder of Louder Than A Bomb, the largest youth poetry festival in the world. He is poet-in-residence at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, a faculty member at The School of the Art Institute and University of Illinois-Chicago, and Minister of Hip-Hop Poetics at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Angela Jackson is a poet, playwright, and fictionist. First published nationally in Black World in 1971, Jackson's first book of poetry, Voodoo Love Magic was published by Third World Press in 1974. She won the eighth Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Award in 1973; the Academy of American Poets Award from Northwestern University in 1974; the Illinois Art Council Creative Writing Fellowship in Fiction in 1979; a National Endowment For the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship in Fiction in 1980; the Hoyt W. Fuller Award for Literary Excellence in 1984; the American Book Award in 1985; the DuSable Museum Writers Seminar Poetry Prize in 1984; Pushcart Prize for Poetry in 1989; ETA Gala Award in 1994; Illinois Authors Literary Heritage Award in 1996; six Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards; five for fiction and one for poetry; The Carl Sandburg Award; Chicago Sun-Times Friends of Literature Book of the Year Award; an Illinois Art Council Creative Writing Fellowship in Playwriting in 2000; and in 2002, the Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America. Jackson's published poetic works include: The Greenville Club, 1977 (chapbook); Solo in the Boxcar Third Floor E, 1985; The Man with the White Liver, 1987; Dark Legs and Silk Kisses: The Beatitudes of the Spinners, 1993; and All These Roads Be Luminous: Poems New and Selected, 1997, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Her plays include Witness!, 1970; Shango Diaspora: An African American Myth of Womanhood and Love, 1980; and When the Wind Blows, 1984 (better known as the eta production entitled, Comfort Stew). Jackson is working on Treemont Stone, a novel, Lightfoot: The Crystal Stair, a play and her memoir, Apprenticeship in the House of Cowrie Shells and more poems.

Adrian Matejka is a graduate of the MFA program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is a Cave Canem fellow and his poems have appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, and Painted Bride Quarterly, among other journals and anthologies. His first collection of poems, The Devil's Garden, won the 2002 New York/New England Award from Alice James Books. His second collection, Mixology, a National Poetry Series winner (selected by Kevin Young), will be published by Penguin in May 2009.

FM Supreme is not only a talented lyricist and emcee but also an active community member. When she isn't performing with MC Lyte, Kool Herc, Dirty Digital, N.O.R.E, Boys II Men, The Clipse, Billy Branch & the SOB's, or Saul Williams, FM Supreme is mentoring young children. The lyricist also spoke at the 2006 National Hip Hop Convention where she discussed misogyny in hip-hop, gentrification, and education among other topics. FM SUPREME has also used spoken word as a platform for her empowering messages leading to the title Poetry Slam Champion of Chicago's youth slam competition, Louder Than A Bomb. During the past four summers, FM Supreme has independently produced and released her own CDs (The Diary of a Mad Black Woman Mixtape (05), Forever Maroon EP, Basik Gumbo LP, The Beautiful Grind Mixtape), and orchestrated the release parties. She also created the "Backseat Passenger Tour" with DJ Itch 13. The seven-day tour featuring Chicago's own Jyroscope, included stops in Chicago, New York, and Boston, at landmark locations like the Nuyorican Poets Café. FM Supreme has been featured in Venus Zine's as a "Ten Artist to Watch" in the 2008 summer issue, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, National Public Radio, The Chicago Tribune, WTTW, and WGN.

More about our partners

The Monsignor John J. Egan Urban Center (EUC) represents DePaul University's tangible and enduring commitment to the research, development, deliverance and transfer of innovative education-based programs and services that have a significant social impact. The mission gives concrete expression to the University's Vincentian commitment by extending opportunities for DePaul to collaborate with the Chicago community to alleviate poverty, promote social justice and address critical urban problems through teaching, service and scholarship.

Perry Mansion Cultural Center believes that "the blending of cultures through art" allows for a multi-faceted approach to enlarging the community of art lovers, providing cultural awareness, and inspiring youth through creativity and educational opportunities. The restored, four-story Queen Anne Victorian that houses the Perry Mansion Cultural Center exhibits work by local, national, and international artists. We also present a program of live events featuring music and spoken word. The Center celebrates the many cultures that make up the fabric of Chicago.

Young Chicago Authors encourages self-expression and literacy through creative writing, performance and publication. YCA provides student-centered, artist-led workshops free to youth ages 13-19 in schools and communities. Our process emphasizes artistic development, mentorship, and creating safe spaces where a young person's life matters. We believe that through their words, young people can promote tolerance and remove barriers to transform their lives and society.

This event is co-sponsored by Perry Mansion Cultural Center, The Monsignor John J. Egan Urban Center at DePaul University, and Young Chicago Authors.

Printers' Ball Sneak Peek #3

images courtesy of Eric Bartholomew

These were taken on Saturday, July 18, 2009, at the Ludington Building, 1104 South Wabash, Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago. Volunteers gathered to produce the Printers' Ball art book and to make streamers, flowers, poet-trees, and more, all out of print sent by publishers who are participating in the Printers' Ball.

Women and Children First Used Book Sale

Sat, Aug. 1, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
and Sun., Aug. 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m
Location: Women & Children First
Title of Event: Used Book Sale
Used Book Sale, Saturday and Sunday, 10-6 daily.

Help support the Women’s Voices Fund and shop for incredible values at the same time at our annual used book sale. Scan the stacks for bargains galore in women’s fiction, gay and lesbian titles, non-fiction, children’s books, CDs and DVDs, and more.

The Myopic Poetry Series

Sunday, August 2nd
7:00

Myopic Books
1564 N. Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd Floor
Curated by Larry Sawyer



Kerri Sonnenberg & Guest



Upcoming:


Sunday, August 9 - Jennifer Karmin & James Belflower

Sunday, August 23 - Carrie Etter & Guest

Sunday, August 30 - Marvin Tate & Guest

Sunday, October 4 - Chicago Calling w/Dan Godston (additional readers TBA)

Mercury Cafe

7-9PM
July 31st

The Mercury Café

1505 W. Chicago Avenue

hosted by Vittorio (what is he doing on stage?) Carli

Features: Glenn Gamble (author of A Thousand Chances), Janet Kuypers, and Stephanie Lane Sutton

on the third and last Friday of every month at 7-9:00
Call 773-376-2378 or 312-455-9924 or e-mail
carlivit@gmail.com, the new identity theft resistant e-mail for more details

also see Vittorio Carli and ? at Starbucks on the 2nd Saturday in July at 2023 W Roscoe St (between Damen Ave & Seeley Ave)

See www.artinterviews.com to see vito’s interviews and reviews and see his new poetry blog at http://www.examiner.com/x- 9150-Chicago-Poetry-Examiner, See his new film reviews at www.reelmoviecritic.com.

Printer's Ball Sneak Peek #2: Prep Video

A behind the scenes look at production for the limited edition Printers' Ball art book...

Cutting:




Collating:




Drilling:

Her Mark 2010

Woman Made Gallery is proud to present Her Mark 2010, a publication with art and poetry by 48 women. Juror Maria Elena Buszek made the art selections, and Maureen Seaton juried the poetry entries. Designed by Karin Kuzniar and edited by Marty Bash, Her Mark 2010 includes a layout with color reproductions, poetry, and weekly calendar pages with holidays and moon cycles. In addition to the publication, WMG hosts an exhibition featuring most of the Her Mark 2010 artworks. The Artist Reception is on July 31st from 6 to 9 p.m. The Release Party and Reading is on August 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. Her Mark 2010 copies are available at the Artist Reception and Release Party or may be ordered for $15 per copy plus shipping. Please contact WMG by phone, 312-738-0400, or by email, gallery@womanmade.org.

Visual Artists who have their work in Her Mark 2010: Grazyna Adamska-Jarecka, Adriana Baltazar, Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman, Crisanta de Guzman, Kathleen Elliot, Rebecca Rose Greene, Judithe Hernández, Anjani Khanna, Margaret LeJeune, Aliza Lelah, Suyeon Na, Bonnie Peterson, Shari Pettis, Tara Polansky, Melissa Shook, Alice Simpson, Sylvia Steen, Verna Todd, Kate True, Iris Vazquez, Amy Wainwright, Angilee Wilkerson, Beatrice Wolert, and Elizabeth Wuerffel.

Poets included in Her Mark 2010: Beverly Boyd, Rosemary Ann Davis, Kelley Evans, Veer-Tess Frost, Jane Ellen Glasser, Ona Gritz, H.K. Hummel, Kiki Vera Johnson, Laurie Junkins, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Anna Leahy, Christine McKee, Coco Owen, Maureen Piggins, JC Reilly, Susan Richardson, cin salach, Mary Kolada Scott, Sheri Sorvillo, Judith Terzi, Judith Valente, Gale Renee Walden, Rachel Jamison Webster, and Andrena Zawinski.


Exhibition Dates: July 31 - August 27, 2009
Release Party: August 2, 2009 - 2-4 p.m.


WomanMade Gallery
685 N Milwaukee Ave.


http://www.womanmade.org/

Printers' Ball Eve

Dear Friends of Chicago Poetry Calendar,

You are invited to attend a special Printers' Ball industry party, hosted by MAKE MAGAZINE. Join us for an informally formal night in celebration of print people, immediately following the City of Chicago's "Cocktails and Conversation" with publishers from the Printers' Ball. Dress fancy and bring your business cards!

Printers' Ball Industry Night
Thursday, July 30
8pm to 12am
Angels and Kings
710 N Clark
rsvp [at] makemag.com

First guests receive a limited edition Printers' Ball art book!

Printers' Ball Sneak Peek

Bauhuas 9090

The Bauhaus celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, and “The Bauhaus: 90 Years / 90 Days” is a new project which commemorates the Bauhaus. Every day during this 90-day project (from July 6 till October 3), a project happens which creatively plays around with and pays homage to an aspect of the Bauhaus. Examples of those projects might include a dance performance inspired by Oskar Schlemmer’s ballet, a musical performance that uses a Kandinsky painting as a graphic score, a fiber art project inspired by Anni Albers’ work, a poem inspired by Walter Gropius’ architecture, a short story inspired by Marianne Brandt’s work, an essay reflecting on an aspect of the Bauhaus movement, and so on.

These events will be presented at different locations around the world. This website is being used to track and document day-by-day records of this project's happenings. Part of "The Bauhaus: 90 Years / 90 Days" will be part of The Fourth Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival (Oct. 1-11, 2009). “The Bauhaus: 90 Years / 90 Days” is being organized by the Borderbend Arts Collective and the Gropius in Chicago Coalition.

http://bauhaus9090.org/

---

15: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy Birthday Celebration (Monday, July 20)
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy was born on this date in 1895. We celebrate Moholy-Nagy's birthday with an evening of music, a reading, and the screening of a video -- at Brown Rice. 9 p.m. starting time.

screening of Moholy-Nagy's "Lobsters" & discussion of "Littlehampton's Lobsters"

Janina Ciezadlo reads from her memoir, which has connections to the design and social ideas of the Bauhaus.

performance of "Moholy #2" (composition by Guillermo Gregorio)
Guillermo Gregorio -- clarinet & saxophone
Christopher Preissing -- flute
Dan Godston -- trumpet & small instruments
Alex Wing -- upright bass
Joshua Manchester -- percussion

$5 suggested donation

---

20: "Chicago Bauhaus in July" (Saturday, July 25)
Chicago Bauhaus / Neu Bauhaus
Bau - Chicago - Haus
Baucago Chihaus

Saturday, July 25 (3-6 p.m.)
Acme Art Works
St Paul’s Cultural Center
2215 West North Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

You are invited to attend "Chicago Bauhaus in July," which features poetry and micro-fiction readings, an art talk, musical performances, a discussion about the Michael Reese Hospital, a "Metallic Fest" workshop, and a conversation about a new Cairo-Chicago project initiative. The purposes of "Chicago Bauhaus in July" are to creatively explore the Bauhaus spirit, and to raise awareness about the current effort to preserve the buildings on the Michael Reese Hospital campus.

* * *

Al DeGenova, Jamie Kazay, Charlie Newman, and Larry Sawyer read selections of their poetry.

David Boykin performs a set of solo percussion.

Amanda Marbais reads several micro-fiction pieces.

Members of the Gropius in Chicago Coalition give a presentation about the ongoing campaign to preserve the buildings designed by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, on the Michael Reese Hospital campus.

performance by Amalgamating --
Paul Hartsaw -- tenor saxophone
Dan Godston -- trumpet
Alex Wing -- drums
Jerome Bryerton -- drums

Bert Stabler gives a talk about how his artwork has been influenced by Bauhaus artists Paul Klee and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy.

Houreya Elsayed and Dan Godston talk about the Cairo-Chicago project, via skype.

"Metallic Festival" workshop
In 1929, the Bauhaus hosted a Metallic Festival, during which participants dressed up in metal outfits. Part of the impetus behind that was the Bauhaus' insistence that industrialization could be playful. Also, Bauhaus artist/choreographer Oskar Schlemmer created "Metal Dance," which explored metal as a material that has remarkable light-reflecting properties. Participants of the "Metallic Festival" workshop will design metal costumes, as well as have the opportunity to make hand-sculpted metal objects (such as hats and miniature buildings). Also, musicians will interact with the sounds of amplified metal, during a several-minute improvised piece.

$5 suggested donation, sliding scale

This event is hosted by the Near Northwest Arts Council at Acme Art Works, and it is co-organized by the Borderbend Arts Collective and the Gropius in Chicago Coalition.

Rhino Reads!

Friday, July 24th

Open Mike - 6:00 - 6:30
Featured Poets - 6:45 - 7:30

Brothers K
500 Main St.
Evanston, IL

Featuring: Sarah Carson & Helen Degen Cohen

Sarah Carson teaches writing and filmmaking at Westwood College and East West University. She is the author of the "Being a Screenwriter" series of books for children. She is currently finishing her MFA in creative writing at National Univ. in La Jolla, California and is an editor at Rhino.

Helen Degen Cohen (Halina Degenfisz) writes about (1) The War, and (2) Everything Else. Her major awards include the NEA in poetry, First Prize in British Stand Magazine's fiction competition, and 3 Illinois Arts Council awards. A former Artist-In-Education and instructor for Roosevelt University, she co-edits Rhino. Widely published, she has had two collections published in 2009, Habry, and On A Good Day One Discovers Another Poet, as well as another novel excerpt in Where We Find Ourselves (SUNY).

To order the new RHINO 2009, use PayPal, via our website:
www.rhinopoetry.org

The Fifth Annual Printers' Ball

design by Gina Rosemellia

Fred Sasaki has graciously volunteered to give us the scoop on this year's Fifth Annual Printers' Ball, so watch for his posts. Also coming soon, a slideshow sneak peak of this year's offerings.

Last Sunday of the Month Reading

On Sunday, July 26, Brewed Poets Society will present Last Sunday of the Month Readings at Brewed Awakening, 19 W Quincy, Westmont. Lots of open mic.

Cover charge $5, includes coffee or tea and pastry. Noon till 12:30; Poetry 12:30-2:00 p.m.

Moccasins and Microphones

Monday July 20th
6pm–7:30pm

lobby

The Newberry Library’s D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History
60 West Walton Street

Moccasins and Microphones
Poetry Performance by the Santa Fe Indian School Spoken Word Team
The Spoken Word Team is a group of indigenous youth
writers who are nationally recognized for their performances
of poetry that incorporates Native languages and philosophies.
A team member has been the New Mexico State Champion
of Poetry Out Loud, a national recitation contest sponsored
by the National Endowment for the Arts for four consecutive
years, 2006-2009. In 2008, the two team captains placed
first and second respectively in the Native American Student
Art Competition sponsored by the US Office of Indian
Education. In 2009, SFIS students won six of nine possible
prizes in this same national contest. The Santa Fe Indian
School is a flagship school in Native education that is owned
and operated by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico as a sovereign
territory. The student body includes youth from these 19
Pueblo communities and also has significant populations
of Navajo and Apache students.
Team Santa Fe 2009

Coaches

Tim McLaughlin
Amaryllis Moleski

Members
Nolan Eskeets (Navajo)
Davin Coriz (Santo Domingo/Ohkay Owingeh/Picuris)
Santana Shorty (Navajo)
Clara Natonabah (Navajo)
Stuart Chavez (Havasupai/Navajo/Zuni)
Ariel Antone (Tohono O’odham)

(312) 255-3700

Admission is free.

Monday, July 20 W4tB

7:30 pm

Jaks Tap
901 W. Jackson
Waiting 4 the Bus

Featuring...Maureen Flannery & Dena Pope

Hosted by Buddah309

W4tB is wowie-zowie on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month

Green Zone Baby

Women-From Bitch to Goddess and Back Again

Saturday, July 18th

7:00pm - 9:30pm

Creative Studio 2941

2941 West Belmont

WOMEN-FROM BITCH TO GODDESS AND BACK AGAIN A journey in poetry and prose

Poetry anyone ?? Save this date

Host: Robin Fine

Here We Go ! Save this date July 18th

A journey through poetry and prose

By Robin Fine

COME FILL YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS WITH WORDS BY POETIC GODDESSES

Tciket price 15.00$

Seating is limited so R.S.V.P.

R.S.V.P. 1-773-895-2748

Caffeine Theatre Call for Submissions

Caffeine Theatre seeks short original performance pieces of all kinds (music, dance, theatre, spoken word, poetry, etc.) for the Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret, September 9, 2009, at 7pm in the Storefront Theater Mezzanine (in the Loop, at 66 E Randolph). The Coffeehouse Cabaret celebrates the work of Welsh poet and playwright Dylan Thomas. Any and all pieces inspired by Thomas’ life, work, or themes are welcome. Out-of-Chicago artists are encouraged to send a script, music, poem, etc. to be performed/directed by in-town artists. Collaborations with Chicago arts organizations are welcome and encouraged. Please email a 1-2 page proposal (or, if the written piece already exists, send that) to Artistic Director Jennifer Shook at jen@caffeinetheatre.com including (with understanding that transformation occurs in process) a description of your proposed piece, how many people you expect to be involved, estimated length, and any required resources. (Consideration will be given to minimal pieces with brief setup and small spatial needs.) Please use “Coffeehouse submission” in the subject heading.

Some rehearsal space will be available on a first-come basis. Casting assistance is also available as required and appropriate.

The Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret is produced in association with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and in conjunction with Caffeine’s production of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, running at the Storefront Theater August 21-September 27.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 5, 2009.
Accepted pieces will be notified by August 12, 2009.
Caffeine also seeks original poetry for Eli Jenkins’ Five and Country Senses poetry competition. Submissions may include any size or style of poem, as long as it is inspired in some way by Dylan Thomas’ life or work, or in some way speaks in conversation with that life or work. Winners will be posted and podcast on Caffeine’s website, and performed at the Dylan Thomas Coffeehouse Cabaret on September 9. Any new or previously written poem may be submitted (provided it can be republished/ recorded/performed).
TO SUBMIT: Email poem(s) and 3-5 sentence description of relation to Dylan Thomas to Caffeine Theatre Artistic Director Jennifer Shook at jen@caffeinetheatre.com with “Eli Jenkins” in the subject heading. DEADLINE: August 16, 2009.

Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing Workshop

Wednesday, Jul 22

7-9 p.m.

Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing

Chicago State University

9501 South King Drive; DH 210-A

Workshop

Host: Quraysh Ali Lansana

One of America's most distinguished younger poets will conduct a poetry workshop at one of the few beacons of African-American literature in country: Chicago State University’s Gwendolyn Brooks Center.

Award winning poet and scholar Quraysh Ali Lansana will host a three-day workshop, July 22, 29 and August 5.

Each of the three workshop days go from 7-9 p.m.

The cost of the workshop is $100. The workshops will take place on the campus of Chicago State, 9501 South King Drive. A limited number of slots are available. Those interested in registering for the workshops should contact the Gwendolyn Brooks Center at 773-995-4440.

The workshop is an opportunity for poets – both novice and experienced – to be instructed by one of nation’s most distinguished poets in Lansana, who is the director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center and author of five volumes of poetry.

“His voice, imagery, and spare lyricism are influenced by poets Lucille Clifton, Sterling Brown and Walt Whitman. These are stories of protest and gratitude from a beautiful storyteller,” says poet Renny Golden in the forward of Lansana’s latest poetry collection, bloodsoil (sooner red) (Voices from the American Land, 2009).

Lansana’s other books of poetry include cockroach children: corner poems and street psalms (1995) and Southside Rain (2000) and They Shall Run (2004), a collection of poems based on the life of Harriet Tubman. Lansana is the author of a children’s book, The Big World (1999), and co-editor of Dream of a Word: The Tia Chucha Press Poetry Anthology (2006) and Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art, published in 2002.

In addition to serving as director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center, Lansana is also an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Chicago State University.

Contact: Tacuma R. Roeback, 773-995-4440

The Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing (GBC) was founded in 1990 on the historic campus of Chicago State University (CSU). It is named after Ms. Brooks, the former Poet Laureate of the State of Illinois and Distinguished Professor of English at Chicago State University. The Brooks Center is especially well known for its annual Gwendolyn Brooks Writers’ Conference, which is in its 18th year. The GBC is also home to the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent (IHOF), which has more than 150 inductees. Mr. Wright, whose plaque hangs in the Brooks Center, was inducted in the IHOF’s inaugural 1998 class.

FOURTH SUNDAYS RHINO POETRY WORKSHOPS

Sunday, July 26th

1:30-4:30

Evanston Public Library

Church & Orrington -- Room 108

FOURTH SUNDAYS RHINO POETRY WORKSHOPS

and peer exchange

sponsored by RHINO/the Poetry Forum

COME AND TRY OUT YOUR NEW WORK ON US!

Past leaders and readers and all poets welcome. Drop in, have poems critiqued, and participate in an ongoing discussion of poetry and poetics. Sessions are free* and no registration is required.

Leader: Steven Schroeder

Steven Schroeder is the co-founder, with composer Clarice Assad, of the Virtual Artists Collective (a “virtual” gathering of musicians, poets, and visual artists – vacpoetry.org) that has published five poetry collections each year since it began in 2004. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in After Hours, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Concho River Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The Cresset, Druskininkai Poetic Fall 2005, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Macao Closer, Mid-America Poetry Review, Poetry East, Poetry Macao, Rhino, Shichao, Sichuan Literature, Texas Review, TriQuarterly, Wichita Falls Literature & Art Review, and other literary journals. He has published two chapbooks, Theory of Cats and Revolutionary Patience, and three full-length collections, Fallen Prose, The Imperfection of the Eye, and Six Stops South. On Not Founding Rome, a philosophical meditation on the virtue of hesitation, is forthcoming from Cascade Books. He teaches at the University of Chicago in Asian Classics and the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults and at Shenzhen University in China.

TOPIC & OPPORTUNITY from Steve: For the July RHINO poetry workshop, I'd like to play a bit with the politics of call and response in poetry (keeping in mind that "politics" is about the cities we make for ourselves and others to live in). I have in mind my response to your poems, but I'm also open to your responses in your poems to other poems (and other calls). I invite you to send your poems (following the usual forum guidelines, one poem, no more than two pages) to me so I can respond not just with critique but also with poetry. You can send them by email or "regular" mail to reach me any time before 19 July:
schroeder@uchicago.edu

or

5710 S. Kimbark #3, Chicago, IL 60637-1615
We'll do the usual reading and critique around the circle--and this is an invitation, not a requirement. I'll use what I get as a basis for the short presentation at the beginning of the forum. Looking forward to seeing you next month... Thanks!
Steve

Bring 15 or more copies (no longer than two pages) of work you want critiqued.

*$5-$10 donation appreciated

This project has been partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

FOR MORE INFO: RHINOPOETRY.ORG

Open mike & feature every Tuesday...8:00-10:00

The Cafe

5115 N. Lincoln




Great poetry, great drinks, great googlie-mooglie!

$2 Admission

(And we do pass the Crown Royal bag for voluntary feature financial enhancement.)

The Café is a Poetry Green Zone.

Exact Change Only is now accepting submissions for its Winter issue. Submit between 1 – 5 poems at a time. We will read all styles and themes of poetry, as long as it is honest, quality material. Prefers poetry 50 lines or shorter.

We only accept submissions over e-mail. Poems should be attached as Word documents, with the poet’s name along with the names and number of poems attached. Include both e-mail and mail addresses.

Exact Change only acquires first rights. We accept only original unpublished work. No previously published poetry or simultaneous submissions. We tend to comment on rejected work. All contributing poets receive a special hand stitched copy of the journal.

All submissions must be sent by October 15th, 2009.

Send submissions to exactchangepress@gmail.com

Beach Poets, Sunday, July 12th

hosted by Cathleen Schandelmeier-Bartels

featuring Dan Godston & Liz Marino

Loyola Beach
Greenleaf and the Lake
South of the Heartland's "Stand in the Sand"
4 to 6 PM

July 19th at Myopic Books

Myopic Books
1564 N. Milwaukee Ave
Sunday, June 28
7pm.

Sunday, July 19 –

Thax Douglas & Friends



Upcoming:

Sunday, July 26 – Farrah Field, Jared White, Paul Hoover, & Maxine Chernoff

Sunday, August 2 – Kerri Sonnenberg & Guest

Sunday, August 9 - Jennifer Karmin & James Belflower

Sunday, August 23 - Carrie Etter & Guest

Sunday, August 30 - Marvin Tate & Guest

Sunday, October 4 - Chicago Calling w/Dan Godston (additional readers TBA)

Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards

Start: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - 7:30pm

Reading location:
Chopin Theatre
1534 W. Division (intersection of Division, Ashland and Milwaukee), Chicago, IL
Reading begins promptly at 7:30 p.m.


For those who wish to attend the performance – which are always amazing – we will request an admission fee of $5 for adults, $3 for students, children under 12 are free. (Please note that many of the poems have adult content.) The Guild Complex presents 95% of our readings free of charge. A few times a year, we ask for admission to help us underwrite additional costs for that particular reading. We know these are tough economic times. No one will be turned away.

Thanks,
The Guild Complex

Joan of Arc will perform at a literary / arts fundraiser for Requited Journal on Friday, July 31st at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia. A reading will begin at 9:00 pm and Joan of Arc will take the stage following. Readers will include Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Ira Murfin, Emily Anderson and more. The fundraiser will begin at 7:00 pm with a reception and fundraising sale. Tickets are $10.00.

Requited publishes and exhibits work that is subversive, thought-provoking and socially conscious. It offers an alternate venue for innovative art that pushes boundaries in theme or construction. It seeks to increase awareness of its artists and authors by making their work available to a wider audience through exhibitions, residencies and events. 2009 will see projects designed to bring artists together in a variety of spaces.

For more information, visit Requited Journal at
http://requitedjournal.com/ or Joan of Arc at http://www.joanfrc.com/.

Brave New Voices

International Youth Poetry Slam Festival
July 14-19
Kevin Coval hosts the finals at the Chicago Theatre (175 N State);
anyone under 24 gets in for a measly $8 to see young folks from "over 50 cities".

Friday July 17 @7 check out Saul Williams and Alix Olsen at "Bringing the Noise" at the Merle Reskin Theatre 60 E Balbo $10.

Life is Living
feat. Beau Sia & Saul Williams.
skating, basketball & soccer, dance battles, graffitti.
FREE Claredeon Plaza (at Montrose), Saturday July 18 10am-4pm

Semi-Finals at the MCA, Columbia, Chi Pub Radio HQ, & Biograph Theatre

www.Bravenewvoices.org

DePaul Summer Writing Conference

Lectures by esteemed writers, craft classes taught by some of the country's best writers and panel discussions on literary and practical topics make up the program of this new three-day conference. Participants will also enjoy the opportunity to take the podium and read from their own work.

DePaul Continuing and Professional Education program partners with the Department of English at DePaul and the Chicago Public Library on this one-of-a-kind event in downtown Chicago. You can sign up for the entire three days of the conference for $250 or select individual days that interest you for $100 each.

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DePaul Summer Writing Conference Schedule, July 17-19, 2009
NOTE ON ENTERING THE DEPAUL CENTER: Please enter the DePaul Center at the 333 S. State Street entrance and use the elevator bank closest to Barnes & Noble; also, on Sunday, 7/19, because of fire code requirements, all participants will need to sign the DePaul Center’s building log.


Day 1, Friday, July 17:
10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.
Registration: the conference begins with check-in and also open registration (checks or credit cards only) (Chicago Public Library main level)

11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Faculty Book Sales (Chicago Public Library lower level)

12:00-1:00 p.m.
Welcome & Keynote: “Writing & Responsibility”: Achy Obejas (Chicago Public Library’s Pritzker Auditorium)

2:00-4:00 p.m. Craft Classes:
*Poetry Class: “Basho’s Guide to Writing an Image”: James Shea (DePaul Center 8002)

*Fiction Class: "From Character to Action: Working on the move that is the hallmark of literary fiction": Dan Stolar (DePaul Center 8005)

*Nonfiction Class: "Writing What You Don't Know You Know: Discovery in Creative Nonfiction": Michele Morano (DePaul Center 8010)


3:30-4:30 p.m. Faculty Book Sales (DePaul Center, 8th floor, Conference Services lobby)

5:00-7:00 p.m. Faculty Book Sales (DePaul Center Terrace, 11th floor)

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Readings (DePaul Center Terrace, 11th floor): Achy Obejas (fiction), Michele Morano (nonfiction), David Trinidad (poetry)

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Day 2, Saturday, July 18:
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Registration (checks or credit cards only) (DePaul Center 8th floor Conference Services lobby)

11:00a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Faculty Book Sales (DePaul Center 8th floor Conference Services lobby)

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Craft Classes:
*Poetry Class: “Poetry as Play”: Chris Green (DePaul Center 8002)

*Fiction Class: “Wait, Wait, Don't Give up on Me Yet - I'm Just Getting to the Good Part: Writing Effective Openings”: Christine Sneed (DePaul Center 8005)

*Nonfiction Class: “Research 101”: Miles Harvey (DePaul Center 8010)

1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Registration (checks or credit cards only) (DePaul Center 8th floor Conference Services lobby)

2:00-3:00 p.m.
Panel: “Publishing in Literary Magazines”: Garnett Kilberg Cohen (fiction), Tony Trigilio (poetry), Eula Biss (nonfiction) (DePaul Center 8005)

3:00-4:00 p.m.:
Publication Panels:

*Panel: “Publishing Poetry Chapbooks and Books”: Tony Trigilio, Josh Corey, Kristy Bowen (DePaul Center 8002)

*Panel: “Publishing Novels and Short Story Collections”: Dan Stolar, Garnett Kilberg Cohen, Bayo Ojikutu (DePaul Center 8005)

*Panel: “Publishing Nonfiction Books”: Michele Morano, Miles Harvey, Eula Biss (DePaul Center 8010)

5:00-7:00 p.m. Faculty Book Sales (DePaul Center Terrace, 11th floor)

5:30-6:30 p.m.:
Readings: Dan Stolar (fiction), Miles Harvey (nonfiction), Martha Modena Vertreace-Doody (poetry) (DePaul Center Terrace, 11th floor)

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Day 3, Sunday, July 19:
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Registration (checks or credit cards only) (DePaul Center 8th floor Conference Services lobby)

10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Faculty Book Sales (DePaul Center 8th floor Conference Services lobby)

10:00-11:45 a.m. Craft Classes:
*Poetry Class: “Meditation and Writing”: Tony Trigilio (DePaul Center 8009)

*Fiction Class: “Writing the Novel in the Short-Short Age”: Bayo Ojikutu (DePaul Center 8005)

*Memoir Class: "Voice Lessons: Crafting an Engaging Narrator in Memoir": Michele Morano (DePaul Center 8010)

12:00-1:00 p.m.
Sack Lunch Panel:
Panel: “Finding Jobs as a Creative Writer”: Tony Trigilio, Ellen Wadey, Paula McQuade (DePaul Center 8005)

1:30-4:00 p.m.
Faculty Book Sales (Chicago Public Library lower level)

2:00-3:00 p.m.
Closing Panel:
Panel: “Ethics in Memoir”: Michele Morano, Jackie Taylor, and Carol LaChapelle (Chicago Public Library’s Pritzker Auditorium)

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Conference Participants Open Mike (sign-up sheets for 3 minute reading slots will be passed out in the craft classes on Sunday morning) & Scholarship Winners Reading: Kristen Ravel (Poetry), Erin Gadd (Fiction), and Jason Brown (Nonfiction)
(Chicago Public Library’s Pritzker Auditorium)

Red Rover Series / Experiment #31

Red Rover Series
{readings that play with reading}

Experiment #31:
Talk Walk Talk - Peripatetic Writing

SATURDAY, JULY 11
7pm

Featuring:
A D Jameson & Michelle Tupko

NEW LOCATION
at the Orientation Center
2129 N. Rockwell
corner of Milwaukee/Rockwell
left side of the Congress Theater building
suggested donation $4

A D JAMESON is a writer, performer, and video artist. His fiction and reviews have appeared in the Denver Quarterly, Fiction International, the Mississippi Review Online, the Review of Contemporary Fiction, American Book Review, and elsewhere. He's also directed music videos for the Kill Rock Stars bands Xiu Xiu and Mecca Normal.

MICHELLE TUPKO received her MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and holds a BA in Photography and Filmmaking. Her writing is published in Performance Research and White Walls journals. She is currently writing a book about mountains and the way the foot moves.

Red Rover Series is curated by Lisa Janssen and Jennifer Karmin. Each event is designed as a reading experiment with participation by local, national, and international writers, artists, and performers. The series was founded in 2005 by Amina Cain and Jennifer Karmin.

Email ideas for reading experiments to us at redroverseries@yahoogroups.com

2-4 p.m
Sunday, July 12

Woman Made Gallery

675 North Milwaukee Avenue

“Collaboration”:

An Official Printers’ Ball Lead-up Event!

Free admission

For this event, writers’ work and/or performance will involve interaction with other writers, performers, art forms, media, maybe even with the audience. Participants in the event include

Simone Muench and Philip Jenks, presenting collaboratively written poetry;

Mars Gamba-Adisa Caulton, working with her own music;

performance poetry duo Marty McConnell and Andi Strickland;

Jennifer Karmin, in a live improvised collaborative performance of the text-sound epic Aaaaaaaaaaalice with Chicago writers Carrie Olivia Adams, Daniel Godston, Laura Goldstein, Amira Hanafi, Coman Poon, and Larry Sawyer;

and curator Nina Corwin in collaboration with Janice Misurell-Mitchell, internationally known improvisational flautist.

Presented by Woman Made Gallery

More info at:

http://www.womanmade.org/poetry.html

Chicago Underground Library celebrates the Science of Obscurity!


The Chicago Underground Library celebrates “The Science of Obscurity,” an evening of new, unpublished, and in-progress works presented as science fair experiments. The night will also feature a public book launch via catapult and the mass purging of rejection letters–community literary rituals in need of revival!

If you are a writer, publisher, bookmaker, or booklover of any stripe who has recently finished writing a book, has published a book in the past year, or just feels like taking out some aggression on a publication of your choice, we invite you to celebrate by launching your work into space–or at least halfway down the block. We define “book” broadly, so zines, magazines, chapbooks, textbooks, and more are welcome. Read a paragraph, then release!

And while we’re busy launching texts outside, we’ll be dissecting the mysteries of the literary universe inside. Join a dozen local, national, and international writers as they intricately explain the scientific principles underlying their work, real or imagined. Dioramas! Volcanoes! Colorful graphs! Higher mathematics!

We’ll cap the remarkable evening with the shredding and launch of your collective rejection letters, so take them out of storage and cart them along to hand over to our nurturing, accepting staff at the Rejection Table.

This event is free and for all ages. Its other attractions will include the dazzling debut of the Chicago Underground Library’s artist-designed drop boxes, debutantes, prizes, and a raffle!

This is an official Printers’ Ball lead up event. Save the date for the Ball on July 31st at Columbia College’s Center for Book and Paper Arts!

Logistics
Friday, 10 July 2009, 7–10pm
Jupiter Outpost (1139 W. Fulton Market, Chicago) Map
Food and drink will be available for sale + BYOB
Free, all ages

@ the cafe

Open mike & feature every Tuesday...8:00-10:00

The Cafe

5115 N. Lincoln

Great poetry, great drinks, great googlie-mooglie!

$2 Admission

(And we do pass the Crown Royal bag for voluntary feature financial enhancement.)

The Café is a Poetry Green Zone.

Call for Submissions

Nirala Publications (New Delhi/Kathmandu) has announced the forthcoming publication of Chicagoland Poets, the latest poetry anthology in a distinguished series that includes the poets of London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. The 300-page anthology, edited by Illinois poets Robin Metz and Nina Corwin, will be launched in Chicago, New York, London, New Delhi, and Kathmandu for worldwide distribution. The series editor is Yuyutsu R.D. Sharma. Poets born or currently living in Chicago may submit up to five poems of any length on any subject (including, especially, poems about Chicago and environs or southeast Asia). While unpublished poems are preferred, previously published poems are welcomed. A statement indicating that the poet retains reprint rights (as well as where the poem appeared) should accompany each submission of previously published poems. A brief biographical statement (100 words) including the poet’s ties to Chicago area should also accompany the submission as well as complete contact info. Poets not born or currently living in Chicago may also submit up to five poems (as above, with accompanying rights/biographical statement(s)) on any subject related to Chicago. Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2009 and should be emailed to: Nina at treehouse523 (at) sbcglobal.net in a SINGLE .doc or .rtf file or sent snail-mail addressed to: Chicagoland Poets c/o Nina Corwin 523 S Plymouth Ct. Chicago, IL 60605.


Please include SASE for reply only. MSS will not be returned. Poets included in the anthology will receive a complimentary copy.

7:30 p

Jaks Tap

901 W. Jackson

Waiting 4 the Bus

Featuring...Janet Kuypers...and Janet sez: Hi there... It's my birthday, and my husband takes a flight out of town this morning on a work trip. So I figure, since I'm here, and it's a Monday, it's exactly two weeks before my next poetry reading feature/performance art show. So I figured I'd send you an ultra-early message to let you know about it...July 6th is the first time I will be featured at Waiting 4 the Bus (W4tB is an energetic, eclectic, electric poetry powerhouse that fires up on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, hosted by Buddah309... Right by the Loop in downtown Chicago at Jaks Tap — the back room, 901 W. Jackson, Chicago IL 60035). This 7:30-10pm evening starts with an open mic, and features get a 20 minute set each... I have seen two features during an evening at Waiting 4 the Bus — and for this July 6th show, I am the only feature for the night (so I'm pulling out all the stops for this show!). After seeing one acts of play performances in Chicago 05/17/09 (where one was of a single man telling a story, like a prose poem), I thought that this show of mine on 07/06/09 at Waiting 4 the Bus is exactly that — a series of "one acts". So this is bound to be a fascinating event with not only background noise (including bus noise and one-line sampling from Soul Coughing, but also water sound effects and meditation music) and projected images and videos with a new large screen for my artwork during the performance. Tack on a few picture frames with images from around the world on display throughout the show, and there will be tons in this performance art show at this new downtown Chicago venue! So you've got the date early... if you're interested - stop by this evening by the Loop in downtown at Waiting 4 the Bus (at Jaks Tap — the back room, 901 W. Jackson) right after the 4th of July celebrations!

Janet Kuypers

http://www.janetkuypers.com

Scars Publications

http://scars.tv

Art & Radio

http://www.chaoticarts.org

and take some POETRY POT LUCK

Hosted by Buddah309

W4tB is wowie-zowie on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month

Green Zone Baby

July 5: Buckminster Fuller Performance

Jen & Ira & You at the MCA Meet Buckminster Fuller Meeting the Hippies in Golden Gate Park : A Re-Performance

SUNDAY, JULY 5th

2-4:30pm

4th-floor lobby

Museum of Contemporary Art

220 East Chicago Avenue

DURATIONAL PERFORMANCE

instigated by Jennifer Karmin & Ira S. Murfin

This is a performance of a transcript of the video Buckminster Fuller Meets the Hippies in Golden Gate Park. You are invited to watch this performance for as long or as briefly as you like. You are also invited to be a performer in it. You may participate for as long or as briefly as you like, and return as often as you wish.

FINAL DAY OF EXHIBIT

Buckminster Fuller: Starting with the Universe is a fascinating mix of utopian vision and organic pragmatism, combining models, sketches, and other artifacts -- many on view for the first time -- represent six decades of the artist's integrated approach to housing, transportation, communication, and cartography. The exhibition features numerous models of Fuller's projects including his famous geodesic dome. Fuller's extensive connections with Chicago are also highlighted through photographs and documents from his years spent living, teaching, and working in the city.

JENNIFER KARMIN is the author of the text-sound epic Aaaaaaaaaaalice (Flim Forum Press, forthcoming 2009). She curates the Red Rover Series and is a founding member of the public art group Anti Gravity Surprise. Her multidisciplinary projects have been presented nationally at festivals, artist-run spaces, and on city streets including: Betalevel (CA), Links Hall (IL), the Poetry Project (NY), the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (MI), and Woodland Pattern Book Center (WI). The recipient of numerous grants and residencies, Jennifer teaches creative writing to immigrants at Truman College and works as a Poet in Residence for the Chicago Public Schools. Recent poems are published in the journals Cannot Exist, MoonLit, Otoliths, and anthologized in Come Together: Imagine Peace (Bottom Dog Press), Not A Muse (Haven Books), and The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century (Cracked Slab Books).

IRA S. MURFIN is a writer, educator, and theatre maker. His writing has appeared in Requited, elimae, Fiction at Work, Lark(!), Mobius, and the book The Mind Garden, among other places. Ira is Co-Artistic Director of the Laboratory for Enthusiastic Collaboration and a founding member of the Laboratory for the Development of Substitute Materials, two devised theatre collectives. His solo and collaborative writing and performance work has been presented at venues including the Chicago Cultural Center, Links Hall, Version Fest, The Neo-Futurists, Prop Thtr, the Chicago Calling Festival, by Walkabout Theater at the Peter Jones Gallery, and the Red Rover, Powells North, Quickies, and Reconstruction Room reading series. Ira is also the former Head of the Soleri Book Initiative at the urban design project Arcosanti. He lives in Chicago and teaches writing at North Park University, St. Augustine College, and with Urban Gateways.

Monday, July 13th

:00 -- open mic sign-up begins

7:30 -- open mic (5 minutes per reader)

9:00 -- featured reader

Molly Malone's Irish Pub

7652 Madison Street

Forest Park, IL

708-366-8073

Join us for a very special evening with BUDDAH309

The Molly Malone's Open Mic with your hosts Nina Corwin and Al DeGenova invites you to be part of one of the longest running and most highly respected open mics in the Chicago area.

$5 if you can, $3 if you can't

(mark your calendars!) Upcoming Molly’s featured readers:

August 10: Wayne Allen Jones

September 14: Chad Sweeney

October 12: Susan Hahn

November 9: Tara Betts

Poetry/fiction at Molly's is the second Monday of every month.

Feel free to forward this notice to your writing pals...we love new faces with new voices.

Series A, July 8th

Series A: Mary Kasimor and Carrie Hunter
July 8, 2009
Hyde Park Art Center

Come to Series A on July 8th at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago to hear Mary Kasimor and Carrie Hunter. The reading takes place from 7-8. The HPAC is at 5020 S. Cornell. Parking is easy, and it's easy to get to on public transportation. BYOB.