Celebrate National Poetry Month with the Chicago Public Library! Join us Saturday, April 24th, 2010 for the 11th annual Poetry Fest, a free festival of poetry readings, workshops, performances and discussions, all under one roof.
Poetry and Revision: Poetry Workshop with Margie Skelly
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Multi-Purpose A
When, if ever, is a poem finished? What do magazines look for in the poems they publish and how can you revise your work to meet the criteria? Is a poem “finished” once it has been published? In this workshop, Skelly will share the first draft of a poem and then explore the processes involved in revising it for publication. Participants will spend time reworking their own poetry. At the end of class, participants will have an opportunity to read their poetry to the group and Skelly will share one of her own “finished” poems. Participants are strongly encouraged to bring a poem they would like to revise to the workshop.
Margie Skelly's poem "Encomium for a Sestina" won first place for the Jo-Anne Hirshfield Poetry Memorial Awards in April 2009, and "Taize Prayer" won second place in the Niles Public Library Poetry Contest in May 2009. She is currently sending out her poetry book, Just a Lift of the Wing Away, for possible publication.
Are YOU Listening?: Poetry Reading featuring Brother Mike and iRemix Spoken Word
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Video Theatre
The iRemix Spoken Word group from YOUmedia will perform poetry by their favorite poets and original works inspired by those poets. Students will preview The Digital Choreopoem (3-5 minute poetry music videos).
Poetry Off the Shelf: Cornelius Eady
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Auditorium
Common themes in Cornelius Eady’s poetry include jazz and the blues, family life, violence, and societal problems stemming from questions of race and class. His many honors include the Lamont Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets for Victims of the Latest Dance Craze (1985), grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Fund. The Gathering of My Name (1991) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and Brutal Imagination (2001) was a National Book Award finalist. In 1996, Eady and poet Toi Derricote founded Cave Canem, a nonprofit organization that supports emerging African-American poets. At present he is associate professor of English and director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame. Co-sponsored with the Poetry Foundation
RHINO Reading: Poetry Reading featuring the Poets of RHINO Magazine
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Lower Level Reception Hall
RHINO is an annual journal featuring excellent new writing that is quirky, fresh, sometimes astounding and always engaging. Based in Evanston, RHINO has been publishing poetry, flash fiction, and translations for more than 30 years. RHINO editors will read from their brand-new 2010 issue, with a special focus on Illinois writers. Please come and see why Literary Magazine Review calls RHINO “A testament to the imagination…an annual that anyone interested in American poetry should attend to.”
A Glass Darkly: Combining Poetry and Film in the Internet Age
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Video Theatre
A screening and discussion of short films by contemporary poets experimenting with the digital combination of word and image. Movie-poems selected by Nathan Slawson (editor, Dear Camera online magazine) and Carrie Olivia Adams (poet, filmmaker) will be screened, including works by Adams, Zachary Schomburg, Kate Greenstreet, and others.
Poetry Cram: Open Mic Hosted by C.J. Laity
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Lower Level Reception Hall
Discover new voices, share new work, and see diverse Chicago poetry styles on display. The Poetry Cram is an open mic event where every attempt will be made to “cram” as many poets into one performance as possible. Published poets from several local presses and representatives from local poetry organizations will also read their works.
Advance registration is recommended at the ChicagoPoetry.com exhibitor table in the Grand Lobby, where you can also pick up a free Cram chapbook, or in the Lower Level Reception Hall before the start of the program. Each poet will be allowed to read for three minutes or less.
C.J. Laity is the publisher of ChicagoPoetry.com and has organized, hosted and been featured at various literary events in Chicago over the last two decades, including events for the 2009 AWP Conference, the City of Chicago Blues Festival and the 2009 Printers’ Ball.
Poetry Wheel: Demonstration & Open Mic
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
Multipurpose Room A
The Poetry Wheel combines collaboration and spontaneity as poets make larger connections between shared poetry. Following a kickoff poem, the Wheel progresses as successive readers spin off with their own poem related by image, theme, subject or form. After a demonstration by Poets’ Club members, audience members will have the opportunity to join the Wheel by connecting their poems to those of the Club and each other.
Since 1937, the Poets’ Club of Chicago has played many roles on the Chicago poetry scene. It functions as a critique group for its members, who have published dozens of books from a variety of publishers, and have won many contests. Over the years, the Club has also produced several anthologies, established the Poets and Patrons workshops and ChicagoLand Contest, and sponsored the annual Helen Schaible Sonnet Contest.
