¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!
2025-12-03 18:30 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Taqueria El Mezquite, 1756 W 18th St, Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States
Last chance!

Join us for the final Slam Diáspora of 2025 – the first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago. Participants have a chance to win a trip to a Latin American country (TBD) to compete in the international slam. Hosted and curated by Crystal Vance Guerra and Luis Tubens “Logan Lu.”

Schedule
6:30– Doors open/Sign Up7:00– Slam Starts8:30– Open Mic9:00– ¡ADIOS!

Open to poets of all styles and ages! From anyone who is just starting, to anyone who has been writing for decades, are all welcome to participate.

Requirements:

Slam– 2 poems in Spanish/SpanglishOpen Mic– Any genre of performance art in any language!

We believe that poetry pertains to everyone, and that all of us carry it within us. This slam is to experiment, play, and to let the words flow.

Remember: the point is not the points, the point is the community. We want to nurture a poetic community, and invite new people to participate as audience members, as poets, and as spoken-word lovers.

Slam Diáspora is the first Spanish slam in the U.S. and aims to create a space that unites Latinx poets in the US with poets in Latin America, to form a poetry community despite borders.

Participants and winners from last year can participate again!

¡Abierto a poetas de todos estilos y edades! Desde quien apenas esta empezando a escribir, a quienes llevan décadas escribiendo– todos están bienvenidos a participar.

Requisitos:

Slam– Dos poemas (en español/spanglish)Open Mic– Música/Poesía/Cuento etc, en cualquier idioma

Creemos que la poesía le pertenece a todxs, y que todxs traemos poesía adentro. Este Slam es para experimentar, jugar, y dejar que la palabra fluya.

Recuerden: el punto no son los puntos, sino la comuna. Queremos crecer como comunidad poética, e invitar a nuevas personas a participar como audiencia, cómo poetas, y cómo amantes de la palabra viva.

Slam Diáspora es el primer slam de poesía en español de los EEUU y busca crear un espacio que une poetas Latinx en los EEUU con poetas en Latinoamérica para fomentar una comunidad poética a pesar de las fronteras.

¡Participantes y ganadores del año pasado pueden participar de nuevo!

¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!
2025-11-12 18:30 - 21:00 | Taqueria El Mezquite, 1756 W 18th St, Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States
The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! Participants have a chance to win a free trip to a Latin American country (TBD) to compete in the international slam. Hosted and curated by Crystal Vance Guerra and Luis Tubens “Logan Lu.”

Schedule
6:30– Doors open/Sign Up7:00– Slam Starts8:30– Open Mic9:00– ¡ADIOS!

Open to poets of all styles and ages! From anyone who is just starting, to anyone who has been writing for decades, are all welcome to participate.

Requirements:Slam– 2 poems in Spanish/SpanglishOpen Mic– Any genre of performance art in any language!

We believe that poetry pertains to everyone, and that all of us carry it within us. This slam is to experiment, play, and to let the words flow.

Remember: the point is not the points, the point is the community. We want to nurture a poetic community, and invite new people to participate as audience members, as poets, and as spoken-word lovers.

Slam Diáspora is the first Spanish slam in the U.S. and aims to create a space that unites Latinx poets in the US with poets in Latin America, to form a poetry community despite borders.

Participants and winners from last year can participate again!

¡Abierto a poetas de todos estilos y edades! Desde quien apenas esta empezando a escribir, a quienes llevan décadas escribiendo– todos están bienvenidos a participar.

Requisitos:Slam– Dos poemas (en español/spanglish)Open Mic– Música/Poesía/Cuento etc, en cualquier idioma

Creemos que la poesía le pertenece a todxs, y que todxs traemos poesía adentro. Este Slam es para experimentar, jugar, y dejar que la palabra fluya.

Recuerden: el punto no son los puntos, sino la comuna. Queremos crecer como comunidad poética, e invitar a nuevas personas a participar como audiencia, cómo poetas, y cómo amantes de la palabra viva.

Slam Diáspora es el primer slam de poesía en español de los EEUU y busca crear un espacio que une poetas Latinx en los EEUU con poetas en Latinoamérica para fomentar una comunidad poética a pesar de las fronteras.

¡Participantes y ganadores del año pasado pueden participar de nuevo!

Culture is Our Weapon: The Power of the Word - Amiri Baraka
2025-10-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Front Porch Arts Center, 5851 W Madison St, Chicago, Illinois, 60644, United States
HotHouse has developed a rich series of programming that shines a spotlight on artists that took great risk to speak out against the prevailing and dominant State forces – often constituted in dictatorships brutally repressing political (and artistic) opposition, or otherwise antagonistic to human rights.Partnering with the HotHouse, The Guild Complex has curated two events related to this theme. Aligning historical voices with local contemporary multi-disciplinary writers, these special programs will re-assert the mutual commitment to present and affirm “we will not go back,” and we will not accept the re- writing of our experiences through the lens of neo-colonial impositions. Culture is our Weapon!

On Sunday, Oct 19th, the Guild Complex will present a screening of the documentary, The Power of the Word featuring author/activist Amiri Baraka. This will be immediately followed by a brief discussion and reading with Billy Tuggle, Antonio Foli and Kao Ra Zen.

Antonio Foli (formerly kwabena foli) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, filmmaker, and scholar born in Belgium and raised on the South Side of Chicago. His work spans poetry, digital collage, cinema, and academic research, all rooted in a deep exploration of Black interiority, masculinity, mental health, and ancestral memory. He is the author of three major poetry collections: learning rhythm (Flowered Concrete), a lyrical biomyth rooted in journaling and healing pedagogy; ON GOD (Candor Arts), a visceral portrait of urban spirituality and street language; and THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SAY OUR NAME, a self-published collection confronting grief, race, and bipolar disorder type-II through a distinctly Black lens. His poems have appeared in The Los Angeles Review, Meridian, Crab Orchard Review, Salt Hill, Cream City Review, and others. He has performed nationally as a Chicago Poetry Slam Champion and appeared at venues and platforms such as the All Def Poetry and the Green Mill. Foli’s visual/digital work blends photography, design, and collage into ritualized archives—most notably in series like god gives rest/not sleep, blk excellence, and juke. His triptychs and digital altars have been exhibited at Seerveld Gallery, Elastic Arts, Chicago Artist Coalition and have been shared over 400 million times online. His aesthetic centers lo-fi techniques, ancestral rhythm, and spiritual narrative—honoring Black grief, celebration, and stillness as sacred acts.His cinematic debut, Rise of the Tiger, is a psychological martial arts horror film set in 1969 Harlem. Told in stark black and white, it explores trauma, hallucination, and obsession through the descent of a prodigious fighter. The film expands on his written work’s themes—dissecting legacy, delusion, and the metaphysical cost of becoming a legend. Foli holds a B.A. in Sociology and an M.A. in Communication Studies from Southern Illinois University. He’s also held residencies at Ragdale, Banff Centre for Arts, and the Poetry Center of Chicago. His academic interests include Black media theory, trauma representation, spiritual poetics, and performance as pedagogy. He has served as a teaching artist, workshop facilitator, and cultural worker in both academic and community spaces, weaving scholarship with creativity and ritual.Across form and field, Antonio Foli creates work that is devotional, interrogative, and deeply human.

Billy Tuggle is a parent, husband, educator, mentor, and proud South Side Chicagoan. A literary games competitor, recognized by Odyssey On-line as one of the “Top 30 Slam Poets over 30. His work has been displayed at the Chicago HipHop Heritage Museum, often centering on urban culture, social justice, and Afrofuturism. Among two volumes, several chapbooks, and numerous anthology & journal placements, Billy’s latest collection- A Tree (Falls In) The Hood- is available from Swimming With Elephants Press. It earned him a “Best New Collection” nod in the Chicago Reader 2024 poll; and a Pushcart Prize nomination.

Kao Ra Zen is a Chicago-based rapper, spoken word poet, multimedia performance artist, video director, recording engineer, curator, photographer, and educator. Kao has performed and/or curated at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Symphony Center, DANK-Haus, Elastic Arts, Constellation, Alhambra Palace, Oliva Gallery, and Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago; in addition to performances and screenings in New York; Berlin, Germany; and turku, Finland. Kao earned his Associate in Fine Arts degree from Harold Washington College and then earned his BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Much of Kao’s written, musical, and performance work addresses historical and contemporary societal concerns, existential matters, and promotes self expression, fostering community, and challenging oppressive systems and intolerant perspectives.

Culture is Our Weapon: Lucille Clifton and Sonia Sanchez, Good Women and Baddd
2025-10-18 14:00 - 16:00 | Front Porch Arts Center, 5851 W Madison St, Chicago, Illinois, 60644, United States
HotHouse has developed a rich series of programming that shines a spotlight on artists that took great risk to speak out against the prevailing and dominant State forces – often constituted in dictatorships brutally repressing political (and artistic) opposition, or otherwise antagonistic to human rights.

Partnering with the HotHouse, The Guild Complex has curated two events related to this theme. Aligning historical voices with local contemporary multi-disciplinary writers, these special programs will re-assert the mutual commitment to present and affirm “we will not go back,” and we will not accept the re- writing of our experiences through the lens of neo-colonial impositions. Culture is our Weapon!

On Sat Oct 18th, the Guild Complex will present a screening of the film from the Lannan Foundation: Writers Uncensored-Lucille Clifton and Sonia Sanchez, Good Women and Baddd. This will be immediately followed by a brief discussion led by author Dr. Tara Betts, from the DePaul University Department of Peace Studies, along with a reading featuring Keli Stewart, poet/writer, and Angelique Zobitz.

Dr. Tara Betts, Ph.D. is the author of Refuse to Disappear, Break the Habit, and Arc & Hue. She also coedited The Beiging of America and edited a critical edition of Philippa Duke Schuyler’s Adventures in Black and White, and Carving Out Rights from Inside the Prison Industrial Complex. In addition to her work as a teaching artist and mentor for young poets, she has taught at several universities and at Stateville Prison via the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project. She is the Inaugural Poet for the People Practitioner Fellow at University of Chicago. Betts currently serves as Poetry Editor at The Langston Hughes Review.

Keli Stewart (she/her) is an author, educator, and arts activist whose writing has been published in Rhino, Meridians, and WarpLand: A Journal of Black Literature and Ideas, among others. Her published works include the full-length collection Small Altars (Bronzeville Books, 2021). She has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, an Adrienne Reiner Hochstadt Award, and an Augusta Savage Gallery Arts International Residency. Stewart was a 2021-2022 School of the Art Institute of Chicago Nichols Tower Artist-in-Residence. An alum of the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation and Callaloo summer writing workshops, her writing won first place for a Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award from the Illinois Center for the Book. She earned a BA in fiction writing from Columbia College in 2002 and an MFA in poetry from Chicago State University. She is proud to be the founder and executive director of Front Porch Arts Center and founder of WestSide Arts House, for which she opens her historic Victorian home to her community on Chicago’s West Side.

Angelique Zobitz (she/her) writes from the lineage of Black womxn, resilience, and lyrical reclamation. Her debut full-length collection, Seraphim (CavanKerry Press, 2024), explores joy as communal resistance and was a finalist for the 2023 Jake Adam York Prize and a semifinalist for the 2022 Philip Levine Prize. She’s also a chapbook author: Burn Down Your House (Milk & Cake Press, 2021), a white-out erasure of Madeleine L’Engle’s marriage, and Love Letters to The Revolution (American Poetry Journal, 2020). Her work has earned finalist spots for the 2022 St. Lawrence, Tupelo, and Georgia Poetry Prizes, plus nods from Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and Pushcart Prize. Her poems appear in Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, The Journal, Sugar House Review, About Place, and many others. She holds a B.A. in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has served as Poetry Editor at The Night Heron Barks and Ran Off with the Star Bassoon and Contributing Editor at Cave Wall. She writes to honor maternal legacies and to reimagine survival beyond colonial narratives. Find her at angeliquezobitz.com and @angeliquezobitz.

¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!
2025-10-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Taqueria El Mezquite, 1756 W 18th St, Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States
Schedule
6:30– Doors open/Sign Up7:00– Slam Starts8:30– Open Mic9:00– ¡ADIOS!

Open to poets of all styles and ages! From anyone who is just starting, to anyone who has been writing for decades, are all welcome to participate.

Requirements:Slam– 2 poems in Spanish/SpanglishOpen Mic– Any genre of performance art in any language!

We believe that poetry pertains to everyone, and that all of us carry it within us. This slam is to experiment, play, and to let the words flow.

Remember: the point is not the points, the point is the community. We want to nurture a poetic community, and invite new people to participate as audience members, as poets, and as spoken-word lovers.

Slam Diáspora is the first Spanish slam in the U.S. and aims to create a space that unites Latinx poets in the US with poets in Latin America, to form a poetry community despite borders.

Participants and winners from last year can participate again!

¡Abierto a poetas de todos estilos y edades! Desde quien apenas esta empezando a escribir, a quienes llevan décadas escribiendo– todos están bienvenidos a participar.

Requisitos:Slam– Dos poemas (en español/spanglish)Open Mic– Música/Poesía/Cuento etc, en cualquier idioma

Creemos que la poesía le pertenece a todxs, y que todxs traemos poesía adentro. Este Slam es para experimentar, jugar, y dejar que la palabra fluya.

Recuerden: el punto no son los puntos, sino la comuna. Queremos crecer como comunidad poética, e invitar a nuevas personas a participar como audiencia, cómo poetas, y cómo amantes de la palabra viva.

Slam Diáspora es el primer slam de poesía en español de los EEUU y busca crear un espacio que une poetas Latinx en los EEUU con poetas en Latinoamérica para fomentar una comunidad poética a pesar de las fronteras.

¡Participantes y ganadores del año pasado pueden participar de nuevo!

¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!
2025-09-10 19:00 - 21:00 | PACH 21, 2141 W 21st St, Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States

SAY THEIR NAMES Community Salon w/ NON:op
2025-06-06 18:00 - 21:00 | Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone, Chicago, IL, United States
Get Tickets

Join us on June 6 at Experimental Station in Woodlawn as we remember Black Americans killed by police violence and honor the memory of Ronald Browne, lead researcher and one of the originators of the SAY THEIR NAMES project. Join us for food and drinks, a demonstration of the new and database, live art-making, and the presentation of the STN commissioned artists who will talk about how their new works will engage with the map.

June 6, 6pm • Experimental Station6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

Experimental Station is wheelchair accessible.For other accessibility requests contact non [at] nonopera [dot] org

¡SLAM EN VIVO!
2024-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 W. 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States
A la mitad de nuestra serie ¡SLAM EN VIVO!

Todxs tenemos poemas, todxs tenemos algo que decir, compartalo en este espacio de juego, apego, y fuego 🔥

No importa que nunca hayas compartido tus versos, solo necesitas dos poemas para participar (all styles welcome!)

Como siempre, tenemos un Juez de Honor increible: Carlos Cumpian 💥

Carlos Cumpián is a chicano poet, editor & teacher. His poetry & community work been recognized by the Illinois Library Assoc. & he has received the Gwendolyn Brooks Significant Illinois Poet award.

¡Nos vemos el 13 de Noviembre!

7pm-8pm: Slam en Español8pm-9pm: All languages open mic!

Lit & Luz Literary Festival 2024
2024-10-26 17:00 - 2024-11-02 21:00 | Illinois
VIEW SCHEDULE

The 2024 Chicago Lit & Luz Festival, Saturation/ Saturación, returns with a fantastic roster of writers and artists from the US and Mexico. The weeklong series of free events begins October 26th and concludes with the Live Magazine Show at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on November 2nd.

Inspired by the media landscape of both presidential elections taking place in the countries this year, the theme of the festival is “Saturation/Saturación.” Participants will consider concepts such as intensity, combination, absorption, maximums and limitations as they respond to the urgent political, social, and environmental issues confronting both countries.

Inspirado en el panorama mediático de ambas elecciones presidenciales ocurridas este año en los países involucrados, el tema del festival es “Saturation/Saturación.” Lxs participantes considerarán conceptos como la intensidad, combinación, absorción, máximos y limitaciones mientras responden a los urgentes problemas políticos, sociales y ambientales que enfrentan ambos países.

Catch programs you missed on our website or head over to our YouTube channel (and subscribe!).

The Lit & Luz Festival is a one-of-a-kind series of events featuring renowned authors, visual artists, and musicians from Chicago and Mexico in cultural exchange and conversation. This series of readings, conversations, artist talks, and performances, including signature event, the Live Magazine Show, highlights new translations and artistic collaborations—showcasing some of the most innovative contemporary artists from both countries. The festival takes place in Chicago in the fall, followed by the Lit & Luz Festival Mexico City in the winter. Click here to learn more.

El Lit & Luz Festival es una especial serie de eventos con reconocidos escritores, artistas visuales y músicos de Chicago y México, en intercambio y conversación cultural. Esta serie de lectutras, conversaciones, charlas de artista y performances, incluyen el evento representativo, el Live Magazine Show, destaca nuevas traducciones y colaboraciones artísticas, mostrando algunos de los artistas contemporáneos más inovadores de ambos países. El festival se lleva a cabo en Chicago durante el otoño, seguido del Lit & Luz Festival CDMX en el invierno. Da click aquí para saber más.

¡Síguenos en nuestras redes sociales o suscríbete a nuestro newsletter para conocer las últimas actualizaciones y más!

Slam Diáspora (LIVE)
2024-10-09 19:00 - 21:00 | La Bruquena Restaurant, 2726 W. Division, Chicago, IL, 60622, United States
Open Mic + Featuring Eduardo Arocho

More details to come

CLHoF Fuller Award: Alex Kotlowitz
2024-09-24 19:00 - 22:00 | Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, Chicago, IL, United States
Registration is now open. On September 24, Alex Kotlowitz will become the 17th recipient of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Fuller Award for his lifetime achievements. The ceremony will be free and open to the public, with a reception to follow. Ben Austen will lead a speaking lineup that includes Stuart Dybek, Julie Justicz, Meribah Knight, and Mary Rowland. The Chopin Theatre ceremony will highlight Kotlowitz’s lasting importance as one of our greatest storytellers. At the end of the program, Dawn Turner will lead a conversation with Alex. The ceremony, starting at 7 p.m., and the following reception are free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Registration is required. Along with the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame and Chopin Theatre, co-presenters for the evening include American Writers Museum, Bookends & Beginnings, David Black Agency, Frame Warehouse, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Ragdale Foundation, and Write On, Door County.

As a Manhattan native, Alex Kotlowitz’s career in journalism sent him around the country. He took a reporting position for The Wall Street Journal, which sent him to Chicago, and it wasn’t long before Kotlowitz fell in love with the city. For forty years, Kotlowitz has been telling deeply intimatetales of struggle and perseverance. He is the author of four books, including his most recent, An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago (2019), which received the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize. His other books include the Chicago-based Never a City So Real (2004) and the national bestseller There Are No Children Here (1991), which the New York Public Library selected as one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. It was selected by The New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year along with his second book, The Other Side of the River (1998) which also received The Chicago Tribune’s Heartland Prize for Nonfiction.

A former staff writer at The Wall Street Journal, Kotlowitz’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and This American Life. His stories have been featured in Granta, Rolling Stone, The Chicago Tribune, Slate, and The Washington Post, as well as on PBS and NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition. His play, An Unobstructed View, written with Amy Drozdowska, premiered in Chicago in June 2005.

Kotlowitz has also produced a significant body of film and radio work. His documentary, The Interrupters (2011), a collaboration with Steve James, was cited as one of the best films of the year by The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly, and The LA Times. He received an Emmy, a Cinema Eye Award, and an Independent Spirit Award for the film.

Kotlowitz has been honored in all three mediums, including two Peabodys, two Columbia duPonts, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the George Polk Award. He’s the recipient of eight honorary degrees, the John LaFarge Memorial Award for Interracial Justice given by New York’s Catholic Interracial Council, the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters, one of Chicago Magazine’s 2019 Chicagoans of the Year, and the 2019 Harold Washington Literary Award.

Alex is currently a professor at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, where he’s been teaching since 1999. He’s been a writer-in-residence at the University of Chicago, a visiting professor for seven years at the University of Notre Dame, a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College, and a Distinguished Visitor at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Registration for the Fuller Award ceremony will open soon.

Slam Diáspora En Vivo
2024-09-11 19:00 - 21:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 W. 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608, United States
6:30– Doors open/Sign Up7:00– Slam Starts8:30– Open Mic9:00– ¡ADIOS!

¡Abierto a poetas de todos estilos y edades!Desde quien apenas esta empezando a escribir, a quienes llevan décadas escribiendo– todos están bienvenidos a participar.Sólo necesitas dos poemas (en español/spanglish) para el Slam o un poema/canción/relato etc en cualquier idioma para el Open Mic.Se puede registrar en línea o el mismo día en persona: https://bit.ly/vivoslamCreemos que la poesía le pertenece a todxs, y que todxs traemos poesía adentro. Este Slam es para experimentar, jugar, y dejar que la palabra fluya.Recuerden: el punto no son los puntos, sino la comuna. Queremos crecer como comunidad poética, e invitar a nuevas personas a participar como audiencia, cómo poetas, y cómo amantes de la palabra viva.Slam Diáspora es el primer slam de poesía en español de los EEUU y busca crear un espacio que une poetas Latinx en los EEUU con poetas en Latinoamérica para fomentar una comunidad poética a pesar de las fronteras.¡Participantes y ganadores del año pasado pueden participar de nuevo!Gracias a Guild Literary Comple por apoyar este proyecto *******Open to poets of all styles and ages! From anyone who is just starting, to anyone who has been writing for decades, are all welcome to participate. All you need to Slam are 2 poems– for the open mic you can bring anything in any language at all to share.You can register online or on the same day, in person:https://bit.ly/vivoslamRemember: the point is not the points, the point is the community. We want to nurture a poetic community, and invite new people to participate as audience members, as poets, and as spoken-word lovers.We believe that poetry pertains to everyone, and that all of us carry it within us. This slam is to experiment, play, and to let the words flow.Slam Diáspora is the first Spanish slam in the U.S. and aims to create a space that unites Latinx poets in the US with poets in Latin America, to form a poetry community despite borders.Participants and winners from last year can participate again!Thank you to the Guild Literary Complex

Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fuller Award: Patricia Smith
2024-07-11 18:00 - 20:00 | The Poetry Foundation, 61 W Superior St, Chicago, IL, United States
Co-presented with the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, American Writers Museum, and Guild Literary Complex, the ceremony will present Chicago poet Patricia Smith with the Fuller Award for her lifetime contributions to literature. Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young will lead a lineup of presenters that includes Nora Brooks Blakely, Reginald Gibbons, Poetry Out Loud National Champion Niveah Glover, Adrian Matejka, Marc Smith, and Jamila Woods. Lynne Thompson will moderate a conversation with Ms. Smith at the end of the program.

Patricia Smith was born in Chicago and raised on the city’s West Side. She attended Southern Illinois University, Northwestern University, and the University of Southern Maine. She has had a distinguished literary career as a poet, spoken-word performer, author, and teacher. Individual awards include four National Poetry Slam championships, the 2023 Aiken Taylor Award, and the 2021 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation. Smith is a 2022 inductee to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Guggenheim fellow, Civitellian, National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient, finalist for the Neustadt Prize, two-time winner of the Pushcart Prize, and a former fellow at both Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony.

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s (CLHOF) Fuller Award was inspired by Henry Blake Fuller (1857-1929), author, editor, poet, critic, and composer, one of Chicago’s earliest novelists, and the author of The Cliff-Dwellers (1893) and With the Procession (1891). It is awarded annually to a writer with strong Chicago roots who has made a significant lifetime contribution to literature. CLHOF’s’s mission is “To honor and preserve Chicago’s great literary heritage—past, present, and future.”CLHOF is a not-for-profit organization.

***

In-Person Attendance:Masks are strongly encouraged and available at check-in for those who would like to wear one. The Foundation reserves the right to update this policy if community levels of COVID-19 increase significantly. Read our full COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines. Guests are encouraged to register in advance.

Livestream Attendance:The livestream link will be shared with registered guests on the day of the event. In order to receive the livestream details, please register in advance.

Slam Diáspora Encuentro Nacional 2024: Mayo/Primera Ronda
2024-05-30 20:00 - 21:30 | Illinois
COMENZAMOS! Ciclo oficial de Slam Diaspora— 30 de Mayo, 8pm hora chicago ✨🔥✨

Registracion abierta a cualquier poeta de reside en territorio EEUU! http://bit.ly.com/mayoslam24

Slam Diaspora es un colectivo que busca unir a poetas de la diáspora latinoamericana con poetas en latinoamérica usando el slam como nuestro punto de encuentro. que viva la poesía viva!

Slam Diáspora @ Feria del Libro
2024-05-04 21:00 - 23:00 | Ida Noyes Hall | University of Chicago, 1212 E. 59th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60637
¡EN PERSONA! @ The Pub, Ida Noyes Hall (1212 E. 59th Street)

9pm Puertas AbrenComienza 9:30pm

MCs: Crystal Vance y Luis Tubens

Requisitos:Preparar 2 poemas de 3 minutos cada unoPoemas deben ser 75% en Español

Más información sobre Feria del Libro

Feria del Libro
2024-05-02 18:00 - 2024-05-04 23:00 | Illinois
El español está vivito y coleando en Estados Unidos; incluso, el país ha escalado a la cuarta posición con mayor número de hispanohablantes en el mundo. Se habla ampliamente en el ámbito público y privado, y no solamente por la comunidad latina. Con más de 42 millones de hablantes, el español es el segundo idioma más hablado en Estados Unidos. Se escucha en los pasillos de las instituciones de educación superior, mientras los poetas lo respiran, y tanto los troqueros como las babysitters y los ruferos sueñan en español. Para muchos, el español es una mina de oro. Aproximadamente 66.5 millones de latinos tienen un poder adquisitivo de aproximadamente de 2.5 mil billones de dólares en 2023, pero más allá de las cifras gargantuescas, los invitamos a reflexionar sobre el español y la literatura propia de Estados Unidos que está emergiendo de costa a costa. La Feria de Libro de Chicago se realizará del 2 al 4 de mayo de 2024 en el campus de la Universidad de Chicago en colaboración entre El BeiSmAn y la organización Hispanic and Luzo-Brazilian Student Committee.

Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2024-04-16 17:30 - 20:00 | Illinois
The new Chicago Literary Hall of Fame class of Hamlin Garland, Eunice Tietjens, and E. Donald Two Rivers will be inducted at a ceremony featuring a lineup that includes William J. Bowe, Melissa Bradshaw, Carlos Cumpián, Jesse Raber, and Dorene Wiese. Two Rivers’s daughter, Annabelle Broeffle, and Garland’s great grandson, Christopher Harper, will be on hand to accept the CLHOF statues. A reception will follow the ceremony.

Poster Design by Annabelle Broeffle

Lit & Luz Festival | 10th Anniversary Celebration
2023-10-13 00:00 - 2023-10-21 23:59 | Illinois
This year’s theme is “TEN,” –celebrating 10 years of remarkable programming. This October, join us for more than a dozen bilingual programs throughout Chicago. This year’s festival kicks off on October 13th with an exhibition of work from Lit & Luz Collaboration Cohort artists from the past decade at Chicago Art Department and closes on October 21st with the Live Magazine Show at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Lit & Luz Festival is a one-of-a-kind series of events featuring renowned authors and visual artists from the US and Mexico in cultural exchange and conversation.

Generative Multilogue: Artful Protest
2023-10-11 19:00 - 21:00 | South Asia Institute, 1925 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60616
Creative Iranian Women

Digital Projection and Immersive Experience

Invited Artists: Shaghayegh Mohajeri, Alemeh Bagherian, Hedie Javani, Saba Soleimani, Pouye Peyman, Sara Rahanjam

Opening reception with musical performances and poetry recitation.

Slam Diáspora @ Feria del Libro
2023-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 | The Pub – University of Chicago, Ida Noyes Hall (basement), 1212 E 59th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
¡Abierto a poetas de todos estilos y edades! Desde quien apenas esta empezando a escribir, a quienes llevan décadas escribiendo– todos están bienvenidos a participar. Sólo necesitas dos poemas

Ubicado en El Pub, un bar en el beisman de la Universidad de Chicago Ida Noyes Hall. Se puede registrar en línea o el mismo día en persona: http://tiny.cc/feriaslam

Recuerden: el punto no son los puntos, sino la comuna. Queremos crecer como comunidad poética, e invitar a nuevas personas a participar como audiencia, cómo poetas, y cómo amantes de la palabra.

Creemos que la poesía le pertenece a todxs, y que todxs traemos poesía adentro. Este Slam es para experimentar, jugar, y dejar que la palabra fluya.

Slam Diáspora es el primer slam de poesía en español de Chicago y busca crear un espacio que une poetas Latinx en los EEUU con poetas en Latinoamérica para fomentar una comunidad poética a pesar de las fronteras.

¡Participantes y ganadores del año pasado pueden participar de nuevo!

Gracias a El Beisman, Feria del Libro Chicago, Guild Literary Complex, Contratiempo y la Universidad de Chicago por apoyar este proyecto

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Open to poets of all styles and ages! From anyone who is just starting, to anyone who has been writing for decades, are all welcome to participate. All you need is 2 poems

Located at The Pub, a basement bar at the University of Chicago’s Ida Noyes Hall. You can register online or on the same day, in person:http://tiny.cc/feriaslam

Remember: the point is not the points, the point is the poetry. We want to grow a poetry community, and invite new people to participate as audience members, as poets, and as spoken-word lovers.

We believe that poetry pertains to everyone, and that all of us carry it within us. This slam is to experiment, play, and to let the words flow.

Slam Diáspora is the first Spanish slam in Chicago and aims to create a space that unites Latinx poets in the US with poets in Latin America, to form a poetry community despite borders.

Participants and winners from last year can participate again!

Thank you to El Beisman, Feria del Libro Chicago, the Guild Literary Complex, Contratiempo + the University of Chicago for supporting this project

¿Qué es un Slam de Poesía?

El slam es un juego de poesía en el que los poetas interpretan sus obras originales frente a una audiencia y jueces, y son “calificados” en función de ciertos criterios, como contenido, originalidad, lyricismo, entrega y presencia en el escenario. El concepto del Slam se originó en Chicago a mediados de la década de 1980 y desde entonces se ha extendido a nivel mundial.Los principios del slam son: la escucha profunda, la palabra viva, la alegría poética, y la comuna creciente.

La intención de Slam Diáspora es conectar a poetas de raíz latinoamericana con poetas en América Latina, a pesar de las fronteras, y por medio de la palabra viva, la palabra hablada. Slam Diáspora se conecta a la comuna de poesía slam: Slam Abya Yala, y Poetry Slam México.

La estructura del Slam involucra varias rondas y límites de tiempo. Los poetas se eliminan después de cada ronda hasta que se declara un ganador. En este caso serán 10 poetas (registración abierta), habrán dos rondas, y se permite 3 minutos por poema.

El slam es un juego de intercambio. El punto no son los puntos, el punto es la comunidad que se crea. Para poetas que participan, es una oportunidad para desarrollar sus habilidades escénicas, y experimentar con la oralidad, la palabra viva.

El slam hace volar poemas que muchas veces se quedan en papel.
