• Slam Diáspora Encuentro Nacional 2024: Mayo/Primera Ronda

    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!

  • Girl Work: Book Launch w/ Zefyr Lisowski

    Pilsen

    Join us for the book launch of Girl Work (Noemi, 2024) with author Zefyr Lisowski, featuring performances from Kemi Alabi, Donna "Dante" Marie Gary, and Robin Reid Drake, hosted by Alanis Zoë Castillo Caref.

    Free
  • Transvengence: Pride Edition

    Clash on Clark 4416 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois

    June 2024: Transvengence, Pride Month – Turn Up! Edition Featuring Jack and Lynzo the Heartthrob, with your host, Joss Barton. Open mic starts at 7:30pm. Learn more about Transvengence here. Lynzo The Heartthrob is a born & bred Chicagoan; an exotic dancer with a background in ballet, modern, and African dance teachings. Emceeing/producing Black LGBTQIA...

    Free
  • A Map of My Want | Book Launch and Celebration with Faylita Hicks

    Haymarket House 800 W. Buena Ave., Chicago, Illinois

    A Map of My Want follows a nonbinary femme on their long walk home from a rural county jail as they contemplate how threesomes, quantum mechanics, beaches and nature hikes led them to an epic journey of sexual liberation.An offspring of Audre Lorde’s seminal essay “Uses of the Erotic,” Hicks’s A Map of My Want follows a nonbinary...

    Free – $25
  • Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fuller Award: Patricia Smith

    The Poetry Foundation 61 W Superior St, Chicago, 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...

    Free
  • Palabra Pura: One Poet, One Poem

    La Bruquena Restaurant 2726 W. Division, Chicago, IL, United States

    Palabra Pura presents ONE POET, ONE POEM  Join the Guild Literary Complex July 17th for our annual Palabra Pura: One Poet, One Poem @ La Bruquena! All poets are welcome to the stage to perform a poem, whether it be in English or Spanish, or both. See old friends and meet new ones, enjoy delicious...

  • Self-Care as Resistance: Ekphrastic Poetry Reading @ Epiphany Center for the Arts

    Caring for ourselves helps us to be more present in the world. Becoming aware of those areas where we might need additional support and asking for help can be scary but, in the end, it is what makes us stronger. The Guild Complex presents five writers who words help tell their stories of finding strength while battling...

  • Chicago House Music: Culture + Community

    Co-Prosperity 3219 S Morgan St., Chicago, Illinois

    Reading and panel discussion with book author, Marguerite L. Harrold along with Khari B, Discopoet, Founder of The Debauchery Ball and veteran House music DJ Michael Ikechukwu Ezebuku. Including a special highlights viewing from the PBS documentary, House Music: A Cultural Revolution with Barbara Allen, Director and Producer Marguerite L. Harrold is a Poet, Writer,...

  • Exhibit B: The Poets Platform

    Co-Prosperity 3219 S Morgan St., Chicago, Illinois

    Exhibit B will be joined by artists using the Democratic Party platform as a prompt. We are proud to be part of DEMOCRAZY FEST going on from Aug 8-18th at...

  • Ananda Lima & Daniel Borzutzky In Conversation

    Pilsen Community Books 1102 W 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, United States

    A special conversation and reading with award-winning authors Ananda Lima and Daniel Borzutzky about their latest releases, moderated by poet Alex Wells Shapiro.

  • Transvengence | September 2024

    Clash on Clark 4416 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois

    September's Transvengence features Aza Greenlee with your host, Joss Barton. Doors open and open mic sign-up begins at 7pm. Aza Greenlee is a body artist and co-conspirator at No Nation Tangential Unspace Art Lab. This coalescence is one to galavant in dreamscapes, ancestral juke joints, chaturbate masturbation web temples, loose-tooth tanks, and The Heartspace. They...

  • Printers Row Lit Fest: Exhibit B

    Printers Row Lit Festival Dearborn and Polk Streets, Chicago, United States

    Christian Aldana, Lindsay Hunter, Jessica Nirvana Ram, and Dan "Sully" Sullivan join Exhibit B for a special reading at the Midwest's largest literary festival, Printers' Row Lit Festival! Printers Row...

    Free
  • Printers Row Lit Fest | Annie Allen — Now: A Conversation

    Printers Row Lit Festival Dearborn and Polk Streets, Chicago, United States

    As its 75th anniversary approaches, Nora Brooks Blakely (Brooks Permissions) and Reginald Gibbons (Northwestern University) discuss the modern relevance and contemporary ideas from Gwendolyn Brooks' Pulitzer Prize-wining book Annie Allen. Program moderated by Adrian Matejka, Editor of Poetry magazine. Printers Row Lit Fest is a free event on the streets of South Dearborn, from Ida...

    Free
  • Slam Diáspora En Vivo

    18th Street Casa de Cultura 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 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...

  • A Performance Happening 3 @ Alma Art & Interiors

    ALMA Art and Interiors 3636 S Iron St, Chicago, United States

    Join us for a special night of artistic brilliance with "A PERFORMANCE HAPPENING " at ALMA Art and Interiors. We are thrilled to host this event, bringing together an all-star lineup of dancers and musicians, surrounded by stunning visual art. About the Event Prepare for an unforgettable experience as you immerse yourself in a vibrant...

  • CLHoF Fuller Award: Alex Kotlowitz

    Chopin Theatre 1543 West Division Street, 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...

  • ECOS Pop-up Gallery Readings with Guild Literary Complex

    National Museum of Mexican Art 1852 W 19th St., Chicago, Illinois, United States

    This event is part of ECOS: A Chicago Latine Poetry Festival, which celebrates Chicago's relationship with and influence on Latine poetry. Sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, the festival features free, bilingual Spanish and English programming. Sometimes a poem is the perfect accompaniment to visual art! Join poets from the Guild Literary Complex as they recite...

  • GBOMA 30th Anniversary Celebration

    Chicago History Museum 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois

    The Guild Complex will celebrate thirty years of the Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA), with performances from past winners along with a special celebration of the 75th anniversary of Gwendolyn Brooks' Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Annie Allen, at the Chicago History Museum in the Robert McCormick Auditorium. Reception at 6:00pm and 7:00pm event start. This...

    Free
  • Luis J. Rodriguez Book Release

    18th Street Casa de Cultura 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    Luís J. Rodriguez will be reading from his newest bilingual collection, Todos los caminos llevan a casa (All Roads Lead Home).  Also present will be Alfonso Vazquez, Founder of Chicanz sin Fronteras, who published Luis' book.  The night will be moderated by Luis Tubens and will include music by Jarochicanos & Friends, commentary from Jackie...

  • Slam Diáspora (LIVE)

    La Bruquena Restaurant 2726 W. Division, Chicago, IL, United States

    Open Mic + Featuring Eduardo Arocho More details to come

  • The Record Track: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony + Community Jam

    The Record Track 2804 E 87th Street, Chicago, Illinois, United States

    Come celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony of The Record Track, an immersive retail store & live-music venue offering immersive, hands-on music experiences for all! Don't miss out on this exciting event and become part of The Record Track community! Donate Your Used (but working) Instruments!Help us provide hands-on musical experiences for others. We are currently accepting...

  • Juntando Orillas: escrituras afrolatinoamericanas. Una conversación sobreenajenada and Tidal Waters.

    Pilsen Arts & Community House 1637 W. 18th Street, Chicago, Illinois

    The authors Kianny Antigua and Velia Vidal will dialogue about her works with Andrea Change and Mary Hawley. This is a bilingual event in Spanish and English. “enajenada, de Kianny Antigua, es un poemario sobre la experiencia humana másvisceral (opresión, dolor, angustia, otredad, desesperanza, encuentro con lasombra y resurgimiento) representada desde la voz y el...

  • Juntando Orillas: Bridging Afro-Diasporic Voices Through Literature

    Northwestern University, Crowe Hall 1132 1860 Campus Drive, Evanston, Illinois

    Building on a partnership between two cultural initiatives, this panel will discuss the tensions between distinction and community, collectivization and individuality, and the balance between pluralities and connections in cultural programming designed to foster encounters among Afro-diasporic identities.The Guild Literary Complex and Motete are grassroots organizations dedicated to the cultural rights of underrepresented communities in...

  • Juntando Orillas: Documentary Pre-screening

    18th Street Casa de Cultura 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    Pre-screening of the documentary “Juntando Orillas,” followed by a Q&A session with the director, producers, and protagonists.

  • Book Release: They Call You Back by Tim Hernandez

    18th Street Casa de Cultura 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    Join us for a book presentation and celebration for They Call You Back (University of Arizona Press) by Tim Hernandez. A haunting, an obsession, a calling: Tim Z. Hernandez has been searching for people his whole life. Now, in this highly anticipated memoir, he takes us along on an investigative odyssey through personal and collective...

  • Lit & Luz Literary Festival 2024

    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...

  • Roots and Flowers: Uruguayan Women Poets, Past and Present | Raíces y flores: Poetas uruguayas del pasado y del presente  

    Una celebración de la larga e importante tradición poética de las mujeres uruguayas. Las poetas uruguayas Silvia Goldman y Silvia Guerra compartirán su poesía y la poesía de sus madres y abuelas poéticas en una lectura bilingüe con las poetas y traductoras Mary Hawley y Jesse Lee Kercheval. A celebration of the long and important...

  • Exhibit B @ PCB – Nov. ’24

    Pilsen Community Books 1102 W 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, United States

    ExB's last show of 2024! Sam Herschel Wein, Emily Anna Maciel Gonzalez, Sarah Peecher and Emilio Maldonado will be joining Exhibit B at Pilsen Community Books for an evening of...

  • ¡SLAM EN VIVO!

    18th Street Casa de Cultura 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 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 💥...

    Free
  • HIPPY HOLY DAZE 7

    Elastic Arts 3429 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, Illinois, United States

    Host: QUEEN ZENOBIA Music: THESSELONIOUS Special Dance Showcase: FIREBIRD DANCERSDEVIKA DHIRVIVIANA REYES Guest star performances: THE GRATESSILIS101JOSH TREEHYPNAGOGIC TELEGRAM Featured performances: PUGS ATOMZHOBBYISTGREENLIGHTS MUSICBLUE COLLAR ROCK STARSYURI BASHO LANE - PLANET BTBXKAO RA ZEN

    $15