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  • Write That Down! Show & Tell

    Podlasie Club 2918 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    Write That Down! is hosting a very special LOVE themed Show & Tell for February! Bring a keepsake that celebrates love in your life be it platonic, romantic, or some...

  • MOJO&MUSE: A Performance Speakeasy

    Watershed Art & Ecology 1821 S. Racine Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

    Get ready to experience a night of magic and creativity at MOJO&MUSE – where art comes to life! A special speakeasy of art and community. Join us for an exciting...

  • Palabra Pura

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

    Poetry open mic hosted by Diego Báez. Featuring performances by Angelica Julia Dávila, Loren Maria Guay, and Yazud E. Brito-Milian. Palabra Pura is a bilingual reading series that promotes literary...

    Free
  • Eventbrite Banner for Artist talk by Faylita Hicks. Picture of Faylita at the mic and info in the text.

    Digital Archives of the Unseen: Artist Talk

    Walls Turned Sideways 2717 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    Artist Talk: Memory, Erasure, and the Living Archive Interdisciplinary, interdimensional artist, writer, and ritual maker Faylita Hicks joins Walls Turned Sideways Gallery, a nationally recognized space centering art, justice, and...

    Free
  • Write That Down! event photo collage in center, with launch details and logos on purple background.

    Write That Down! Autumn/Winter Launch Party

    1902 N Milwaukee Ave 1902 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    Write That Down! Mag is back with their new Autumn/Winter Issue and we want to celebrate with you! RSVP ON PARTYCLICK Write That Down! is an archival project capturing the particulars of our current moment, both here in Chicago and in the world at large. The goal is to gather everyday artifacts that tell stories...

    Free

  • Brown event flyer with names of artists, event info, and side triangle

    New/Next Writers Showcase

    Haymarket House 800 West Buena Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    Celebrate a next generation of writers with us who've recently come out with new books.   This showcase aims to highlight local writers and their new/upcoming work.   Join us for a community reading featuring local Chicago writers: Meredith Nnoka Noa Fields Meghan Malachi Lisa Low Noel Quiñones Kameryn Carter Natasha Mijares

    Free

  • Write That Down! Show & Tell

    Evoke Gallery 3040 N Central Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

    Write That Down! Mag invites you to “Show & Tell” presented by Chicago’s Guild Literary Complex. Write That Down! is back with a special edition of our Show & Tell...

    Free
  • Angela Jackson workshop flyer

    Poem as Autobiography Workshop w/ Angela Jackson

    Join us during National Poetry Month for a special online workshop series with 5th Illinois Poet Laureate, Angela Jackson! Poem as Autobiography is a virtual course designed to explore and...

  • 35 Writers to Watch: Celebration Party

    Epiphany Center for the Arts 201 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    The Guild Complex’s 35 Writers to Watch list celebrates the Guild’s 35+ years of innovative programming by featuring local writers whose careers represent the future of the literary arts in...

  • Musicality of Poetry

    Epiphany Center for the Arts 201 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    Join us for an evening of musical and lyrical magic, courtesy of Nikki Patin and friends. Excerpts of Patin’s biomythography, Working On Me, will be performed against a live soundtrack along with new pieces making their debut before a live audience. Presented and produced by Guild Literary Complex and Nikki Patin. Signed copies of Working...

  • performer at WTD

    Write That Down! Show & Tell

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

    Write That Down! is having another Show & Tell at Elastic Arts in Avondale/Logan Square! WTD!’s Show & Tell series is possible through our partnership with Chicago’s Guild Literary Complex....

    Free

  • Photo of gwendolyn brooks in green banner that reads "a celebration of gwendolyn brooks"

    BrooksDay @ American Writers Festival

    Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago Public Library 400 South State Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    Join the Guild Literary Complex’s annual celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks, held every year on her birthday, June 7th. Since 2013, BrooksDay has been a marquee event in the Guild’s yearly...

    Free

  • Transvengence Vol. 12

    Featured
    Podlasie Club 2918 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    Join us during Pride Month for TRANSVENGENCE, our bimonthly open mic and performance series   REVENGE OF THE DOLLS Hosted by Joss Barton Featuring Ava Mirage Wanbli & Eris  ...

    Free
  • Black and white sketch for ed roberson flyer, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

    Fuller Award: Ed Roberson

    The Poetry Foundation 61 W Superior St, Chicago, United States

    Poet Ed Roberson will receive the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's Fuller Award for his lifetime achievements as a writer. He will be the 19th Chicago author given the CLHOF's highest honor, at a ceremony at and in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. Speakers, including CM Burroughs, Peter O'Leary, Saretta Morgan, julie patton, Lena Roberson, and Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young, will give...

  • A Reading in Reflection: Roe v. Wade Commemoration

    Pilsen Community Books 1531 W. 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, United States

    Join us as we reflect on the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade in the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. By a 6–3 vote, the Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not provide a right to...

  • El evangelio jornalero: The Gospel of the Day Laborers

    Movement on Montrose 2951 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

    Mark your calendar for El evangelio jornalero: The Gospel of the Day Laborers Lectura dramatizada (staged reading): in Spanish with subtitles in English The play El evangelio jornalero tells the story of a group of day laborers in Chicago who meet daily at “Home Deport” to wait for work. One day a fellow worker convinces...

    Free

  • One Poet/One Poem

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

    ¡Anímate! The Guild Literary Complex is happy to announce that our annual Palabra Pura: One Poet/One Poem tradition is back this July. All poets are welcome to perform a poem, whether...

    Donation

  • Slam Diaspora flyer for August-November dates

    ¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!

    Taqueria El Mezquite 1756 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! All participants have a chance to compete at the international level at the final slam hosted by a Latinx country (TBD). Hosted and curated by Crystal Vance Guerra and Luis Tubens “Logan Lu.” Open to poets of all styles and ages! From anyone who is just...

  • ¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!

    Taqueria El Mezquite 1756 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! All participants have a chance to compete at the international level at the final slam hosted by a Latinx country (TBD). Hosted and curated by Crystal Vance Guerra and Luis Tubens “Logan Lu.”...

    Free
  • Printers Row Lit Fest logo with animated birds on a salmon colored background.

    Guild Literary Complex @ Printers Row Lit Fest

    Printers Row Between Dearborn and Polk , Chicago

    Join us at Printers Row Lit Fest from September 12-13! The Guild Literary Complex is excited to host our annual Authors Table (TBA) where anyone at the fest has the opportunity to chat with prolific and flourishing authors and pick up a signed copy of one of their books. We will also host a Musicality of Poetry event...

  • Palabra Pura x Brighton Park Poets

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

    Brighton Park Poets collabs with Guild Literary Complex for this Palabra Pura bilingual open mic! Poetry open mic curated and hosted by Paige Savarese. Founder of BPP Palabra Pura is a bilingual reading series that promotes literary expression in Spanish, English, and/or other languages. Launched in 2006, the series celebrates the work of Latinx writers...

    Free

  • New/Next Writers Showcase

    Beat Kitchen 2100 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL, United States

    Celebrate a next generation of writers with us who’ve recently come out with new books.This showcase aims to highlight local writers and their new/upcoming work. Join us for a community reading featuring local Chicago writers: Billy Tuggle C. Russell Price Kathleen Rooney Shivani Gupta

    Free

  • Transvengence Vol. 13

    Podlasie Club 2918 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    Join us this September for our quarterly open mic and performance series, TRANSVENGENCE TRANSVENGENCE: Vol. 13 Hosted by Joss Barton Featuring Kitch Annette   Doors: 7PM Open Mic: 8PM Performances: 8:30PM   Special performance: Kitch will be doing a trans drag talk show in the vein of the 90's daytime format Kitch Annette Kitch Annette...

    Free

  • Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA) 2026

    Epiphany Center for the Arts 201 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL, United States

    The Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA), founded by Gwendolyn Brooks and presented annually by Guild Literary Complex, celebrates outstanding original poetry by Illinois writers. Finalists selected by guest judge I.S. Jones will perform their work live for a chance to win a $500 audience prize, publication in RHINO Poetry, and an invitation to read...

  • ¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!

    Taqueria El Mezquite 1756 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! All participants have a chance to compete at...

    Free

  • La Bola Negra: Poetry Pop-up

    Music Box Theatre 3733 North Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

    An exclusive screening of the film La Bola Negra & pre-show poetry performances by the Guild Literary Complex's Palabra Pura community Join us for a special screening of La Bola...

    Free

  • ¡Slam Diáspora: GRAND SLAM!

    Taqueria El Mezquite 1756 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person! Primera llamada to this year’s GRAND SLAM! Winners go on to Abya Yala Poetry Slam and Circuito Nacional Poetry Slam México - así que échenle todo el power a sus versos que con la poesía se viaja. All participants have a chance to compete...

    Free

  • Evanston Writers Workshop: In the Trenches Conference

    Hilton Garden Inn 1818 Maple Ave, Evanston, IL, United States

    The Guild Literary Complex partners with the Evanston Writers Workshop to host a reading at the In the Trenches Conference 2026 featuring finalists from our 2026 Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic...