PALABRA PURA: Meet & Greet Wednesday, March 19, 6:00 p.m. Humboldt Park Fieldhouse, 1400 N. Humboldt Dr.  (North of Division) Meet the panelists from Translation Matters and talk to the authors reading during Noche de novelas / Night of Novels during this social hour. Light refreshments will be provided. Books by the authors will be […]

From Our Neighborhoods: Four Chicago Writers Who Changed America showcases four great Chicago authors whose neighborhoods were both the inspiration and subject of their work. Read aloud your favorite Gwendolyn Brooks poem on Tuesday, March 25, 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The American Writers Museum in partnership with Guild Literary Complex hosts a Gwendolyn Brooks Community Reading. Bring your […]

Saturday, April 26, 8:00 p.m. Facets Multimedia 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. (Note: The same program takes place at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 25.) Al-Sheikh, Maarouf Voices of Protest, April 25 & 26, draws attention to the plight of exiled authors and celebrates a global literature. The Guild will host Manal Al-Sheikh (Iraq) and Mazen Maarouf (Palestine), two poets currently […]

Left to right: Robert Nevel, Dave Snyder, Angela + Sam Taylor The sustainable food movement has rejuvenated holistic thinking on agriculture, food production, and consumption. But lost in the movement is how to bring wholesome, quality food to all and not to just those that can afford it. In a live version of GuildCast, a […]

25 Writers to Watch REVEAL 25 is the Guild's 25th anniversary party, an opportunity to celebrate 25 years of mission-driven accomplishments in Chicago's vast literary community. It is a jubilant celebration of the past, and also a chance to look ahead to the future. Past and present directors, including founding director Michael Warr, will be announcing […]

Our monthly bilingual reading series is curated in May by Febronio Zatarain and features Emmanuel Ayala and Miguel Marzana. About the Artists "I write because it is a privilege I have earned. Ever since I was 12 years old I read poetry and loved it. One day I embraced the pen and spilled ink on […]

For the second year, the Guild Literary Complex’s will present its signature event, Brooksday 2014—a marathon reading that celebrates the life and work of renowned Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Taking place at the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest on Saturday, June 7—Brooks’ birthday—from 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. at the Guild’s tent (located on the corner […]

The Guild will be presenting hour-long readings by seven prominent Chicago literary organizations throughout the day at Printers Row Lit Festival. You can find our tent at the corner of Dearborn and Polk Streets. Schedule 10 a.m. Chicago Latino Writers Initiative: Ericka McCarthy Sanchez, Adriana Galvan, Awilda Rodriguez, Diana Pando, Jen Vera, Veronica Vidal, Jazmin Corona, Stephanie Diaz Reppen  The Chicago Latino Writers […]

Black Vernacular: a comedic literary look at a language that's all American Join the Guild Literary Complex and the University of Chicago's Arts Incubator as Randall Horton, Adam Moshe Levin, and Toni Asante Lightfoot perform and read work demonstrating the sticky wicket of Black Vernacular. Short video performances by Holly Bass and others will be included. About the […]

Discover two emerging Chicago poets whose palabras unearth a rich excavation of their Mexican roots. Pulling from these raices they explore gender, geography, and guns that eventually collide onto the page to create border-crossing poetry that migrates between Chicago and Guanajuato, Mexico. About the Artists Jennifer Patiño was born on the Southwest Side of Chicago […]

The Guild Literary Complex is joining dozens of other presenters for the Tenth Annual Printers Ball, taking place on June 28. This year, the Guild will be presenting a flashmob-style Palabra Pura, featuring Cyn Vargas Eduardo Arocho Mike "Open Mike" Puican These poets will read around 5:30 p.m., but we encourage you to come early […]

Writers across Illinois submitted their poems to the Guild for the 21st Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Award between June 7 and June 30, 2014. 20 of those poems were selected to be presented on July 23, where each author will read their poem to an audience who will then vote on the winner of […]

We'll be taking some time away to regroup through the month of August after a fruitful spring and summer. Keep an eye out for our Fall Preview, which will contain information on programming and events for the fall 2014!

Happy birthday, Quraysh! And, happy book release to Quraysh Ali Lansana and Christopher Stewart, whose newest book, The Walmart Republic, will be launched this fall. To celebrate in style (as the Guild always does), we will be hosting a birthday and book launch on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at the University of Chicago's Reva and […]

The Guild is sending six Chicago writers to the Kapittel International Festival of Literature and Freedom of Speech in Stavenger, Norway as a part of our ongoing work with writers living in exile and advocating for freedom of speech. Our six attendees are blogging on their experiences at GuildDispatches.tumblr.com. About the Attendees: Adam Gottlieb is a […]

Our monthly bilingual reading series in September features Ana Castillo and Paul Martinez Pompa and is curated by Cristina Correa. The event is hosted and co-presented by the Poetry Foundation. States Correa, "Across generations, Latino writers and their constellation of experiences and creative identities have found a home in Chicago. For many, home is a constant migration […]

The Guild and the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago will present three Asian authors on Wednesday, September 24. In conjunction with the University of Illinois–Chicago's Kriti Festival—a celebration of South Asian and Asian Diaspora Arts and Literature in Chicago—we present Rachel DeWoskin, Mary Anne […]

Curated by Cyn Vargas, the theme of this month's Palabra Pura is Want. Cyn writes, "Want. It could be a person, thing, words we long to hear, a new place. Want is at the core of what we do and say. It drives us or it stuns us. The stories this night will be about […]

UPDATED: ANNOUNCING THE 2014 PROSE AWARD WINNERS! Kate Duva, winner of the 2014 Prose Award in Fiction Elora de Grey, winner of the 2014 Prose Award in Non-Fiction The Guild Literary Complex supports divergent and emerging literary voices with our Annual Prose Awards. Every fall we recognize outstanding short fiction and non-fiction from across the […]

The Guild Literary Complex is proud and excited to partner with the 2014 Chicago Humanities Festival to present Colm Tóibín's Transatlantic Literary Worlds, a live interview with the award-winning author conducted by the Guild's Director, John Rich. This special program also marks the celebration of two 25-year anniversaries, both for the Guild Literary Complex and the […]

The Guild will be dark for the month of December. We'll be announcing 2015 programming soon...See you next year!

It's our annual summer programming break! We’ll be taking some time away to regroup through the month of August. Keep an eye out for our Fall Preview, which will contain information on programming and events for September-November 2015!

SAVE THE DATE: Reginald Gibbons' Library of First Editions Book Auction Available Starting November 4th Reginald Gibbons is a poet, fiction writer, translator, educator, critic, the former editor of  TriQuarterly magazine and National Book Award finalist. Over the years, Reginald has acquired first editions through his many friendships and literary acquaintances. His collection of first edition, many of them signed, will […]

Pegasus Theatre has a special deal this weekend just for Guild Literary Complex fans: This weekend, Pegasus Theatre presents sneak peak readings of RUTHERFORD’S TRAVELS, a spellbinding tale based on the beloved book MIDDLE PASSAGE. Told through Rutherford Calhoun’s 1830s log entries, The newly freed Illinois youth has migrated south to New Orleans seeking fortune, […]

RANE Flyer, Jpeg Guild Literary Complex, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, After Hours Press, and the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center invite you to join us for an evening celebrating the life and work of iconic Chicago poet Rane Arroyo. Readings and remembrances for the night will include performances by: • Rey Andujar • Eduardo […]

The Guild’s annual One Poet/One Poem event starts the year off by looking back.  Past Palabra Pura performers are invited to return and share a single poem or other 3-minute piece, painting a portrait in snapshots of our ongoing bi-lingual reading series and all of the styles, voices, and communities it includes.

A Newberry Colloquium Wednesday, October 2, 2019 4pm Towner Fellows’ Lounge, Newberry Library Join us for a talk featuring the Guild Literary Complex’s rich archive, exhibiting its groundbreaking impact on literary programming across Chicago communities. The discussion will feature Guild collaborators and curators Kurt Heintz, Marci Merola, and Lew Rosenbaum. Kurt Heintz co-founded the Guild’s Poetry […]

A reading and panel featuring formerly incarcerated writers, and writers who teach in prisons, sharing their work and their perspectives on writing in prison, writing outside of prison, and writing about prison from both inside and out. Presented in partnership with UChicago Arts & Public Life + Chicago Torture Justice Memorials in connection with the exhibition Still Here: […]

3A panel presented by The Guild Literary Complex + Rebuild Foundation This afternoon with Angela Jackson, Haki Madhubuti, and Eugene Redmond, some of the most important Chicago-area poets working at the intersection of literary innovation and political resistance over the last 50 years, inaugurates a new collaboration between The Guild and Rebuild Foundation that builds on the widely […]

Building on a conversation begun with last Fall’s Applied Words: Performing Queerness On (& Off) the Page, this reading and performance panel brings together three Chicago-based queer femme artists of color working across writing and performance, who use language, body, and voice to reconsider and confront the limitations and possibilities of identity in diverse ways. Through three […]

BrooksDay is the Guild Literary Complex’s annual celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks, held every year on June 7th, the anniversary of her birth.  Since 2013, BrooksDay has been a marquee event in the Guild’s yearly calendar with many literary, cultural, and civic leaders from Chicago and beyond taking the stage to celebrate and honor Gwendolyn Brooks, former […]

The Guild hosted an evening celebrating the Guild’s first 30 years, and looking forward to the next 30. Important voices from the Guild’s past introduced the Guild’s 30 Writers to Watch in 2019 and beyond. We saw old friends & made some new ones, while enjoying music, hors d’oeuvres, and an-end-of night raffle featuring unique […]

Presented by The Guild Literary Complex + Rebuild Foundation Continuing the collaboration between The Guild Complex and Rebuild Foundation built on the 2016 anthology of African American political art and poetry, Of Poetry and Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin (WW Norton), this exhibit seeks to capture the transformative power that fuels social movements and sustains families and communities confronting […]

A screening, reading & conversation This multi-media program looks at the legacy of the Black Arts Movement (BAM) in Chicago as part of the opening weekend of the Of Poetry and Protest exhibit, looking back at the history of Chicago’s BAM and reflecting on the artists and institutions that have extended its impact in the decades since […]

En estos tiempos difíciles y en mérito a la evolucion de la lengua, contamos las historias que nuestros zapatos caminan, desde 4 perspectivas diferentes. Democracia, intertextualidad, el muro, THC, LGBTTQQIAAP, el decálogo, historias de supermarkets, literalidad, teorias secretas y mucho más. Stories for difficult times and the evolution of the language, from 4 different perspectives. […]

The Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA) is an annual poetry competition founded by Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) and open to all Illinois residents over the age of 18. The top contestants selected by guest judges from the poetry community are invited to perform their original poems at the live finals event, where the audience favorite […]

Information Wants to Be Free & So Do We A Pop Up Library on Communication, Control & Mass Incarceration In collaboration with Read/Write Library, the Guild Complex brings the stories from the formerly incarcerated. “Information Wants to Be Free & So Do We” asks audiences to question the idea that social, emotional, and intellectual control […]

Join the Guild Literary Complex for the last Palabra Pura event of the year, hosted by Kolin Jordan and featuring Amaia Gabantxo and Andrew Hertzberg. Translation will be a theme of this event, so feel free to bring a translation of yours (a poem or a few lines of a prose piece) for the open […]

Join us for a powerful evening of dialogue between Dr. Tara Betts, the Literary Editor of New City, and author Cyntoia Brown-Long as they discuss her new book, Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System. 

Join us for the Guild’s annual One Poet/One Poem event as part of our ongoing bi-lingual Palabra Pura reading series. Here are this year's participants: Emcee: Mary Hawley Readers: Emmanuel Ayala Eduardo Arocho Melissa Cintron Carlos Cumpián Angelica Davila Nick Garcia Silvia Goldman Gregorio Gomez Adam Gottlieb Carolina Herrera Kolin Jordan Olivia Maciel Pedro Pablo […]

The Guild Complex Presents: A reading with Backbone Press Featuring our 30 Writers to Watch Tara Betts and Faisal Mohyuddin, along with other Backbone Press authors Naoko Fujimoto, Allison Joseph, and Aozora Brockman. As a response to the bleak state of diversity in publishing, Backbone Press has been publishing diversely since 2012, supporting writers who […]

Join the Guild Literary Complex in celebrating the recent release of The Distance Between by Timothy J. Hillegonds, and a reading from Kenyatta Rogers, two of the Guild’s 30 Writers to Watch. Hillegonds’s memoir is a finely wrought exploration of, and reckoning with, absent fathers, fatherhood, violence, adolescent rage, white male privilege, and his own […]

More details to come!

More details coming soon!

BrooksDay 2020 will not be held on June 7th, due to COVID-19 restrictions. We're planning a date for the fall and will have more details soon.

Printers Row Lit Fest 2020 has been postponed until September.

Book Release and Reading for Mike Puican's new book of poetry, Central Air.  September 17, 2020 7:00pm - 8:00pm, reception to follow Poetry Foundation Also featuring readings from Mary Hawley and Marc Smith, with an introduction from Mark Turcotte. Praise for Central Air: “When I read Mike Puican’s Central Air, I can feel Chicago in my bones like […]

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Marvin Tate: Schoolyard of Broken Dreams as part of the Guild's Musicality of Poetry series More details coming soon.

Fuller Award: Reginald GibbonsThursday, October 29, 2020 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Reginald Gibbons's prolific writing career has included publication of ten full-length poetry collections; a short story collection and a novel; numerous essays, reviews, columns, and translations; and as editor a myriad of anthologies. His work is widely anthologized and has many Gibbons many […]