Guild Literary Complex

A Map of My Want | Book Launch and Celebration with Faylita Hicks
2024-07-09 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | 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 femme as they explore the sensual intersection of the personal and the political, a crossroads to which their sexual liberation brought them after their escape from a religious cult. Lyrically, Hicks interprets the US Declaration of Independence’s infamous “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for themselves. Combining storytelling with Western astrology, this poetry collection is an intimate erotic spell through which Hicks conjures joy as they develop an alternate theory on how to attain happiness—through ecstatic healing. A Map Of My Want is available from Haymarket here.

Praise:

“A Map of My Want is an essential collection that burns with resilience, eroticism, and the pursuit of freedom on every page.”—Ruben Quesada, author and editor of Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry“Faylita Hicks’s A Map of My Want is a poetic knowing of jail, sleeping cots, bills, and of riding feral pleasures beyond to the self’s heat. Their poetry sings, and invites the reader to sing along—ecstatically.” —Maud Lavin, author of Push Comes to Shove“Each poem in A Map Of My Want is a special magic that inhabits the deepest parts of the psyche, digs in, and resists forgetting.”—Airea D. Matthews, author of Bread and Circus“A Map of My Want vividly paints a theology of self-love, one that transcends the shifting world around it and somehow anchors us, firm-footed, in the wanderlust of belonging.”—Deborah Mouton, author of Black Chameleon“Reading A Map of My Want—so muscular, impassioned, and wide-awake—it’s not difficult to believe that bull’s-eye poetry is alchemy, that healing the un-nursed self is healing the world.” —Cyrus Cassells, author of Is There Room for Another Horse on Your Horse Ranch?“Too often we are fooled into thinking we are in control of our desires—Faylita Hicks is gracious in the correction of our folly, in reminding us that the body always draws the map, and we merely follow it.” —Taylor Byas, author of I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times

***This in person event will be live-streamed through Haymarket Books. Register through Ticket Tailor to receive a link to the video conference on the day of the event.

We ask that all in-person attendees wear masks in the event space during the program for the health and well-being of the speaker and other guests. We will have a reception afterwards with light refreshments and books available for purchase.***

Speakers:

Faylita Hicks (she/they) is a queer Afro-Latinx writer, spoken word artist, and cultural strategist. Newly based in Chicago, Illinois, Hicks is the author of the critically-acclaimed debut poetry collection HoodWitch (Acre Books, 2019), a finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry, the 2019 Julie Suk Award, and the 2019 Balcones Poetry Prize.

Andrea Change is poet, writer, Executive Director and a long-time friend of the Guild Complex. She has been a part of the Chicago poetry community for over 20 years. Her work has been published in a number of poetry magazines, journals and included in such poetry anthologies from Tia Chucha Press as Powerlines and Stray Bullets. Her poetry was also included in the 2001 Steppenwolf Theatre production, Words on Fire.Adrian Matejka is the author of 7 books, most recently the graphic novel Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century which was selected as one of the 10 Best Books of 2023 by the New York Public Library. He is the editor of Poetry magazine.

Billy Tuggle is a South Side Chicago native, a renowned writer, vocalist, performance poet and event producer; a mentor, an activist and HipHop culturalist; recorded, published, a poetry slam champion. He is the author of A Tree Falls in The Hood (Swimming With Elephants, 2024). He will be joined by youth performer, Carmendy Tuggle.

Ruben Quesada’s sophomore collection of poetry, Brutal Companion, winner of the Barrow Street Editors Prize, will be available on October 15, 2024. He edited the groundbreaking anthology Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry (2022), winner of the Gold Medal from the Independent Publisher Awards. He is the author of two chapbooks—Jane (2023) and Revelations (2018) and a collection of poetry, Next Extinct Mammal (2011). His poetry and criticism appear in The New York Times Magazine, Best American Poetry, Ploughshares, Harvard Review and elsewhere. He teaches for the low-residency MFA Programs in Creative Writing at Antioch University and Cedar Crest College. He lives in Chicago.

More speakers coming soon!

This celebration is co-sponsored by Haymarket Books and the Guild Literary Complex, Illinois Humanities, ICL Ltd. Co. and L&A Healing Studio.

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.

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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.

Palabra Pura: One Poet, One Poem
2024-07-17 19:00 - 21:00 | La Bruquena Restaurant, 2726 W. Division, Chicago, IL, 60622, 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 Puerto Rican food and drinks, and listen to some bilingual poetry!– – –Palabra Pura presenta UN POETA, UNA POEMA

Acompáñanos el 17 de julio para nuestro evento anual Palabra Pura: Un Poeta, un poema en La Bruquena!

Todos las poetas están bienvenidos a compartir un poema, en inglés, español, o ambos.

¡Conoce amigos nuevos y viejos, disfruta la comida puerto riqueña y bebidas, y escucha poesía bilingüe!

Self-Care as Resistance: Ekphrastic Poetry Reading @ Epiphany Center for the Arts
2024-08-10 15:30 - 17:00 | Illinois
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 body positivity, mental illness, depression and grief.

Featuring: Kwabena Foli, April Gibson, Sam Herschel, Faylita Hicks, and Jennifer Karmin

Location: The Guild Room at Epiphany Center for the Arts

This special program takes place at the Epiphany Center for the Arts in the midst of a powerful art exhibition, RESET, and will include a special artist talk with the artist, Dwight White.

About the Artists:

KWABENA FOLI is a multidisciplinary artist born in Belgium but predominately raised in the South Side of Chicago. He is the author of ON GOD (Candor Arts), and learning rhythm (Flowered Concrete). Other publications include The Los Angles Review, Meridian, Crab Orchard Review, Salt Hill Journal and elsewhere. He is also a Chicago poetry slam champion, national poetry slam finalist, and selected by the Guild Literary Complex as 30 individuals whose careers represent the future of the literary arts in Chicago and beyond. His visual work has over 200 million shares, and residences include Ragdale, Banff Centre of Arts, Chicago HATCH, Elastic Arts, and Poetry Center of Chicago.

APRIL GIBSON is a poet, writer, and professor from the South Side of Chicago. Her work has appeared in The Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Rhino Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of The Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award among other honors. She teaches in the Department of English, Literature, and Speech at Malcolm X College. Her poetry collection The Span of a Small Forever was published by Amistad/HarperCollins in 2024.

FAYLITA HICKS is a queer Afro-Latinx multidisciplinary artist, writer, hoodoo practitioner, and cultural strategist advocating for people directly impacted by the carceral system. An Art for Justice Fund grantee, voting member of the Recording Academy, and winner of the 2020 Sappho Poetry Award from Palette Poetry, they are the author of A Map of My Want (Haymarket Books, 2024) and HoodWitch (Acre Books, 2019), a finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry. Currently based in Chicago, they are working on their forthcoming memoir about their pretrial incarceration, A Body of Wild Light (Haymarket Books, 2026), their next contemporary jazz-infused spoken word album, and a digitally immersive performance piece tentatively entitled The Echoes.

JENNIFER KARMIN has published, performed, exhibited, taught, and experimented with language across the U.S., Cuba, Japan, Kenya, and Europe. As a founding curator of the Red Rover Series, she has often led ensembles of poets improvising together at festivals, artist-run spaces, and on city streets. Widely published in anthologies and journals, her books include the text-sound epic Aaaaaaaaaaalice and The Sexual Organs of the IRS a collaboration with Bernadette Mayer. Since 2000 she has worked with immigrants and refugees at Truman College, using creative writing to support literacy.

SAM HERSCHEL WEIN is a lollygagging plum of a poet who specializes in perpetual frolicking. They have an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tennessee and were the recipient of a 2022 Pushcart Prize. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Butt Stuff Flower Bush with Porkbelly Press. He co-founded and edits Underblong. Recent poems can be found in the American Poetry Review, The Cincinnati Review, and Shenandoah, among others. They can be found in the cheese aisle of most stores, in the middle of a hug, or editing poems at your local coffee shop.

Chicago House Music: Culture + Community
2024-08-15 18:30 - 20:30 | Co-Prosperity, 3219 S Morgan St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608
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, Educator, Community Activist and Ecologist, originally from Chicago. She is the author of Chicago House Music, Culture and Community. She earned an MFA in Poetry from Columbia College Chicago. She is an Associate Editor for Prairie Schooner, the Educational Promotions Manager for African Poetry Book Fund at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she is pursuing her PhD in Creative Writing. Marguerite was nominated for the 2020 Pushcart Prize (Matador Review). She was also nominated for a 2020 Illinois Arts Council grant (Chicago Review) and was a 2020 finalist for an Allied Arts Council grant. She is a member of the Community of Writers and attended the Bread Loaf Orion Environmental Writers Conference and was a 2021/2022 Hugo House Fellow. Her work has been published in Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, Chicago Review, RHINO, Anti-Heroin Chic and other journals.

Exhibit B: The Poets Platform
2024-08-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Co-Prosperity, 3219 S Morgan St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608
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 Co-Prosperity with Lumpen Magazines!

Ideally, community feedback would directly impact policy. In this moment where many folks feel either entirely removed from the political process or overwhelmed by it, 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 Co-Prosperity! More about DEMOCRAZY FEST: The Democratic National Convention is coming back to Chicago this August 19-22, and the Left is coming back to protest, too! Public Media Institute is coordinating a collaborative welcome to artists and activists coming into town. We’re Lump’n it all together under the theme of “Democrazy.” We are living in the legacy of the 1968 DNC protests when activists and artists came together in our city to fight war with love but were met with police violence and state repression. Lumpen 142: Democrazy will revisit these histories while prioritizing the urgent contemporary movements that will bring people back to our streets this year.

Ananda Lima & Daniel Borzutzky In Conversation
2024-09-05 19:00 - 23:00 | Pilsen Community Books, 1531 W. 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608, 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.

Ananda Lima is a poet, fiction writer, and translator, the author of Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil (Tor Books, 2024) and Mother/land (Black Lawrence Press, 2021), winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in four chapbooks, including Amblyopia (Bull City Press), as well as publications such as The American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, Witness, and elsewhere. She has been awarded the inaugural WIP Fellowship by Latinx-in-Publishing, sponsored by Macmillan Publishers and has served as a mentor at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Program. Lima currently serves as a Contributing Editor at Poets & Writers and Program Curator at StoryStudio, Chicago. She has an MA in Linguistics from UCLA and an MFA in Creative Writing in Fiction from Rutgers University, Newark. Craft, her fiction debut, has received starred reviews from Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and The New York Times describes it as “a remarkable debut that announces the arrival of a towering talent.” Originally from Brazil, she lives in Chicago.

Daniel Borzutzky is a poet and translator. His most recent book is Written After a Massacre in the Year 2018. His 2016 collection, The Performance of Becoming Human received the National Book Award. Lake Michigan (2018) was a finalist for the Griffin International Poetry Prize. His most recent translation is Paula Ilabaca Nuñez’s The Loose Pearl (2022), winner of the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. His translation of Galo Ghigliotto’s Valdivia received ALTA’s 2017 National Translation Award, and he has also translated collections by Raúl Zurita, and Jaime Luis Huenún. He teaches English and Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A forthcoming collection, The Murmuring Grief of the Americas (Coffee House Press), will be published in 2024.

Transvengence | September 2024
2024-09-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Clash on Clark, 4416 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois, 60640
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 organize “Smudge Cinema Project”, a now-and-then-wait-when? screening series that takes a look at what happens when a film is projected on a wall for people to watch. Metabolization seems to be what they appear to do, lately.

Printers Row Lit Fest: Exhibit B
2024-09-07 12:00 - 13:00 | Printers Row Lit Festival, Dearborn and Polk Streets, Chicago, 60605, 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 Lit Fest is a free event on the streets of South Dearborn, from Ida B. Wells to Polk Street in Chicago, IL. The literary festival will run from 10am-6pm on Saturday, 9/7, and Sunday, 9/8. Learn more about the festival here.

Location: Center Stage

Printers Row Lit Fest | Annie Allen — Now: A Conversation
2024-09-08 16:00 - 17:00 | Printers Row Lit Festival, Dearborn and Polk Streets, Chicago, 60605, 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 B. Wells to Polk Street in Chicago, IL. The literary festival will run from 10am-6pm on Saturday, 9/7, and Sunday, 9/8. Learn more about the festival here.

Location: Center Stage

Slam Diáspora En Vivo
2024-09-11 19:00 - 21:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 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

A Performance Happening 3 @ Alma Art & Interiors
2024-09-20 18:00 - 22:00 | ALMA Art and Interiors, 3636 S Iron St, Chicago, 60609, 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 atmosphere filled with music, dance, and creativity. This is the third installment of our exciting event series, and we can’t wait to share it with you. Mark your calendars, bring your friends, and join us for an evening of entertainment and fun.

Performances by:

BLUE COLLAR ROCK STARS

CHICAGO MASK ENSEMBLE

ALTHEA TEAMER

HOBBYIST

THE GRATES & SILIS101

JESSE DARNAY

AMANDA SAUCEDO

BILLY TUGGLE

KAO RA ZEN

THESSELONIOUS

Curated by: Kao Ra Zen

CLHoF Fuller Award: Alex Kotlowitz
2024-09-24 19:00 - 22:00 | Chopin Theatre, 1543 West Division Street, Chicago, IL, 60642, 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.

ECOS Pop-up Gallery Readings with Guild Literary Complex
2024-09-28 14:00 - 15:30 | National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W 19th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608, 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 poems in the galleries of the National Museum of Mexican Art. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to enjoy art and poetry at the same time! Approximate schedule with readers below:

2:00-2:40pm Palabra Pura Poets

Ruben Quesada

féi hernandez

Marisa Tirado

Angelique Zorbitz

2:45pm – 3:30pm eXpuestXs Poets

Miguel Mendez Arbizu

om ulloa

Luis Tubens

This event is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to register in advance. For more information about accessibility, visit the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Accessibility Page.

GBOMA 30th Anniversary Celebration
2024-10-03 18:00 - 21:00 | Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois, 60614
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 event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP in advance to reserve your seat. To get your ticket and more information regarding the 30th anniversary GBOMA event, visit the ticket link below.

Luis J. Rodriguez Book Release
2024-10-05 16:00 - 19:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 60608, 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 Rodriguez, and community readings by Crystal Vance Guerra, Pablo Ramirez, and Gregorio Gomez.

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

The Record Track: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony + Community Jam
2024-10-12 13:00 - 18:00 | The Record Track, 2804 E 87th Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60617, 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 donations. Please leave us a message, or bring an instrument to the Ribbon Cutting.

Additionally, we will be collecting donations on Oct. 5th at South by Southeast Fest, 2p-8p13501 S Brandon Ave, Chicago, IL 60633.

RecordTrackChicago.com

Schedule:

1-2:30 PM | Food + Presentation

2:30-3:30 PM | Jam Session

3:30-4:30 PM | Open Mic

4:30-5:30 PM | ESSO

5:30-6:00 PM | Closing Presentation

Juntando Orillas: escrituras afrolatinoamericanas. Una conversación sobreenajenada and Tidal Waters.
2024-10-17 18:30 - 20:00 | Pilsen Arts & Community House, 1637 W. 18th Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60608
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 cuerpo que componen lasexperiencias estéticas de las feminidades situadas geopolíticamente en el Caribe”.– Lauristely Peña Solano.

“Tidal Waters, by Velia Vidal and translated by Annie McDermott, is an epistolary,fictional account of one woman moving towards happiness in the black communityof Colombia’s Pacific coast. Vidal offers a vision of how creating something (foryour community, for yourself) is a way of reading and writing your way into a knownplace and a new self.” – Charco Press

About Tidal Waters

by Velia Vidal

An epistolary, fictional account of one woman moving towards happiness in the black community of Colombia’s Pacific coast.

After a long absence, Vel has come home to Chocó – to the Afro-Colombian community, to her family, to the sea. This is where the Pacific meets the Caribbean, where she’s establishing herself anew. And the record she keeps is a series of letters to a friend, clarifying for herself where she stands, as she describes that homecoming to another. Vel works to build a literary centre, writing career, and festival with and for the people there. But her return to Chocó is also a claim-staking of her decision to pursue happiness now; an account of her immersion in the towns and rivers and forests she came from; and a redefinition of her relationship to sex and love in real time. And Tidal Waters is a vision of how creating something (for your community, for yourself) is a way of reading and writing your way into a known place and a new self.

About enajenada

by Kianny Antigua

Anticanonical Value

By Lauristely Peña Solano

enajenada by Kianny Antigua is a collection of poems about the most visceral human experience—oppression, pain, anguish, otherness, hopelessness, encounter with the shadow and resurgence—represented by the voice and body that make up the aesthetic experiences of femininities geopolitically situated in the Caribbean. […] enajenada proposes to lose, on purpose, patriarchal and sexist reason, to lose it permanently, to build a new reason from love and the scream, that does not ignore the traumas, the frustrations involved in being a Caribbean woman.

In an emotional transition, enajenada reminds us “[That] no matter / how much of a poet I am: / The ridges of my nails / always end up smelling / of crushed garlic and onions.” Despite that which is society, patriarchy and its vices, in writing, Antigua affirms: “I found my own room. / In it I am able to fly / to emerge from within / to transgress and transform myself into that woman / of all dreams.”

Valor anticanónico

Por Lauristely Peña Solano

enajenada, de Kianny Antigua, es un poemario sobre la experiencia humana más visceral (opresión, dolor, angustia, otredad, desesperanza, encuentro con la sombra y resurgimiento) representada desde la voz y el cuerpo que componen las experiencias estéticas de las feminidades situadas geopolíticamente en el Caribe. […] enajenada propone perder, a propósito, la razón patriarcal y machista, perderla de manera permanente, construir una nueva razón desde el amor y el grito, que no ignore los traumas, las frustraciones implicadas en el ser-mujer-caribeña.

En un tránsito emocional, enajenada nos recuerda “[Que] no importa / cuán poeta sea: / el lecho de mis uñas / siempre termina oliendo / a ajo majado y a cebollas”. Pese a eso que es la sociedad, el patriarcado y sus vicios, en la escritura, Kianny afirma: “Encontré mi habitación propia. / En ella soy capaz de volar / de emerger de entre los adentros / de transgredir y transformarme en esa mujer / de todos los sueños”.

Juntando Orillas: Bridging Afro-Diasporic Voices Through Literature
2024-10-18 12:30 - 14:00 | Northwestern University, Crowe Hall 1132, 1860 Campus Drive, Evanston, Illinois, 60208
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 Chicago and Chocó, Colombia. Through public readings, festivals, and book clubs, they promote authors and foster community engagement. Earlier this year, a group of U.S.-based writers selected by the Guild visited Colombia for FLECHO (the Chocó Reading and Writing Festival), organized by Motete in the predominantly Black region of Chocó. During the festival, the writers led workshops, gave poetry readings, and participated in discussions on Afro-diasporic experiences, cultural programming, migration, and children’s literature. This partnership also launched the “Juntando Orillas” (Bridging Shores) program, focused on sharing experiences between cultural organizations with similar goals and creating spaces where literature fosters exchange.

The conversation will feature Andrea Change, poet and executive director of the Guild Literary Complex; Velia Vidal, writer, director of Motete, and co-curator of Colombia’s Museo Afro; Kianny Antigua, writer, translator, and professor; They will be in dialogue with Christian Vásquez, PhD candidate and FLECHO’s programming coordinator.This program is co-sponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program, the Spanish & Portuguese department, the Latina & Latino Studies Program, the Black Studies Department, and the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities of Northwestern University.Bilingual event in English and Spanish.

Lunch will be served.

This event is hybrid and people may also attend by Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/99751803419

Juntando Orillas: Documentary Pre-screening
2024-10-19 18:00 - 20:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 60608, 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
2024-10-24 19:00 - 21:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 60608, 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 history to uncover the surprising conjunctions that bind our stories together. Hernandez’s mission to find the families of the twenty-eight Mexicans who were killed in the 1948 plane wreck at Los Gatos Canyon formed the basis for his acclaimed documentary novel All They Will Call You, which The San Francisco Chronicle dubbed “a stunning piece of investigative journalism,” and The New York Times hailed as “painstaking detective work by a writer who is the descendent of farmworkers.” In this riveting new work, Hernandez continues his search for the plane crash victims while also turning the lens on himself and his ancestral past, revealing the tumultuous and deeply intimate experiences that have fueled his investigations—a lifelong journey haunted by memory, addiction, generational trauma, and the spirit world. They Call You Back is the true chronicle of one man’s obsession to restore dignity to an undignified chapter in America’s past, while at the same time making a case for why we must heal our personal wounds if we are ever to heal our political ones.

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

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Roots and Flowers: Uruguayan Women Poets, Past and Present | Raíces y flores: Poetas uruguayas del pasado y del presente
2024-10-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Illinois
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 tradition of poetry by Uruguayan women. Uruguayan poets Silvia Goldman and Silvia Guerra will share their work and the work of their poetic mothers and grandmothers in a bilingual reading with poets and translators Mary Hawley and Jesse Lee Kercheval.

Bios:

Silvia Guerra (1961, Maldonado, Uruguay) es autora de 12 libros, entre ellos Pulso (Editorial Amargord, Madrid, 2011) y Todo comienzo, lugar (Editorial Casa Vacía, Richmond, Virginia, 2016). Es coeditora de la antología de poetas uruguayas Flores raras [Escondido país] (Dialogos Books, 2024). Su colección bilingüe Un mar en madrugado, traducida por Jesse Lee Kercheval y Jeannine M. Pitas, fue publicada por Eulalia Books en 2023. Es miembro del consejo ejecutivo de la Fundación Mario Benedetti.

Silvia Guerra (1961, Maldonado, Uruguay) is author of 12 books including Pulso, (Editorial Amargord, Madrid, 2011) and Todo comienzo, lugar, (Editorial Casa Vacía, Richmond, Virginia, 2016). She is the co-editor of the anthology of Uruguayan women poets Flores raras [Escondido país] (Dialogos Books, 2024). Her bilingual collection, Un mar en madrugado/ A Sea at Dawn, translated by Jesse Lee Kercheval and Jeannine M. Pitas, was published by Eulalia Books in 2023. She is a member of the executive board of the Mario Benedetti Foundation.

Silvia Goldman es poeta, docente e investigadora. Ha participado en diversas antologías y sus poemas han sido traducidos al inglés, italiano, portugués, árabe, bengalí, hebreo, montenegrino y finés. Sus libros incluyen Cinco movimientos del llanto (Hermes Criollo), De los peces la sed, (Pandora Lobo Estepario), miedo (Axiara ediciones), árbol y otras ansiedades (Isla Negra), Ese eco que une los ojos, (Almud ediciones), en colaboración con Esperanza Vives y Juan Alcota, y Voz hasta el principio (Editorial Efímera). En 2020 fue finalista del VI y VII Premio Internacional de poesía “Pilar Fernández Labrador”, y del Premio Internacional de Poesía “Paralelo Cero 2020”. Es doctora en Estudios Hispánicos por la Universidad de Brown y enseña en la Universidad de DePaul en Chicago.

Silvia Goldman is a poet, teacher and researcher. She has participated in various anthologies and her poems have been translated into English, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Bengali, Hebrew, Montenegrin and Finnish. Her books include Cinco movimientos del llanto (Hermes Criollo), De los peces la sed (Pandora Lobo Estepario), miedo (Axiara ediciones), árbol y otras ansiedades (Isla Negra), Ese eco que une los ojos (Almud ediciones), in collaboration with Esperanza Vives and Juan Alcota, and Voz hasta el principio (Editorial Efímera). In 2020 she was a finalist for the VI and VII International Poetry Prize “Pilar Fernández Labrador,” and for the International Poetry Prize “Paralelo Cero 2020.” She holds a PhD in Hispanic Studies from Brown University and teaches at DePaul University in Chicago.

Jesse Lee Kercheval es poeta, escritora y traductora. Sus libros más recientes son I Want to Tell You (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023) y Un pez dorado no te sirve para nada (Editorial Yaugurú, Uruguay, 2023). Entre sus traducciones se incluyen Love Poems de Idea Vilariño y The Invisible Bridge: Selected Poems of Circe Maia (University of Pittsburgh Press). Es profesora emérita de inglés de la Universidad de Wisconsin-Madison.

Jesse Lee Kercheval is a poet, writer, and translator. Her most recent poetry collections are I Want to Tell You (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023) and Un pez dorado no te sirve para nada (Editorial Yaugurú, Uruguay, 2023). Her translations include Love Poems by Idea Vilariño and The Invisible Bridge: Selected Poems of Circe Maia (University of Pittsburgh Press). She is the Zona Gale Professor Emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mary Hawley es poeta, cuentista y traductora literaria. Sus traducciones de poesía y prosa han aparecido en Triquarterly, The Common, Deinós y otras revistas, y actualmente está traduciendo una trilogía de novelas del escritor uruguayo Sergio Altesor. Es autora del poemario Double Tongues y cotraductora de la antología bilingüe Shards of Light/Astillas de luz. Sus poemas y cuentos han sido publicados en muchas revistas y antologías, y en 2019 recibió un premio literario del Illinois Arts Council en ficción.

Mary Hawley is a poet, fiction writer, and literary translator. Her translations of poetry and prose have appeared in Triquarterly, The Common, Deinós, and other journals, and she is currently translating a trilogy of novels by Uruguayan writer Sergio Altesor. She is the author of the poetry collection Double Tongues and co-translator of the bilingual anthology Shards of Light/Astillas de luz. Her poems and short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and in 2019 she received an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award in fiction.

Exhibit B @ PCB - Nov. '24
2024-11-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Pilsen Community Books, 1531 W. 18th St., Chicago, Illinois, 60608, 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 readings and community.

Artist Bios:

Sarah Peecher is a poet living, working, and teaching undergraduate writing in Chicago. She’s been a reader for Unwoven Literary Magazine, co-curates poetry and artwork for Off the Page, and co-hosted two seasons of the podcast Juxtapose. Her debut chapbook, Keeling, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2025. At the end of a busy day, you can find her cuddling her cats, Rumpus and Ruckus.

Emilio Maldonado is a poet and performer born and raised in Chicago’s concrete jungle, where streets bury streets. As a world traveler with familial roots in Mexico, he writes for the world, the everyman, with poems also layered in the collisions of culture, and the music, and the late night streets of anywhere alone.

Emily Anna Maciel Gonzalez has been a chatterbox since the womb, born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. She is a poet, avid storyteller, advocate for local politics and most importantly a White Sox fan. As of lately she resides in Wicker Park with her pet rabbit, Scorpio. By day she is a bilingual PreK 3-5 teacher and nanny. By night she is a dive bar enthusiast, trivia champion and host of Do Not Submit Humboldt/Wicker.

Sam Herschel Wein (pronouns: he/they) is a lollygagging plum of a poet who specializes in perpetual frolicking. They have an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tennessee and were the recipient of a 2022 Pushcart Prize. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Butt Stuff Flower Bush with Porkbelly Press. He co-founded and edits Underblong. Recent poems can be found in the American Poetry Review, The Cincinnati Review, and Shenandoah, among others. They can be found in the cheese aisle of most stores, in the middle of a hug, or editing poems at your local coffee shop.

¡SLAM EN VIVO!
2024-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | 18th Street Casa de Cultura, 2057 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL, 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!

HIPPY HOLY DAZE 7
2024-11-29 19:30 - 22:30 | Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, Illinois, 60647, 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

Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration w/ Poetry Foundation
2025-05-22 18:00 - 20:00 | The Poetry Foundation, 61 W Superior St, Chicago, IL, United States
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Tia Chucha Press anthology Power Lines, a democratic assemblage of Chicago’s slam poets and poets of letters at the dawn of the new millennium. In a blast from the past, local and notable contributors revisit their original poems from the anthology and offer new poems and insight 25years later.

Featured poets include Ana Castillo, Andrea Change, Reginald Gibbons, Illinois Poet Laureate and Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize recipient Angela Jackson, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tyehimba Jess, Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize recipient Haki R. Madhubuti, Simone Muench, Mark Turcotte, Cin Salach, and anthology editors Julie Parson Nesbitt, Luis Rodriguez, and Michael Warr.

“As long as there is a search for a primal link to people, for solutions to social equations, and for that way of saying what can not be said in ordinary language, poetry will remain the people’s means of expression.”—Michael Warr, Introduction to Power Lines

This program is presented in partnership with the Poetry Center and The Guild Literary Complex. It is part of the Poetry Foundation’s spring 2025 season, Power Lines.

Additional Information

All Poetry Foundation events are completely free of charge and open to the public.

Advanced registration is encouraged.

The performance space is ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible.

The program will feature CART captioning and ASL interpretation.

For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.

Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration: Contributors Reading @ Chopin Theatre
2025-05-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Chopin Theatre, 1543 West Division Street, Chicago, IL, 60642, United States
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Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration: Contributors Reading @ Chopin Theatre
05/24/2025
@
6:00 PM
–
8:00 PM
CDT
Chopin Theatre

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Join the Guild Literary Complex for a special celebration of the Power Lines 25th anniversary! Featuring poetry performances by contributors of the anthology released by Tia Chucha Press, a decade of poems from Chicago’s Guild Complex. A light reception with food and drink will follow.
Free registration – secure your spot now!
*Reader lineup coming soon.*

Free

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LOCATION:

Chopin Theatre

Address:

1543 W. Division

Chicago,
IL
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Power Lines

Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration w/ Poetry Foundation

Cocktails & Conversation

Cocktails & Conversation
2025-05-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 South Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL, 60647, United States
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Cocktails & Conversation
05/30/2025
@
6:00 PM
–
8:00 PM
CDT
Epiphany Center for the Arts

Eric Charles May

Recently retired, Eric Charles May is an associate professor in the Creative Writing program at Columbia College Chicago and the author of the novel Bedrock Faith, the 2021 One Book, One Chicago selection by the Chicago Public Library, and a 2014 Notable African American Title by Publisher’s Weekly. A Chicago native and a former reporter for The Washington Post, May is a past recipient of the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, the past board president of the Guild Literary Complex, a member of 2nd Story, a curatorial board member of the Ragdale Foundation, and a selection committee member for the Harold Washington Literary Award. His fiction has also appeared in the magazines Fish Stories, F, Hypertext, Solstice, and We Speak Chicagoese. In addition to his Post reporting, his nonfiction has appeared in Sport Literate, The Chicago Tribune, and the personal essay anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck.

Nancy Johnson

A native of Chicago’s South Side, Nancy Johnson worked for more than a decade as an Emmy-nominated, award-winning television journalist at CBS and ABC affiliates in markets nationwide.

Her debut novel, The Kindest Lie, has been reviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and is featured on Entertainment Weekly’s Must List. It was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection and has been named one of the most anticipated books of 2021 by Newsweek, O, the Oprah Magazine, Shondaland, NBC News, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Refinery29, and more. Booksellers nationwide selected her novel as an Indie Next pick and librarians chose it for LibraryReads. Nancy’s work has been published in Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine, and has received support from the Hurston/Wright Foundation, Tin House, and Kimbilio Fiction.

Her latest book, People of Means, a propulsive novel about a mother and daughter each seeking justice and following their dreams during moments of social reckoning—1960s Nashville and 1992 Chicago.

A graduate of Northwestern University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nancy lives in downtown Chicago and leads corporate and internal communications for a large health care nonprofit. The Kindest Lie is her first novel.
About Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for live music series concerts, and be sure to hit Golden Hour before-hand for drinks and lite-bites! Doors open at 5pm Thursday – Saturday for Golden Hour with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials!

Come early to EXPLORE and DISCOVER your own EPIPHANY… our art galleries are open and there is free entertainment before the show!

Full Concert Calendar Here

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

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** Must be 21+ with a Valid ID, credit card only to purchase tickets @ the door **

Doors: 5:00PM to Venue | 5:30PM to Chase House

Showtime: 6:00PM

Authors, Eric Charles May (Bedrock Faith) and author, Nancy Johnson (People of Means) are in discussion about craft, their perspectives as two writers of color, career longevity and more specifically the role that Chicago plays as a peripheral “character” in their books. Join us for cocktails and a lively conversation with these two amazing authors in the lovely Chase Garden Gallery.

Both books will be available for sale with signings by the authors.

$20 – $25

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Epiphany Center for the Arts

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201 South Ashland Ave.

Chicago,
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(312) 421-4600

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Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration
