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  • 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 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,...

  • ¡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

  • Abstract illustration of colorful lines on a black background.

    Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration w/ Poetry Foundation

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

    Free

  • Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration: Contributors Reading @ Chopin Theatre

    Chopin Theatre 1543 West Division Street, Chicago, IL, United States

    « All Events Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration: Contributors Reading @ Chopin Theatre 05/24/2025 @ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CDT Chopin Theatre Add to calendar Google Calendar iCalendar 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...

    Free

  • Cocktails & Conversation

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

    « All Events 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...

    $20 – $25

  • SAY THEIR NAMES Community Salon w/ NON:op

    Experimental Station 6100 S. Blackstone, Chicago, IL, United States

    Join us on June 6 at Experimental Station in Woodlawn as we remember Black Americans killed by police violence and honor the memory of Ronald Browne, lead researcher and one of the...

    $30

  • BrooksDay 2025: Living Legacy – Tradition Meets Tomorrow

    National Public Housing Museum 919 South Ada Street, Chicago, Illinois

    Join us for an unforgettable celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at 2pm as we honor the incredible legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks and the generations of Black female poets who...

    Free

  • Transvengence Pride Month

    Podlasie Club 2918 N Central Park Ave., Chicago, Illinois

    TRANSVENGENCE VOL. 8: LIBERATION BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY Host: Joss Barton Performers: Dutchesz Gemini Hi Bitch! The gorgeous and gifted Dutchesz Gemini is a Chicago based drag and performance artist,...

    Free

  • Palabra Pura: One Poet, One Poem

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

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

    Free

  • Fountain Square LitFest

    Fountain Square | 1601 Sherman Ave. | Evanston, IL Bookends & Beginnings and the Guild Literary Complex present an afternoon of literary celebration on Saturday, August 23rd, from 12-8pm. Immerse...

    Free

  • Transvengence Vol. 9: Queer Pop-up

    Podlasie Club 2918 N Central Park Ave., Chicago, Illinois

    Join us after Printers Row Lit Fest at Podlasie Club for TRANSVENGENCE: VOL. 9! Our regular show this month will close off the literary weekend with special performances following an...

    Free
  • rainbow colors background thick stripes with black and white lettering- picture of Crystal Vance Guerra and info for Slam Diáspora

    ¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!

    PACH 21 2141 W 21st St, Chicago, Illinois, United States

    The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person. Poets/participants have a chance to win a free international trip to compete in the international slam. Hosted by Crystal Vance Guerra and Luis Tubens "Logan Lu"

    $5
  • "Women’s Writers Showcase promotional image featuring headshots of six women writers: Virginia Bell, Eiren Caffall, Marcy Rae Henry, J.S. Jones, Maud Lavin, Sahar Mustafah. Event details on the right: Tuesday, Sept 30th, 6:30PM CT at Haymarket House, 800 W. Buena."

    Women’s Writers Showcase

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

    The Guild Complex and Haymarket Books feature six new books by six amazing, local self- identifying female authors, centering fiction, poetry and short stories about the magic of water, ancestral legacy, grief, longing and memory. A lineup not to be missed!

    $5

  • Alt text: Green promotional poster for the 31st Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA) Live. Features finalist names and event details for October 2 at 6:30 PM (doors at 6) at Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave, Chicago. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Finalists include Barbara Barrows Chirskira Caillouet Mars April Caulton Sylvia Ewing Lisa Farver Rocio Franco Gregorio Gomez Crystal Vance Guerra Wesley Frazier Keys Miguel Marzana Ciara Miller Hilesh Patel Sayeda Qader Sandra Santiago Samina Hadi-Tabassum Kara Rose Trojan

    GBOMA 2025

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

    Come out and support the 2025 finalists for the Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards (GBOMA) as they perform their works live. 10/7, Epiphany Center for the Arts, 6:30 PM. $15/advance, $20/door.

    $15
  • rainbow colors background thick stripes with black and white lettering- picture of Crystal Vance Guerra and info for Slam Diáspora

    ¡Slam Diáspora en Vivo!

    Taqueria El Mezquite 1756 W 18th St, Chicago, Illinois, United States

    The first and only Spanish language slam in Chicago returns in-person. Poets/participants have a chance to win a free international trip to compete in the international slam. Hosted by Crystal Vance Guerra and Luis Tubens "Logan Lu"

    $5

  • 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 expression in Spanish, English, and/or other languages. Launched in 2006, the series celebrates the work of Latinx writers in Chicago and beyond, and provides a space...

    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 incarceration, co-sponsored by the Guild Literary Complex, for an artist talk on memory, erasure, and the politics of archiving. Drawing from Digital Archives of the...

    Free

  • Guild Literary Complex banner, photo by GlitterGuts of audience members

    New/Next Writers Showcase

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

    Celebrate a next generation of writers with us who've recently come out with new books.Meredith NnokaNoa FieldsMeghan MalachiLisa LowNoel QuinonesKameryn CarterNatasha Mijares

    Free

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

    BrooksDay 2026

    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.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,...

    Free
  • Photo by GlitterGuts of bassoonist and artist at DJ book for Transvengence event

    Transvengence Vol. 12

    Podlasie Club 2918 N Central Park Ave., Chicago, Illinois

    Join us during Pride Month for TRANSVENGENCE, our bimonthly open mic and performance series, hosted by Joss Barton.Join us during Pride Month for TRANSVENGENCE, our bimonthly open mic and performance series, hosted by Joss Barton. Featured performers TBA.

    Free