Poetry Foundation Announces Fall 2023 Events Season

CHICAGO, August 29, 2023—The Poetry Foundation announces its roster of free public events for the fall 2023 season, including poetry readings, writing workshops, musical performances, and an exhibition commemorating Poetry magazine’s founder. 

Poetry Is Expansive

The season kicks off on September 7 at Harold Washington Library with a celebration of Chicago’s first poet laureate, avery r. young. young invited the following poets laureate from around the US to join him for a reading: E’mon Lauren Black, Nandi Comer, Angela Jackson, Amanda Johnston , and Airea D. Matthews.

“The opening event honoring Chicago’s first poet laureate and longtime Foundation collaborator, avery r. young, sets the stage for another memorable season,” said Ydalmi Noriega, vice president of programs and engagement. “I’m excited for audiences to experience this opening reading and to return throughout the season to explore poetry in unexpected ways alongside emerging and established poetry legends from Chicago and beyond.” 

On September 21, the Poetry Foundation performance space will transform into a jazz lounge with Herman’s Lounge: A Night of Rhythm and Prose. This immersive event leading up to the Hyde Park Jazz Festival will interweave Chicago’s unique relationship with poetry, improv, and jazz with performances by Dee Alexander, keiyaA, Ben LaMar Gay, and Gabrielle Octavia Rucker. 

Acclaimed Nigerian-born British novelist and poet, Ben Okri, comes to the Poetry Foundation for a special US appearance on September 28. For Poetry Off the Shelf: Ben Okri, Okri will read his poetry and prose, followed by a public Q&A and book signing. 

Together in Poetry

The Foundation’s Forms & Features workshop series provides opportunities to get hands-on for poets from all experience levels. On September 9, Forms & Features visiting teaching artists will return to share their work with past workshop participants and other poetry lovers in Celebrating the Visiting Teaching Artists of Forms & Features.

Audiences are invited to get to know a new generation of poets on October 21 with a reading by the Poetry Foundation’s 2023 Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship recipients. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the US, the Fellowships annually honor exceptional young poets and provide support early in their careers.

Poets across generations come together on November 2 to  pay homage to Haitian-born American writer, performer, publisher, and AIDS activist, Assotto Saint. Luther Hughes, Saeed Jones, John Keene, Danez Smith, and Pamela Sneed will read from the posthumous publication of Saint’s collected works, Sacred Spells, and a folio of Saint’s work featured in the May 2023 issue of Poetry.

A Poetry Legend

The new exhibition in the Poetry Foundation Gallery honors poet, critic, and founding editor of Poetry magazine, Harriet Monroe, whose steadfast commitment to the art form and its creators altered the course of American literary history.

Harriet Monroe & The Open Door maps the evolution of Monroe’s editorial philosophy, locating it within the cultures and structures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries with original artwork by Lilli Carré alongside archival photographs, letters, and other documents from Monroe’s life. The name of the exhibition reflects Monroe’s 1912 declaration, "The Open Door will be the policy of this magazine—may the great poet we are looking for never find it shut, or half-shut.”

This special exhibition will be on display at the Poetry Foundation until January 14, 2024.

To complement the Harriet Monroe & The Open Door exhibition opening, Carmen Giménez will moderate a conversation with Poetry’s four women guest editors from 2021–22, Esther G. Belin, Su Cho, Suzi F. Garcia, and Ashley M. Jones on September 14. 

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These are only a sampling of the Poetry Foundation’s offerings; please subscribe to the newsletter and visit PoetryFoundation.org/Events for the most up-to-date listings.

Event Accessibility

Poetry Foundation events are free and open to the public. Readings and events are live-streamed and include captioning and ASL interpretation unless otherwise noted. Masks are strongly encouraged and available at check-in. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.

Expanded Hours (starting September 6, 2023)

• Wednesday & Friday: 11 AM - 5 PM
• Thursday: 11 AM - 7 PM
• Saturday: 10 AM - 5 PM
• Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday: Closed

Facilities will remain open outside these hours for events, as noted. Check out  PoetryFoundation.org/Visit to learn more about visiting the Poetry Foundation. 

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About the Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation recognizes the power of words to transform lives. The Foundation works to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry. Follow the Poetry Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and Poetry magazine at @PoetryMagazine.

Media Contacts

Liz O’Connell-Thompson, Media Manager, [email protected] 312.799.8065
Moyo Abiona, Media Assistant, [email protected]