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Chicago Poetry Scene Top 130
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ChicagoPoetry: The Hurt Locker To Poetry's Avatar
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March Poetry Madness, Chicago Style
Posted by : cj on Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - 04:00 PM
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318 Reads
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March is here. Now if only the winter would march away. Here's some poetry gossip to warm you up.
 The Tuesday Night POW-WOW at Jeffrey Pub, 7041 S Jeffrey, is still going strong with powerful feminist voices. It happens from 8 to 10:30 PM with a $5 cover. March's features include Jenn Christy on March 2; Hip Hop Poetry on March 9; an event called "Men Talk Vaginas" on March 16; and the one and only Nikki Patin on March 23. There will also be a "She Slam" at Chicago State University, Douglas Hall, Breakly Theater, 9501 S. King Dr, on March 30 from 7 to 9 PM. The She Slam will be hosted By CC Carter and it promises the "fiercest lineup of queer and queer allied women poets in Chicago" including Deana Dean, Marty McConnell, Tristan Silverman, Tai Freedom Ford and many others. How about that for the new math of poetry?
Do you want to be a winner? Well, you can either write a haiku and try to win a block of cheese by clicking here or you can write something really nasty, weird or otherwise "off the wall" and try to win $100 cash at the next open mic contest at Weeds, 1555 N. Dayton, on Monday, March 29—sign up around 9:30 PM.
The buzz is that Lethal Poetry has been really rocking with the events that they organize, including the Words That Kill series. I have it from a good source that they're attempting to collaborate with other local organizations in an attempt to start up some type of annual spoken word poetry festival that may happen later this year. Now the Lethal Poets have their own radio program as well. It's called Lethal Amplitude and it airs on Thursdays at 7 PM on 89.5 FM WBEW and on Vocalo.org. To listen or for more about that, click here.
Check out Polvo Magazine's new blog.. They are looking for poetry, essays and short stories.
Ray Bianchi wants you to check out The Book Table bookstore in Oak Park, so click here.
Two With Water, a Chicago-based literary and art magazine that can be found at Quimby's, Myopic Books, Book Cellar, Women and Children First, and at other locations, is seeking submissions for the "Rx Reading Series" that will premier on Friday, March 26, 8 PM at Transistor. 5045 N. Clark St. The new series will take place at different venues throughout the city and it will feature selected readers with an occasional open mic. If you want to feature for this new series, they are seeking submissions (1000 words or less) of original short stories, poetry, and music that pertain to the theme of "Spring Breaking." Send them to submissions@twowithwater.com with "Rx Reading Submission" in the subject line by March 15.
 Okay, I don't mean to sound like the guy going on and on about how he walked five miles barefooted through the snow to get to school, but I can remember when I use to see David Sedaris read for five bucks in Wrigleyville. Now if you want to see him read his essays you have to pay $25 to $75. Click here if you can afford to see him at the Auditorium Theater on April 17.
Hey! Saturday, March 6, Vic Theater, click here. Enough said.
On Monday, March 8, Molly Malone's Irish Pub, 7652 Madison St, in Forest Park, will present a poetry / fiction open mic with featured poet Kathleen Driskell, author of Seed Across Snow (Red Hen Press). Driskell is Associate Program Director of Spalding University’s brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program in Louisville, Kentucky, where she is Associate Professor of Creative Writing. The open mic and reading happen from 7 30 to 9:30 PM and there is a $3 to $5 cover.
On Wednesday, March 10, the Danny's Reading Series will present Rick Snyder and John Tipton at 1951 W Dickens at 7:30 PM.
There will be a free Mojo's Pen open mic on Thursday, March 4, 7 to 9 PM, at the African American Cultural Center, 750 S. Halsted, Addams Hall, Suite 207.
There will also be a free poetry open mic on Friday, March 5, at 8 PM, at Borders Books & Music, 595 Central Avenue in Highland Park.
Check out The Future of Literary Magazines and Journals, a panel with Hattie Fletcher, Donna Seaman, Fred Sasaki, and Ian Morris on Friday, March 5, at 7 PM, at Barbara's Bookstore, 1218 S. Halsted St. That's right, you heard it here first.
 Do you want to learn about the next Windy City Story Slam? Just click the little poster to the right and it will get bigger for you. Cool, huh?
Our wonderful intern informs us that Frank Rogaczewski will be reading at Roosevelt University, Gage Gallery, 18 S. Michigan Ave, on Tuesday, March 9, at 5 PM. Rogaczewski is the author of a collection of prose poems called The Fate of Humanity in Verse and his poetry has also been published in Notre Dame Review, Denver Quarterly, Another Chicago Magazine, Samizdat, BlueSky Review, and Oyez Review.
From March 5 to March 21, Lower Links will be presenting Land/Use, three weekends of performance, dance, readings and videos about how we shape the land and how the land shapes us. Each weekend features new performances and post show talk backs led by highly respected environmentalists from the area. Tickets are $15 ($12 online) or $10 ($8 online) for students, with weekend passes for $20/$15 and festival passes for $25. Click here for more.
In a previous version of this paragraph, I listed an event at Woman Made Gallery, 685 N Milwaukee Ave, that will happen on Sunday, March 21, from 2 to 4 PM. Since then I received another press release from the gallery listing a completely different line up of poets for that event. I don't know what the screw up was, but here it is straight from the gallery: "This reading will feature woman writers with with a notable record of publishing and other accomplishments. Readers include Brenda Cardenas (Bilingual Press), Poet Laureate of Milwaukee; Angela Jackson (Triquarterly Books, winner of 2 American Book awards), Jacquelyn Pope (Marsh Hawk Press), Jennifer Sweeney (Perugia Press, winner of the James Laughlin award); and Lina Ramona Vitkauskas (Ravenna Press)."
Don't forget April is National Poetry Month. Whoo-hoo! ChicagoPoetry.com is your source to learn about poetry month activities, so bookmark our homepage and check back often. One poetry month event that is already planned is a very special reading by Sam Hamill at Unity Temple in Oak Park on Saturday, April 17. Oh yeah, and those Waiting 4 The Bus guys are going to attempt another "Poetry Bomb" on Sunday, April 18. What's a poetry bomb, you ask? During a poetry bomb poets do readings in public places, often outdoors, at a designated time, sort of like a poetry flash mob. This is the third year the bombers are attempting this. In 2008 the event went smoothly; it was met with good weather, wide support and it received a lot of good press. But in 2009, the event was met with a brutal rainstorm that left some of the bombers drenched on the steps of the Art Institute and at other locales. What's going to happen this year? Will the bomb have better karma this time? I'm taking out my Mystical Pen and I am writing: partly cloudy, cool and breezy, scent of melancholy in the air.
 Of course, for the past decade the big Poetry Month event in Chicago has been the Chicago Public Library's Poetry Fest. This year the fest will happen on Saturday, April 24, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Harold Washington Library. Local poetry presses will exhibit in the lobby throughout the day, including A Small Garlic Press, After Hours Press, Cracked Slab Books, March Abrazo Press, Neighborhood Writing Alliance, Poetry Magazine, Puddin’head Press, RHINO, Swan Isle Press, Third World Press, Virtual Artists Collective, River Oak Review, and Shakespeare’s Monkey Revue. The Poetry Fest is a wonderful opportunity for local poets and poetry organizers to work together to present poetry to the public. It's a really good representation of the diversity of the Chicago Poetry Scene. This year's festivities will also include a Poetry Wheel led by the Poets Club of Chicago, a reading by Cornelius Eady, and a huge Poetry Cram featuring representatives from the featured presses as well as plenty of guest poets including Stella Radulescu, Shontay Luna, Ruth Goring, Larry O. Dean, Christine Cassello, Anne Godden-Segard, Udayan Das, PJ Destin, Timothy David Rey, Bill Allegrezza, Garin Cycholl, Steve Halle, Ray Bianchi, as well as poets from Young Chicago Authors and many, many others. The fest is free and open to the public, so don't miss it.
You can also celebrate National Poetry Month by attending Chicago State University's presentation of "Builder of Positive Reality: A Celebration of the Lifelong Achievements of Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti & the 20th Anniversary of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing." It will happen on April 1st thru April 3rd and it will feature Angela Jackson, JoAnne Gabbin, Trudier Harris, Maryemma Graham, R. Dwayne Betts, Randall Horton, Jericho Brown, John Murillo, Marcus Jackson, Tony Medina, John Fountain, Jabari Asim, Treasure Williams and many others, with "Giant’s Day Honoree" Nikki Giovanni. For information on registration please contact the Gwendolyn Brooks Center at 773-995-4440 or gbrookscenter@gmail.com.
If you click on this link you can scroll down the page and reserve a copy of Kathleen Kirk's new book, Living on the Earth, which is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. Or you can send $15 to the press at P. O. Box 1626, Georgetown, KY 40324. It will be shipped to you on April 30.
If you click on this link you can see a ten minute preview of the new documentary "Louder Than A Bomb" made by Chicago filmmakers Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel and starring Kevin Coval and some very talented young poets.
Finally there will be a free screening of the 1976 film "The Chicago Maternity Center Story" followed by a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 10, from 6 to 8 PM, at UIC School of Public Health's Auditorium, Room 109, 1603 W. Taylor St. For more than 75 years, the Chicago Maternity Center provided safe home births for Chicago mothers. This film interweaves the history of the center with the story of a young woman about to have her first baby and the center's fight to stay open in the face of the corporate takeover of medicine. What's that got to do with poetry? Uh-dunno. Sounds cool anyway, though.
--CJ Laity
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Chicago Poetry Opportunities
Posted by : cj on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - 11:30 AM
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193 Reads
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Hi poets, I have some exciting opportunities to share with you.
 Recently I was given a personal, advance tour of the Brookfield Zoo's Great Bear Wilderness, a new seven acre exhibit that will be the largest in the zoo and that will be combined with "The Language of Conservation," a project sponsored by Poets House of New York that aims to deepen public awareness of environmental issues through poetry (click here for photos). Specifically, poems and lines of poetry from poets such as Pablo Neruda, Joy Harjo, Gwendolyn Brooks, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickson and many others, will be etched in glass, burned in wood, written on plaques and otherwise posted throughout the zoo for people to read. Similar exhibits will also be displayed at zoos in New Orleans, Milwaukee, Little Rock and Jacksonville, Mississippi. The only thing that could make this news cooler is if they were planning to hold poetry readings at Brookfield Zoo. Right? Ta da!! There are going to be poetry readings at Brookfield Zoo, at the grand opening in late May, as well as at least one event co-sponsored by ChicagoPoetry.com in late July (and perhaps more, I'm working on it). If you have family friendly poetry on the theme of nature, wildlife or conservation and you would like to be considered for a reading at the zoo, contact me at publisher@chicagopoetry.com
Here's another great opportunity. The Guild Complex is holding auditions for slots in its "Poetry Performance Incubator" for the show Tour Guides. The previous version of Tour Guides that was presented in the summer of 2008 was a poetic theater presentation about Chicago's neighborhoods that was directed by Coya Paz. It featured Kimberly Dixon, Steven Evans, Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez, Ricardo Gamboa, Tricia Hersey and Rupal Soni. Now the Guild Complex is looking for a new group of poets "who have experience in stage performance or are willing to learn" or "actors who have writing or poetry skills." From the Guild: "Interested people must be comfortable with or interested in working as part of an ensemble cast. You must be comfortable writing collaboratively, writing for others, and/or performing pieces that others have written for you. You must be available for regular writing, rehearsal and performance sessions over the spring and summer as well as a more rigorous schedule in the fall, the target time for a full production." Auditions will be Saturday, March 13, from 1 to 4 PM at Decima Musa, 1901 S. Loomis, with call-backs on Thursday, March 18, from 6 to 9 PM. Please prepare 5 minutes of work consisting of two different pieces: (1) an original piece or a piece of your own choosing, and (2) a piece responding to the prompt "Chicago is . . .” To schedule an audition or for more information, call the Guild Complex at 1-877-394-5061 and leave a clear message with your name and telephone number or send an e-mail to ellen.wadey@gmail.com
 And here's another opportunity. Partner Dance Press invites self-identified women writers, composers, performers and text-based artists under 40 currently living in Chicago to submit work for consideration in a new online text-based anthology. Writing about the breadth of the city – from South Chicago to Albany Park, Austin to the lip of the lake – and life in the 21st century, the anthology will focus on the written word as foundation, regardless of whether its original context plays out on the page, the stage, cyberspace or another format. The project will bring together various forms of creative textual production, joining the stuff of a traditional written anthology with sound and performance and constructing new modes of mapping spatiality in the city. The work must be text-based and tell a story, and need not explicitly speak about Chicago; it may be, but is not limited to: literary writing, poetry, sound installations or pieces, graphic fiction, memoir, dramatic text, journalism, performance, animation, film or scripts. The 21 texts will be selected based on overall quality, as well as their ability to use text-based work to represent the diversity of the urban space. Submissions will be especially welcomed from artists from communities that have been historically underrepresented in the oeuvre of the city. Previously unpublished work by women under 40 currently living in Chicago should be submitted in full with a very brief cover letter, including contact information to 21.21.chicago@gmail.com or via snail mail to: Partner Dance Press, 4346 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60653. Deadline: June 15, 2010. Contact editors Megan Bayles and Achy Obejas at partnerdancepress@gmail.com with any questions.
Oh, by the way. ChicagoPoetry.com will be hosting another giant Poetry Cram at the Harold Washington Library during the Poetry Fest on Saturday, April 24. I am looking to feature as many poets as possible, representing as many publications and poetry organizations as possible, in an attempt to break the all-time Library Cram record of 53 poets that was set last year at the fest. Please RSVP by email with "Poetry Fest" in the subject field to publisher@chicagopoetry.com in advance because last year about a dozen poets didn't get the chance to read when our time ran out. I will be passing out free copies of Cram 8 on that date as well. If you would like your published work distributed at the fest, please follow the instructions posted here.. And don't forget, I host a Poetry Cram every second Saturday of the month at Cafe Ballou, 939 N. Western Ave, from 7 to 9 PM; the next one is the Saint Patty Poetry Cram on March 13. Contact me with "Cafe Ballou" in the subject field to reserve your spot.
The Sun Times has published a nice tribute to Effie Mihopoulos here. Please attend one or both of two memorials planned for Effie. The Life Celebration for Effie Mihopoulos is scheduled for Friday, March 5 from 5 to 7 PM in Recital Hall at Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave. A concert to benefit Haiti will follow, hosted by WZRD, the radio station that Effie worked tirelessly for, for many years. And then, on Saturday, March 6, from 1 to 3 PM, there will be a poetry memorial for Effie at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street. Poets, please bring something to read in her honor! If you are planning to attend either, please contact honoring1effie@gmail.com to RSVP.
 On Friday, March 12, Women and Children First bookstore at 5233 North Clark Street will present a performance by Staceyann Chin at 7:30 PM, to celebrate the paperback release of her "searing and groundbreaking memoir", The Other Side of Paradise, in which Chin "charts her course from the heartbreak and tragedy of her Jamaican childhood, to her thriving adult life in New York City".
On Thursday, March 18, at 10 AM, Hoogland Center for the Arts 420 South 6th Street, Springfield, IL, 217-523-2787, will present the Poetry Out Loud State Final. According to the Illinois Arts Council, "thousands of students from Illinois schools statewide participated in the 2009-2010 Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, a free program created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to encourage youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance." This year's state final will feature recitations by sixteen regional contest winners and it is free, open to the public, and accessible.
This has been another report from ChicagoPoetry.com. I am often copied, but never duplicated. Take care.
CJ Laity
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What I Think About Chicago Poets
Posted by : cj on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 04:50 PM
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138 Reads
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Did you know that 826 National was recently awarded the The Jim Henson Community Honor that acknowledges an organization that has increased goodwill or made a positive impact in a specific community or around the world. Said Lisa Henson, "We were so excited to learn about the incredible work of 826 National and the thousands of volunteers who are dedicated to providing personalized instruction and inspiration to future authors, playwrights and screenwriters."
On Thursday, March 4, from 7:30 to 11:30 PM, Katerina's Street of Dreams, 1920 W. Irving Park Rd, will present another "Future Perfect" event. This time, the spoken word house band Saint Cloud will be joined by featured readers Parneshia Jones and Simone Muench, with a variety of mixed-media happenings going on. And let me tell you, this is what I think about Simone Muench.
 On Friday, March 5, the "Urban Sandbox" returns, this time at Empathy Lodge, 1800 S. Peoria. The show will be hosted by Dan Sully and will feature Idris Goodwin, Anna West, and Ben Butter. It goes on from 8 to 10:30 PM. What do I think? I think it should be packed because of the Louder Than A Bomb fest, so get there early: doors open at 7:15.
I'm also thinking The Book Cellar, 4736 North Lincoln Ave, has some pretty cool events lined up for March, including readings by Roosevelt University Students on March 12 at 7 PM, and Northwestern University Graduate Students on March 19 at 7:30 PM. Check out the complete March calendar of events here
On Friday, May 7, from 9 to 11 PM, Women & Children First Books, 5233 N. Clark St, will host "Sister Spit," a "raucous, rowdy performance gang . . . with a vanload of queertastic brilliance" from "zinesters, fashion plates, slam poets, novelists, performance artists, poets and fancy scribblers," with Michelle Tea, Lynn Breedlove, Elisha Lim, Lenelle Moise, Len Plass, Nicole J. Georges, and Annie Danger. I don't think you'll want to miss it.
 After almost 3 and a half years as the Program Director of the Neighborhood Writing Alliance and the Associate Editor of the Journal of Ordinary Thought, Rupal Soni has stepped down to pursue a Masters in Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Rupal Soni (photo) says: "I’ve loved working with NWA to support our dedicated and talented writers; to develop programs that weave together community writing, social justice, and community building; to help amplify the voices of Chicago’s communities in the Journal of Ordinary Thought; and to collaborate with each of you. With that being said, NWA has a solid and creative line-up of programming set for 2010, the steady leadership of Carrie guiding the way, and a fantastic new editor, Hollen Reischer, joining the team. It’s going to be a great year."
The buzz from the ChicagoPoetry news desk is that Al DeGenova's After Hours magazine will be marking its 10th anniversary with a double issue to be released in June, 2010. There will be no winter issue of After Hours this year.
Find out how you can enter the 2010 "Poetry Challenge" by going to HighlandParkPoetry.org.
The Encyclopedia Show has found a new home at the Vittum Theatre, 1012 N Noble St.
There is a lot going on in the Haiku arena. There will be a free Haiku Fest on Saturday, March 13, with special guest Angela Jackson (photo). Go to HaikuFest.com and bookmark it to check for updated information as things develop.
 The Smart Museum of Art at University of Chicago, 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue, will present an Open Mic. event called "The Dark Mirror" emceed by poets Matthias Regan (photo) and Eric Elshtain on Thursday, March 4, from 7 to 9 PM. The press release says: "Step up to the open mic and share a few poems, a short story, or a creative essay about your darker side." There will be free coffee, music, and a raffle.
Gay and Gray: An anthology of Gay Writers and Artists 60 and over seeks submissions! NewTown Writers, Chicago's premier GLBT writing group, is pleased to announce a request for submissions to its newest publication, Gay and Gray! In an attempt to begin to collect what can only be a myriad of writing and wisdom from ‘the older gay writer/artist, NewTown Writers is seeking:creative non-fiction, short stories, fiction or memoir, poetry, digital imagery, and photography from the GLBTQ community 60 and older. Fiction and non-fiction submissions should be a maximum of 5,000 words. Each writer may submit three pieces for consideration. Reprints are acceptable as long as the author retains the copyright. Submissions should be sent as attachments to an email and NOT pasted into the body of the e-mail. Incorrect submissions will not be read. Multiple submissions are welcome and should be sent in separate e-mails. ALL submissions must be in 12-point Times New Roman, single-spaced, and sent as attachments. All authors must be willing to be edited. Authors should include their age (or there about) with submissions for reprint in the anthology as well as a photo when possible. The photo may be taken from any point in the author’s life. Also please include a brief biography. While there is no specific theme, content may focus on aging in the gay community, historical hindsight and/or perspective unique to the GBLTQ person 60 and older. E-mail submissions for GAY AND GRAY should be sent to: submit2gayNgray@aol.com by June, 2010. All writers will be notified of the editor’s selections. Each writer published in the 'Gay and Gray' anthology will receive three copies of the volume gratis.
Well, that's all for today, folks. What ja think?
CJ Laity
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Poetry Spots In Chicago
Posted by : cj on Friday, February 05, 2010 - 04:05 PM
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331 Reads
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Hiya poets,
I was off the radar for a week during my extended vacation into the country, but now I'm back. I want to thank everyone who donated money to help me keep ChicagoPoetry.com rolling for three more years. I'm happy to report that I've used a bit of your dough to renew some domain names up until the year 2012, so rest assured Chicago Poetry Show will be published as promised.
 Virtual Artists Collective presents its new title, Ink on Snow, by Elizabeth Raby, who has taught in Romania and holds an MFA in Poetry from Temple University. Raby is also the author of The Black Kingdom at the Heart of the Peony and The Year the Pears Bloomed Twice. She has been one of the featured readers at the Day for All Women conference at Bucks County Community College and the Geraldine Dodge Festival. You can order it by clicking here.
Another Chicago Magazine will soon be coming out with a "Chicago issue." Poetry Cram will also be coming out with a Chicago issue. And I've also learned that one of Chicago's longest lasting online zines, Milk Magazine, will also be coming out with a Chicago themed issue. In the meantime, you can click here to check out Milk Mag Volume 9 with work by Ed Baker, Jessica Baron, Michael Bernstein, Daniel Borzutzky, William Corbett, Steve Dalachinsky, Steve Halle, Duriel Harris, Reginald Harris, Zach Harris, Pierre Joris, Megan Kaminski, Vincent Katz, Amy King, Rob Mclennan, K. Silem Mohammad, Simon Perchik, Kathleen Rooney, Elisa Gabbert, Spencer Selby, Jordan Stempleman, Steve Timm, Arpine Grenier, Gene Tanta and Tony Trigilio.
So what's going on around town, you may ask? Well . . .
On Saturday, March 6, at 7:30 PM, Switchback Books will be hosting a "Housewarming Party" at Fulton Street Collective, 2000 W Fulton St. Featured readers will include Simone Muench, Lina ramona Vitkauskas, Carlo Matos, and Brandi Homan. There will be beer! A $10 donation is suggested.
On Saturday, March 27, at 8 PM, SPACE at 1245 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, will present "Ellen Rosner & Friends." Tickets help a breast cancer patient support fund and range from $10 to $18; they can be purchased here..
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April 17: Sam Hamill at Unity Temple in Oak Park
Posted by : cj on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - 11:07 AM
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570 Reads
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 On Saturday, April 17, Charlie Rossiter and the Unity Temple, 835 W. Lake St. in downtown Oak Park, will present two special events featuring Poet, Publisher, Translator, and Founder of Poets Against the War, Sam Hamill. This will be a rare opportunity to spend time with one of the major poets and cultural forces of our time. Sam Hamill is the author of more than forty books, including fifteen volumes of original poetry (most recently Measured by Stone and Almost Paradise: New & Selected Poems & Translations); four collections of literary essays; and some of the most distinguished translations of ancient Chinese and Japanese classics of the last half-century. Hamill co-founded, and for thirty-two years was editor, at Copper Canyon Press. He taught in prisons for fourteen years and has worked extensively with battered women and children. Mr. Hamill also inspired tens of thousands of poets across the country and across the world to protest the war in Iraq, after a White House poetry symposium was cancelled for fear that anti-war poetry would be read.
"The Practice of Poetry," an intimate workshop and discussion with Mr. Hamill (limited to 20 participants) will take place at the Temple from 2 to 4 PM. And then, "An Evening of Poetry with Sam Hamill," a special 3rd Saturday Coffeehouse event, will take place at 8 PM. Tickets for these events will become available starting February 1. Tickets for the workshop can be purchased for $20 from BrownPaperTickets by clicking here and tickets for the reading can be purchased for $9 by clicking here. Please note there will be no open mic. for the evening reading. These events are funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. and the Social Mission Committee of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation. For more information please contact 708-660-9376.
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Effie Mihopoulos Passes Away: Two Memorials Planned
Posted by : cj on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 10:47 PM
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Effie's Memorial planned! The Life Celebration for Effie Mihopoulos is scheduled for Friday, March 5 from 5 to 7 PM in Recital Hall at Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave. A concert to benefit Haiti will follow, hosted by WZRD, the radio station that Effie worked tirelessly for, for many years.
And then, on Saturday, March 6, from 1 to 3 PM, there will be a poetry memorial for Effie at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street. Poets, please bring something to read in her honor!
NOTE: If you are planning to attend either, please contact honoring1effie@gmail.com to RSVP.
 What can be said about Effie Mihopoulos? I am really at a loss for words. Carlos Cumpian has called her a "pioneer." Other poets have called her a legend. Many poets have called her a mentor and a friend. Recently, Effie became ill. In December, her longtime friend Rhonda Farrins brought her to Swedish Covenant Hospital, where Effie was found to have breast cancer. In January, Effie was transferred to a Hospice at Weiss Memorial, where she passed away on January 14, 2010. Before she died, she was visited by dozens of her friends, who sat by her side and told her how important she was to them. Effie Mihopoulos graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Master's Degree in English in 1974. Her imprint "Ommation Press" published many Chicago poets over the years. Her book of poetry "The Moon Cycle" was produced as a play and Effie worked as a interviewer on WZRD for many years. She was also the Theater Coordinator for the Bucktown Arts Fest and the Performance Art reviewer for Examiner.com. Yet mentioning these few things is like throwing a pebble into the ocean. Seriously. No amount of words can express how instrumental Effie Mihopoulos has been to the Chicago Poetry Scene. She has been active in Chicago's performance arts and poetry scene for decades and it would take volumes to list all of her accomplishments. She will truly be missed.
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Tuesday Poetry Open Mic. and Readings at The Cafe
Posted by : cj on Monday, January 11, 2010 - 02:44 PM
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504 Reads
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 The weekly Tuesday evening poetry readings at The Cafe, 5115 N. Lincoln Ave, continue in 2010 with new host Janet Kuypers. The Cafe poetry open mic. has had a long history in Chicago. It was launched in 1996 by David Rubin at a place called Cafe Aloha, at Montrose and Lincoln. In 2003, Rubin had to move from Chicago, and Charlie Newman took over the open mic. at its present location at 5115 N. Lincoln Ave. Newman eventually felt he needed time to concentrate on his own work, so he invited Janet Kuypers to take over the show at the beginning of 2010. The events start at 8:30 PM and there is always an open mic. and sometimes a "poetry wheel." There is a $2 cover and a hat is passed for the features as well..
Upcoming features include: Jan 12, Vito Carli; Jan 19, John Goode; Jan 26 Abe Vucekovich; Feb 2, Luis Valadez; Feb 9, Kate Cullan; Feb 16, Al DeGenova; Feb 23, Larry Janowski; March 2, Thomas Curry; March 9, Dan Cleary, March 16, Jenene Ravesloot; March 23, Tom Roby; March 30, Sid Yiddish; April 6, Oren Wagner (w/ Steve Henn); April 13, Buddha; April 20, Maureen Flannery; April 27, Wendy Barker; May 4, Gregorio Gomez; May 11, Rob Lawrence; May 18, Charlie Newman; May 25, CJ Laity; June 1, Cathleen Schandelmeier; June 8, David Breeden; June 15, Wayne Allen Jones; June 22, Janet Kuypers; June 29, Kristy Bowen; July 6, Lucia Blinn; July 13, Nicole A.M. Collins; July 20, Esteban Colon; July 27, Gregg Shapiro.
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