Chicago Poetry Festival

Celebrate Poetry Month and all the notable literary stars that Chicago has birthed at the 27th annual Chicago Poetry Fest at the Harold Washington Library on April 27, 20226.

Photo courtesy of Chicago Poetry Fest

Enjoy a day of free poetry events for all ages and backgrounds at this engaging event. Attend poetry workshops, listen to poetry readings from celebrated poets, have a personalized poem written for you, browse a poetry expo, attend an ASL poetry slam and more.

Whether you’re an aspiring poet, literary fan or casual poetry reader, the Chicago Poetry Fest has something for everyone. Hear Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda de Valle and  Illinois Poet Laureate Marc Turco discuss their work and inspirations while learning about the city’s rich poetry traditions.

The Chicago Poetry Fest runs from 10 am through 4 pm at Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St. All events are free. Check out the schedule below.

22nd Annual Haiku Fest
10:00 am to 11:30 pm – Auditorium

The Haiku Festival’s Awards Program is a family‑friendly celebration featuring readings of award‑winning poems and essays by young writers ages 8 to 18. All are welcome to enjoy the talents of these emerging poets as they share their work and receive recognition for their achievements.

Poems While You Wait
11:00 am to 2:00 p.m. – Grand Lobby
Poems While You Wait, founded by Dave Landsberger, Kathleen Rooney and Eric Plattner, is a collective of poets and their manual typewriters whose mission is to appear around the city in public places – street festivals, museums, libraries, theaters and other events – to provide their patrons with a magical, unexpected, unpretentious and decontextualized encounter with poetry. No requested topic is too big or too small, too funny or too sad, too silly or too serious.

Chicago Poetry Expo

11:00 am to 2:00 pm – Lower-Level Complex

Discover the many organizations dedicated to sharing poetry across Chicago—in every neighborhood and in countless creative forms. Your journey doesn’t end with Poetry Fest; these are the groups eager to welcome you into their vibrant poetic community. Featuring Poetry Foundation, Illinois State Poetry Society, Young Chicago Authors, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago Poetry Center, Swoboda Deaf Center and more! 

Writing Poetry in an Era of Overwhelm with Diego Baez

11 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Multipurpose Room A

Do you find yourself mired in cycles of doomscrolling, knee-jerk disengagement, and anxious reconnection with the world at large? Is it possible to make art when culture grabs our attention with so many worthwhile foci and superficial distractions? How can poets push back against the nonstop stream of information while embracing the contemporary rush of life? We will explore topics of inundation, boundaries, and abundance through brief reading selections, generative writing prompts, and shared discussion.

Gathered Voices: A Poetry Fest Reading

11 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Reception Hall 

Featuring Jamie Wendt, Terry Belew, Ananda Lima and Elise Paschen.

I Cry When I Laugh, I Laugh When I Cry: A Young Poet’s Workshop on Finding your Voice

11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Multipurpose Room B

A poetry workshop led by Eila Kittikamron Mora, Chicago’s Youth Poet Laureate, for people of all ages. What do you want to write about? How do you want to write? This poetry workshop is directed at those who are unsure: during this workshop, we’ll engage in theatre games, literary games, discuss and read poetry, and hopefully find steps closer to how we want to write life (or write anything), as authentically as we live.

Blooming Voices: An ASL Poetry Slam

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Video Theater

Blooming Voices is a National Poetry Month event that celebrates Deaf artistry through original ASL poetry exploring womanhood, Deaf identity, growth, and Black experiences. Hosted by Swoboda Deaf Center and featuring guest Deaf artists from Chicago, the accessible program fosters community connection, encourages emerging performers, and amplifies underrepresented voices. Centered on resilience and creative expression, it supports the preservation and evolution of Deaf cultural arts and reflects Swoboda Deaf Center’s commitment to uplifting Deaf voices.

A Conversation with Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte

12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Reception Hall 

Mark Turcotte (Turtle Mountain Band Anishinaabe) grew up on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, in migrant camps across the West, and later in Lansing, Michigan, spending many years traveling the country before settling in Chicago in 1993. After completing an MFA at Western Michigan University, he taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Solstice MFA Program, and Northwestern University, and now serves as Senior Lecturer and Distinguished‑Writer‑In‑Residence at DePaul University. He was announced as Illinois Poet Laureate in 2025. He will be in conversation with Dr. Dorene Wiese.

Self-Portrait in Verse with Dr. E.J. Wade from Poets & Patrons

12:30 to 1:30 p.m. – Multipurpose Room B

This workshop introduces participants to the fundamentals of free verse and haiku poetry, guiding them toward writing a short poem that functions as a self-portrait. Participants will explore how language, imagery, and poetic structure can reflect identity. The session concludes with a hands-on art component in which each participant pairs their poem with a personal photograph and mounts both onto a decorative background suitable for framing.

Erasure Poetry with Musu Bangura and the Chicago Poetry Center

12:30 to 1:30 p.m. – Multipurpose Room A 

Join Chicago Poetry Center Poet in Residence Musu Bangura in an exploration of erasure poetry. Participants will read and discuss examples of erasure poems, then use preexisting texts to create new poems.

Fight Club Baddies: A Reading by Young Poets on Coming of Age, Womanhood, and Resilience
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. – Reception Hall 

Join us for a poetry reading featuring young women poets of color, curated by Chicago’s Youth Poet Laureate Eila Kittikamron Mora. The reading centers struggle, warmth, and finding what gives us laughter, during our multi-layered experiences of growing up today. Despite loss and turmoil, resilience means we still laugh, pass food around the table, give our love, and live in our quirky idiosyncrasies.

Inspiration from the Archives with avery r. young

1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Video Theater

Chicago’s inaugural Poet Laureate, avery r. young, will join us in person to discuss how archives have long fueled creative work and how they can continue to do so. Fresh from the debut of his opera safronia, he will be in conversation with CPL staff about navigating archival materials and the distinctive richness of the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection in particular. This program is presented as part of the Renaissance Project, a Mellon Foundation initiative dedicated to digitizing and activating CPL’s archives.

Keynote with Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda del Valle

2 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  – Auditorium 

Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda Alexandra del Valle is a poet, performer, educator, and interdisciplinary artist from Chicago’s South Side. Author of A South Side Girl’s Guide to Love and Sex and The University of Hip-Hop, she is a winner of the Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize and a former Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and National Poetry Slam champion—the youngest and first Latine poet to earn both titles in the same year. Her work has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry and on the Tony Award–winning Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. Del Valle brings a multidisciplinary practice rooted in poetry, performance, music, movement, and cultural history. Featuring music, readings and conversation, she will be in an engaging dialogue with fellow multidisciplinary artist Sandra Delgado. 

Open Mic with Eros

3 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Reception Hall

Closing Poetry Fest is an open mic is hosted by Eros. Eros, The Prince of Poetry, is an International Award-Winning Poet and Recording Artist. He is 2020’s Ham Slam Poetry Champion, the C.E.O and Founder of Hot Chocolate Poetry, the National Spoken Word Awards 2020, 2021, and 2022’s Nominee for Best Male Poet and Best Album, 2022’s winner for Best Host and Best Open Mic. Mentor for Chicago Public Schools, Community Advocate, and Author. Eros places the focus of his art around love and self-reflection, diving deep into the conversations that we tend to steer away from.

Chicago Poetry Fest

Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St.

April 25, 2026, 10-4

Free

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