Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young Announces Free Workshops and Creative Opportunities for Chicagoans

Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young Announces Free Workshops and Creative Opportunities for Chicagoans

Poet Laureate facilitates free, in-person “chi-soul workshops” and invites all Chicagoans to submit original poems via ChicagoSoulPoem.com

CHICAGO – Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young, in partnership with the Chicago Public Library (CPL), Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and the Poetry Foundation invite Chicagoans to celebrate poetry year-round by participating in upcoming free programming. Central to avery r. young’s multidisciplinary practice as a poet, composer, and educator is a connection to place. To that end, the Chicago Poet Laureate has developed two original programs for Chicagoans to celebrate the ‘Soul of Chicago.’

“avery’s work invites us to pause, consider our surroundings and our memories, and revel in the beauty of our city,” said DCASE Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth. “As Chicago Poet Laureate, he’s developed programming to help us connect to meaningful private moments, as well as the bigger picture—the events that have shaped our city.”

“A Chicago that writes together is a Chicago that thrives together,” avery r. young shared. “No one poem is the solution, but what that poem can be is a bridge to a greater understanding of someone else’s daily commute. The poem is a voice heard. I really am looking forward to helping voices be heard!”

The Poet Laureate will facilitate a monthly “chi-soul workshops” at the Austin Branch Library (5615 W Race Ave). The two-hour workshops are designed for writers of all skill levels to build poems and poetry manuscripts centered on the times and tales of Chicago. Workshops will take place the first Sunday of each month from 2-4 p.m., through November 3. Registration is required and space is limited; visit the Chicago Public Library website at chipublib.org/chi-soul.

avery r. young has also launched a new website, ChicagoSoulPoem.com and is now accepting online video submissions of Chicagoans’ own Chicago Soul Poems, honoring the people, places, and moments that make this city special. With the Chicago Soul Poems project, the Poet Laureate has developed a new poetic form, the soloem (pronounced so-lo-em), to guide Chicagoans in writing their own poems. Instructions on how to write a soloem and submit a poem are available at ChicagoSoulPoem.com.

On a regular basis, the Poet Laureate will review the submissions and curate a selection of Chicago Soul Poems to be distributed through public channels. Poems will be shared during the duration of the Poet Laureate’s tenure, which extends through December 2025.

“Chicagoans have read and written poetry in our libraries since they first opened their doors, from Gwendolyn Brooks' legendary meetings at Hall branch during the Black Chicago Renaissance, to the writing groups and poetry programming we present for all ages today,” shared CPL Commissioner Chris Brown. “We're thrilled that all Chicagoans will have the chance to become our city’s next great poet by participating in avery's workshops and writing ‘soloems.’”

avery r. young was named Chicago Poet Laureate in April 2023. In his first year in the role, he performed as part of the Inauguration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and presented at City events including Poetry Fest and the Juneteenth Flag Raising. Most recently, he led a workshop for teens at the 25th Annual Poetry Fest alongside poet E’mon Lauren and Young Chicago Authors. Beyond the city’s borders, he has represented Chicago and the City’s Poet Laureate program at the New Orleans Book Festival and as a Mentor-in-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Recordings of a few of the Poet Laureate’s readings and appearances can be viewed at chicago.gov/PoetLaureate.

Program Details

chi-soul workshops

July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6, November 3

2-4 p.m.

Austin Branch Library, 5615 W. Race Avenue

Registration will open one week in advance of each workshop.

Register at chipublib.org/chi-soul

Ideal for beginners to skilled writers, the chi-soul workshops are designed to build poems and/or poetry manuscripts centered on the times and tales of Chicago. The City’s inaugural Poet Laureate avery r. young facilitates a two-hour workshop that focuses on writing, reading, and building a volume of poems for publication and/or presentation. Registration is required.

Chicago Soul Poems

Who, What, Where is the Soul of Chicago?

Now accepting online poetry submissions at ChicagoSoulPoem.com

All Chicago residents are invited to write, record and share a Chicago Soul Poem, written in the form of a soloem (pronounced so-lo-em). It is a new poetic form, created by the Chicago Poet Laureate, with 10 lines and five stanzas. A Chicago Soul Poem is written about a person, place or thing that is indicative of the Second City. Selected soloems will be featured on social media and other public-facing outlets.


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