Poets at Tomorrow: José Olivarez & Taylor Byas
Mar
25

Poets at Tomorrow: José Olivarez & Taylor Byas

Join Tomorrow Bookstore for a poetry performance evening with three incredible, award-winning poets. Tickets are pay-what-you-can with a suggested price of $15 for this event. This helps to fund the costs of programming - we pay all of these performers, poets, and authors.

José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. It was named a top book of 2018 by the Adroit Journal, NPR, and the New York Public Library. Along with Felicia Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he coedited the poetry anthology The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext. He cohosts the poetry podcast The Poetry Gods.

Dr. Taylor Byas, Ph.D. is a Black Chicago native currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she is an Assistant Features Editor for The Rumpus, an Acquisitions Poetry Editor for Variant Literature, a member of the Beloit Poetry Journal Editorial Board, and a 2023-24 National Book Critics Emerging Fellow. She is the 1st place winner of the 2020 Poetry Super Highway, the 2020 Frontier Poetry Award for New Poets Contest, and the 2021 Adrienne Rich Poetry Prize. She is the author of the chapbook Bloodwarm from Variant Lit, a second chapbook, Shutter, from Madhouse Press, her debut full-length, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times from Soft Skull Press, which won the 2023 Maya Angelou Book Award and the 2023 Chicago Review of Books Award in Poetry, and her second full-length Resting Bitch Face, forthcoming in 2025. She is also a coeditor of The Southern Poetry Anthology, Vol X: Alabama, published with Texas Review Press in December 2023, and Poemhood: Our Black Revival, a YA anthology forthcoming from HarperCollins.

Thomas Kneeland, MFA is a poet, educator, community leader, and visual artist. He is author of the chapbook, We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep and one of ten 2022 Frontier Poetry Global Poetry Prize finalists for the continent of Africa. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Elevation Review. His publication credits include the Southern Humanities Review, The Rumpus, Vagabond City Lit, Up the Staircase Quarterly, South Florida Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. He is also a reader for Frontier Poetry and a Poetry Referee for Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters. He holds a BA in English from DePauw University, an MA in Ministry from Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University, and an MFA in Poetry from Butler University.

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Keynote, "Cultivating Equitable & Thriving Communities w/ Poetry"
Oct
27
to Oct 29

Keynote, "Cultivating Equitable & Thriving Communities w/ Poetry"

  • Potawatomi Inn & Conference Center (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

In a rapidly evolving world, the sun rises and sets differently for every person. The arrival of dawn for one person may mean freedom and, for another person, it may mean getting on the hamster wheel.

Similarly, dusk may mean sleep for one person and running from a living nightmare for another person. In the world of poetry, each passing generation of poets has taught us that our realities, while seemingly mundane, are diverse, unique, and challenging.

Because of our varying circumstances, we all need a pathway to better life and well-being. However, our society often emphasizes equality over equity. This usually leads to the acceptance of a one-size-fits-most mindset in health care, education, corporate America, and civic engagement.

The power of poetry, however, lies in its potential to guide us towards a transformative understanding: to cultivate equitable and thriving communities, we must acknowledge the urgency of meeting individuals where they are.

By embracing poetry's ability to reshape our collective future, we can embark on a journey of rewriting a narrative that values equitable inclusivity and ensures that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

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Heritage, Poetry & Culture
Oct
22

Heritage, Poetry & Culture

In this virtual workshop, explore the world of poetry through the lens of writers who have spent their lives contributing to the accentuation of heritage, identity, and culture in our global society.

You will also have the opportunity to participate in writing exercises and workshop discussions to help broaden your poetic perspective.

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