23 episodes

From the neighborhood library of Gwendolyn Brooks, to the Union Stock Yards, where Chicago became Carl Sandburg’s “Hog Butcher for the World,” to the birthplace of slam poetry, the Chicago Poetry Tour explores the city’s history through its dynamic poets and poetry.

Chicago Poetry Tour Podcast Poetry Foundation

    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 8 Ratings

From the neighborhood library of Gwendolyn Brooks, to the Union Stock Yards, where Chicago became Carl Sandburg’s “Hog Butcher for the World,” to the birthplace of slam poetry, the Chicago Poetry Tour explores the city’s history through its dynamic poets and poetry.

    South Side Community Arts Center

    South Side Community Arts Center

    Established in 1940 by the WPA's Federal Art Project, the South Side Community Art Center has provided a second home for the city's African-American artists. Haki Madhubuti, founding editor of Third World Press, reads.

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    • 9 min
    Hall Library

    Hall Library

    One of the 20th century's most significant poets, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about race in America, often from the perspective of her Bronzeville neighborhood.

    • 24 min
    Bronzeville

    Bronzeville

    Margaret Walker's signature poem "For My People" encompasses the strengths and struggles of Blacks not only in Chicago but throughout America.

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    • 8 min
    DuSable Museum

    DuSable Museum

    The DuSable Museum is one of the nation's premier institutions dedicated to the history, art, and culture of the African diaspora. Quraysh Ali Lansana reads from his collection They Shall Run: Harriet Tubman Poems.

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    • 8 min
    Pilsen

    Pilsen

    Pilsen was a diverse neighborhood in Chicago long before anybody used the word “diversity.” Stuart Dybek and Ana Castillo read poems inspired by their childhoods there.

    Need a transcript of this episode? Request a transcript here.

    • 14 min
    The Green Mill

    The Green Mill

    Marc Smith conceived the worldwide phenomenon of slam poetry at the Green Mill in the 1980s. Audience participation encouraged.

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    • 6 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
8 Ratings

8 Ratings

chicago yo ,

Love this!

I don’t know much about poetry, admittedly but I stumbled across your podcasts today and they’re just what I needed!

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