From Gwendolyn Brooks to avery r. young and Mayda Del Valle, and from Langston Hughes to Jamila Woods and Angela Jackson, Chicago is a city of poets. This summer, meet us on the Arts Lawn at golden hour for Poetry at the Pavilion, a monthly celebration of Chicago’s contemporary poets and the South Side writers who inspired them. 

Each month, the evening begins with two poets or spoken word artists offering an intimate reading of their own work, followed by selections from a Chicago legacy artist of their choice. Then it’s your turn, as the poets lead a guided writing session on the Lawn. Whether you’re a season writer or brand new to crafting a stanza, this creative space is open to all. 

Come listen, get inspired, and put your own pen to paper under the summer sky.

June features poet Ireon Roach reading her own work and selections from Angela Jacson, and poet Raych Jackson.

About Ireon Roach

Ireon Roach (she/her/hers) is an award-winning spoken word artist, actor and playwright based in Chicago. Her essays and poems have appeared in Hoochie Feminist Mag and Charcoal Magazine, while plays have been staged and workshopped by ReGround Theater Collective, Jackalope Theatre and Definition Theater. Her debut collection of poetry, L(Eyes) The Limestone Tells was self-published in 2025. Recent performance work has been featured at regional theaters including Goodman Theatre and SpeakEasy Stage Company with film/TV credits such as Candyman (2021) and ‘The 4400’ (CW). She is grateful to have last been hosted at Arts + Public Life with apophenia: anatomy of a prayer, a workshop curated by Jupiter Magazine in collaboration with APL’s Chicago Critics Table. Ireon is anchored in the belief of diasporic Black folks as preeminent architects of language as a tool of everyday liberations.