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. 

August features poet Nué Foster reading her own work alongside selections from Nate Marshall, a fellow Roseland native. Joining her is poet DaJona Butler, who will share her own writing and selections from Venus Ayalani.

About Nué Foster

Nué is a Blk queer artist from the far south side of Chicago where they call The Hunnids home. In 2020 they were deemed Chicago’s Youth Poet Laureate.
Their work can be enjoyed through performance, film features, permanent body art, a copy of their zine and their chapbook Waning published through Haymarket Books.

About DaJona Butler

DaJona is a black girl artist from the Southside of Chicago. Her practice is often visual: photography, printing and videography, though her root is always poetry. In her free time she travels the world looking for things to create art about, and generations of ancestors wander with her. Because of this abundance, DaJona has many eyes. DaJona creates work about perspective, & black girls, & Chicago, & it’s Southside, & ancestors, & language, & armageddon & art. DaJona believes art is her most important role in the revolution, and so, she is always creating.