Archive by Author

Creeley, Robert 1979; 1983; 1985

Friday, January 26, 1979
Sunday, September 25, 1983
Friday, October 18, 1985
Vintage poster of Robert Creeley's reading at the Poetry Center of Chicago.

Vintage poster of Robert Creeley’s reading at the Poetry Center of Chicago.

It is a viscous form of self-
propulsion that lets the feet grip
the floor as the head
lifts to the door,

Robert Creeley, “Going To Bed”

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Listen to Robert Creeley’s 2000 Poetry Center reading:

There is love only
as love is. These
sense recreate
their definition–a hand

– Robert Creeley, “Variations”

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Vintage poster of Poetry in Motion: a film by Ron Mann with Amiri Baraka, Ted Berrigan, Charles Bukowski, William Burroughs, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Diane Di Prima, Kenward Elmslie, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Ed Sanders, Gary Snyder, Tom Waits, Anne Waldman at the Poetry Center of Chicago.

Vintage poster of Poetry in Motion: a film by Ron Mann with Amiri Baraka, Ted Berrigan, Charles Bukowski, William Burroughs, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Diane Di Prima, Kenward Elmslie, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Ed Sanders, Gary Snyder, Tom Waits, Anne Waldman at the Poetry Center of Chicago.

The man sits in a timelessness
with the horse under him in time
to a movement of legs and hooves
upon a timeless sand.

– Robert Creeley, “The Rescue”

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Watch Robert Creeley read his poem, “When I Think:”

When I Think by Robert Creeley

to hear more, go to: http://www.writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Creeley.php Robert Creeley reads at CUE Art Foundation on January 18, 2005.

More info on Robert Creeley⇒

Crawford, Romi 2013

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Watch Romi Crawford and others discuss the “I Can’t Breathe” ARC Gallery exhibition:

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Curators Romi Crawford, PhD and Mary Patten discuss “I Can’t Breathe”, an ARC Gallery exhibition that explores police violence against unarmed citizens. This program was recorded by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Romi Crawford in a panel on motherhood and feminism, as relating to her artistic work:

PART 1 – A Conversation About Motherhood & Feminism

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More info on Romi Crawford⇒

Craig, Joel 2005; 2015

Wednesday, February 9, 2005
with Kristy Odelius and Srikanth Reddy
The American Poets Reading

Thursday, June 11, 2015
with Marty McConnell
Six Points Reading Series

Joel Craig reading for the Poetry Center of Chicago's Six Points Reading Series

Joel Craig reading for the Poetry Center of Chicago’s Six Points Reading Series

He was born as his name implies
as though distortion weren’t enough
in itself to frighten good, innocent people.

– Joel Craig, “Schema”

Broadside of “Schema” by Joel Craig

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Buy this broadside in a series with Kristy Odelius and Srikanth Reddy⇒

This war cannot be won.
The memory of the garden illusion caught me up
again in the turmoil, viewing my inner self
as an old person looking at distant scenery.

– Joel Craig, “Rational Rational”

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Listen to Joel Craig read some of his work:

Joel Craig reads 16 April at Avol’s Books

Joel Craig is the author of the chapbook Shine Tomorrow (Lost Horse, 2009); and poems forthcoming or lately in TYPO, A Public Space, MoonLit, The Zoland Annual, GutCult, Iowa Review, and others. He lives in Chicago, IL where he is the poetry editor for MAKE: A Literary Magazine, and where he co-founded and curates The Danny’s Reading Series at Danny’s Tavern.

More info on Joel Craig⇒

Corgan, Billy 2003

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

The river runs foul
from the gates where my father once stood
down to the apple trees
from mirror to the gutter
we run streaks of stardust

– Billy Corgan, “The River Runs Foul”

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Audio recording of the Poetry Center Reading Series featuring Tom Raworth, Diane di Prima, Kimiko Hahn, Eugene Gloria, Patricia Smith, Luis Rodriguez, Robert Bly, Brian Turner, Bruce Weigl, Tyehimba Jess, A. Van Jordan, Arielle Greenberg, Billy Corgan, Franz Wright, Czeslaw Milosz, Louise Glück, and Alicia Ostriker.

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A poem, if you will:
Gentle waves rise
just off the fingertips
All I breathe is mine

– Billy Corgan, “Blinking with Fists (and other caterpillar tales)”

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Watch this interview with Billy Corgan about his poetry from Fine Print:

Billy Corgan 2004-10-xx Interview

An interview conducted by Carolyn Weaver regarding the book and the poetry of “Blinking With Fists”. Exact recording and broadcasting dates are currently unknown. This appeared on the Book Television network on the programme Fine Print.

More info on Billy Corgan⇒

Collins, Billy 2001

Thursday, November 8, 2001

With a basin of warm water and a towel
I am shaving my father
late on a summer afternoon
as he sits in a chair in blue striped pajamas

– Billy Collins, “The Stare”

Broadside of “The Stare” by Billy Collins

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They say you can jinx a poem
if you talk about it before it is done.
If you let it out too early, they warn,
your poem will fly away,
and this time they are absolutely right.

– Billy Collins, “Madmen”

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Listen to Billy Collins’ 2001 Poetry Center reading:

One bright morning in a restaurant in Chicago
as I waited for my eggs and toast,
I opened the Tribune only to discover
that I was the same age as Cheerios.

– Billy Collins, “Cheerios”

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Audio recording of the Poetry Center Reading Series featuring Billy Collins, Andrei Codrescu, Ron Padgett, Lucille Clifton, Mark Perlberg, Li-Young Lee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Anne Waldman, Yusuf Komunyakaa, Lisel Mueller, Ted Kooser, Paul Carroll, Jorie Graham, and Paul Hoover.

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I thought about his death for so many hours,
tangled there in the wires of the night,
that it came to have a body and dimensions,
more than a voice shaking over the telephone
or the black obituary boldface of name and dates.

– Billy Collins, “The Wires of the Night”

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Watch Billy Collins’s TED Talk with animations of his poetry:

Billy Collins: Everyday moments, caught in time

Combining dry wit with artistic depth, Billy Collins shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into delightful animated films in a collaboration with Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this wonderfully entertaining and moving talk — and don’t miss the hilarious final poem!

More info on Billy Collins⇒

Coetzee, J. M. 1998

Thursday, December 3, 1998

It seemed to him, coming from his island, where until Friday arrived he lived a silent life, that there was too much speech in the world. In bed beside his wife he felt as if a shower of pebbles were being poured upon his head, in an unending rustle and clatter, when all he desired was to sleep.

– J. M. Coetzee, “He and his man” Nobel lecture

Continue reading J. M. Coetzee’s Nobel lecture⇒

Listen to J.M Coetzee’s 1998 Poetry Center reading:

Listen to an interview with J.M Coetzee on CBC Radio:

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Codrescu, Andrei 2001

Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Chicago Historical Society

It’s worth less
than a sandwich-man
I say but I can
already see
that little Black
is the first of an army…

– Andrei Codrescu, “The American Dream”

Broadside of “The American Dream” by Andrei Codrescu

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Listen to Andrei Codrescu read his work for the Poetry Center Reading Series:

Andrei Codrescu begins speaking at 7:00 minutes.

I dream of soft furry things with inward claws
lodged in my brain
who open when it rains.

– Andrei Codrescu, “The Best Side Of Me”

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Audio recording of the Poetry Center Reading Series featuring Billy Collins, Andrei Codrescu, Ron Padgett, Lucille Clifton, Mark Perlberg, Li-Young Lee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Anne Waldman, Yusuf Komunyakaa, Lisel Mueller, Ted Kooser, Paul Carroll, Jorie Graham, and Paul Hoover.

Buy this audio recording featuring Andrei Codrescu⇒

More info on Andrei Codrescu⇒

Clifton, Lucille 2004

Friday, May 12, 2004

she will continue for over
thirty years emptying and
filling      sistering the moon
on its wild ride

– Lucille Clifton, “blood”

Broadside of “blood” by Lucille Clifton

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Listen to Lucille Clifton’s 2004 reading for the Poetry Center of Chicago:

curling them around
i hold their bodies in obscene embrace
thinking of everything but kinship.

– Lucille Clifton, “cutting greens”

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Buy an audio recording including part of this reading below⇓

Audio recording of the Poetry Center Reading Series featuring Billy Collins, Andrei Codrescu, Ron Padgett, Lucille Clifton, Mark Perlberg, Li-Young Lee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Anne Waldman, Yusuf Komunyakaa, Lisel Mueller, Ted Kooser, Paul Carroll, Jorie Graham, and Paul Hoover.

Buy this audio recording featuring Lucille Clifton⇒

More info on Lucille Clifton⇒

Cisneros, Sandra 1992

Wednesday, December 16, 1992
Art Institute of Chicago Auditorium

Inside they hide bright walls.
Turquoise or lipstick pink.
Good colors in another country.
Here they can’t make you forget

– Sandra Cisneros, from “Curtains” 

Listen to Sandra Cisneros read her work for the Poetry Center Reading Series:

Sandra Cisneros reads her poem, “Curtains,” at 33:31 minutes in the audio above.

They say I’m a beast.
And feast on it. When all along
I thought that’s what a woman was.

– Sandra Cisneros, “Loose Woman”

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Check out this NPR interview with Sandra Cisneros:

‘House On Mango Street’ Celebrates 25 Years

More info on Sandra Cisneros⇒