Shots rang out at the Levee Bar at 4035 W. Fullerton, just as their poetry host, Bobco (Robert Edwards), was about to begin The Working Class Poets, a poetry reading, at 7:47 p.m. on Thursday night, December 12, 2024. Sergio Mayora was “holding court” with a captivated crowd according to Edwards. Suddenly, three loud gunshots exploded, the smell of smoke hung in the air, and people ran from the bar.
Edwards and another poet rushed to help the 38 year-old victim. The man’s name was Isreal Guzman, according to a WGN article by Marisa Rodriguez and Erik Runge. The poets (with backgrounds including health care) jumped to work. Together they tried to staunch the tremendous amount of blood from Guzman’s head and chest wounds using clean bar towels.
The bartender, the victim’s cousin, screamed inconsolably, alternating between shock, rage and prayer. Never in the history of Chicago poetry is such an incident known to have happened.
The Levee was the site of a murder on Thursday evening as Bob Edwards was about to begin the poetry reading he has hosted there since the pandemic. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier, taken December 13, 2024).
Susan Hernandez poses with her painting of “Fatima.” (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
True to the nature of artistry, Susan Hernandez, had a day that began with putting the finishing touches on a painting, packing it up for display just in time for her 12 noon show. Hernandez’s work was originally inspired by heartache as her oldest son was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, but has evolved into joy as he survived the ordeal (although it is on-going), and has since become the father of twins. One of the twins, Lennon, 8, was dancing her heart out at the opening which took place in a beautiful airy loft space next to the Rudolf Steiner Branch Library just South of Lincoln Square at 4251 N. Lincoln on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 12 noon until 8 pm. The event was graced by some of the most powerful artists alive in Chicago today.
Susan Hernandez and Chiron Kingfish, the emcee of Windy City Words, and curator of Hernandez’s art exhibit. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Curated by Chiron Kingfish, who is the founder of Windy City Words, the art show featured paintings by Hernandez of John Lennon, Tupac, and Chiam Topol, (from Fiddler on the Roof.) With such an eclectic array of artists painted, it is no wonder it attracted such artistic powerhouses as iconic visual artist John A. Kurtz, Vittorio Carli, poetry host for Tangible Books in Bridgeport (7:00 pm on the first Saturday of the month), Wes Heine, poetry host of the Gallery Cabaret in Bucktown (5:30 pm on the last Saturday of the month), and the (anonymous) artist responsible for the Albion House Gallery (which boasts over 4,000 followers on Instagram).
Nuala Murphy proudly displays her seamstress skills with blinged-out jeans. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Wearable Art created by Nuala Murphy. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Nuala Murphy displayed her jeans on the blow up doll that was the source of much amusement as Hernandez shared a story about it. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Nuala Murphy’s hand-embellished, sparkling denim outfits were also on display at the opening, and featured a blow up doll Hernandez claimed to have put in the bed of a priest. Hernandez’s hilarious stories, coupled with her sharply political poetry was on-point for the season all combined to create a memorable occasion for everyone who attended, including a few passers by who were lured in by the dazzling artistry combined with offers of free wine and food.
J.P. Hernandez, with his 8 year old twins and their mother, Rachel. Susan Hernandez’s son, J.P. is the reason Hernandez was led to art in the first place. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Artists and friends of Hernandez were in abundance at the event as they came for the art and enjoyed her company.
Hernandez’s smiling face greets patrons of the arts as they enter the building on October 5, 2024.
Artist Ernest Streeter regaled delighted art patrons with epic stories of skateboarding and high school daze.
Megan Santiago is an artist who uses her skills at flower arranging to bring added flair to Hernandez’s art show.
Megan Santiago, Susan Hernandez & Nuala Murphy. Here, Hernandez holds her painting of Chaim Topol, the actor known for his role in “Fiddler on the Roof.” (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Anonymous artist and Vittorio Carli enjoy laughter as artists and friends at Hernandez’s art show on October 5th, 2024. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Nuala Murphy and a friend enjoy looking at photos from the exhibit together. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
The event culminated in Windy City Words, a poetry reading hosted by Chiron Kingfish, which featured Susan Hernandez, Nuala Murphy, Tim Anderson, Wes Heine, saxophonist Peter C. Bartels, and this narrator even performed. The next edition of Windy City Words is sure to delight and inspire on Saturday, November 16th at 7:00 pm, the place to be is 4251 N. Lincoln.
Susan Hernandez is a Renaissance woman who both paints and writes poetry. Here she is performing at Windy City Words, which wrapped up the art opening on October 5, 2024.
Peter C. Bartels, a busker at Lincoln Park Zoo, performed a prelude for Windy City Words on October 5, 2024.
Poet Tim Anderson and his wife patiently wait for the poetry reading portion of the event to begin.
Wes Heine is the author of “Busking Blues: Memoirs of a Chicago Street Musician and Squatter” and the host of the Gallery Cabaret at 2020 N. Oakley in Chicago which happens on the last Saturday of the month at 5:30 pm.
Neuela Murphy sports wearable art she created herself while reading poetry.
Wayne Kusy is one of the world-class artists in attendance at the event. He created toothpick ships, and a rock band entitled Wood Zeppelin – check it out at http://www.WoodZeppelin.com.
Susan Hernandez signs her painting titled “Purple Bearded Iris” for a paying patron of the arts on October 5, 2024.
Esther Jones posts fliers for Ulimi TOC on the campus of Northeastern Illinois University, just before her WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM interview. (photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Esther Jones Creates Everything at Ulimi TOC
The soulful call of the African drum reached out and touched Esther Jones’ heart as she was driving home to Chicago from Evanston. She followed the call of the drum on a Monday night to Ridgeway Park where she met Guinean artist Abdoulaye Camara, an African performer, dancer and drummer. Camara now provides the heartbeat for the inaugural community workshop taught by Jones’ non-profit organization, Ulimi TOC. Here, children ages 7-12 years old learn about African culture, and language through drumming and dancing.
Ulimi TOC is a non-profit organization founded by Esther Jones in 2021, with the mission of educating the next generation about African culture and language. According to Jones, Ulimi is a Zulu word that means to speak, and TOC stands for tongue of culture. As a black woman in leadership, Jones is fostering artistic expression in the next generation, as Andrea Change is doing at the Guild Literary Complex. Jones’ aim in creating Ulimi TOC is to give African American children the opportunity to feel pride in their cultural roots. The workshops take place from 4-5:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Kamen Park, 1111 South Boulevard in Evanston, Illinois from August 11th through September 16th.
Abdoulaye Camara is an African performer, dancer, and drummer from Ghana, West Africa. He is also the first instructor for Ulimi TOC’s workshop at Kamen Park in Evanston.
Abdoulaye Camara demonstrates an African gourd Kalimba Mbira thumb piano.
The David Wood Fieldhouse at Kamen Park is where Ulimi TOC, a 501-C3 non-profit created by Esther Jones to connect children with African American Culture.
The strength and clarity of Jones’ vision have proven vital to the reputation that Ulimi TOC is developing as a new nonprofit organization. Jones, a forceful artist in her own right, is a singer/songwriter, the author of the bookThe Poems of Esther, has an MBA and raised three children as a single mother in Chicago. She has much in common with Andrea Change, as a artist, single mother and executive director of a non-profit organization. The idea for Ulimi TOC came to her while she was working as a substitute teacher in a Spanish-speaking kindergarten class in Oak Park District 97.
“Not only were the children learning Spanish language, they were learning about the culture. I thought, there is so much more to African Americans than slavery. African culture is so rich. African American children need to learn about the language and culture of Africa.”
She said in an interview with WZRD on August 24th. Jones went on to explain how Ulimi TOC is designed to engage minds by connecting young African Americans with that culture. Her goal is to eliminate black on black crime by giving young people knowledge about the common bond they share.
Abdoulaye Camara, Amy Osterman and Esther Jones outside of Kamen Park in the David Wood Fieldhouse, 1111 South Blvd. in Evanston where Ulimi TOC sponsored their first workshop.
As her idea for the organization took root, Jones researched the closest African cultural and language studies program in the Chicagoland area, and discovered it at Michigan State University. So, she reached out to them with her idea, and has been collaborating with them ever since. She also partnered with Northwestern Illinois University’s Segal School of Design whose students are responsible for Ulimi’s new website and marketing materials. To find out more, visit the Ulimi website, email Ulimitoc@gmail.com or call (773) 410-6602.
Esther Jones alerts the musical community at NEIU about Ulimi TOC’s African drumming and dance classes just before her WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM interview on August 24, 2024. (photo by C. Schandelmeier)
With the flair of a linguistic troubadour, Flaco Navaja seemed born to be on-stage as he presented his one-man show titled “Evolution of a Sonero.” Navaja both wrote and performs in the show – but much more, he sings in it. He took the audience on a thrilling ride from his parents first date, through his own life as a troubled teenager all the way through becoming a father himself, all while making comparisons of his life to the composition of salsa. His pride in his Puerto Rican heritage, and being raised as the youngest in a family of five (his parents are still married 59 years later, he announced to thunderous applause) was evident through-out the performance which skillfully blended Puerto Rican culture with living in the Bronx in New York.
He adeptly takes the audience through the ups and downs of everyday life. Some moments hilarious, and others, intense, like the day he ruined his mother’s birthday by being caught smoking weed on his high school campus. He describes her as he sings,”5 feet tall, 80 pounds, all gangster.” Through his performance, the audience shares his fear of his diminutive firebrand of a mother, and empathizes with him as his Puerto-Rican proud, hard-working father’s blow provides a fitting crescendo to the dramatic scene.
Directed by Miranda Gonzalez, the show has a libretto arranged by Carlos Cuevas. It was produced in the NEIU Auditorium at 3701 W. Bryn Mawr by the Urban Theatre Company in conjunction with the National Puerto Rican Museum and was backed up by a powerful band called “The Razor Blades” that never missed a beat. The band was totally in sync with the performer as the pianist directed from his place on-stage. To find out more about Navaja and his work, go to the National Puerto Rican Museum’s website.
Cynthia Gallaher and Andrea Change chat after the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on April 16, 2024.
As the cork popped out of the bottle, a diverse group of happy humans gathered at the Honeycomb Network on April 11, 2024, and cheered with jubilation. The successful launch of Nikki Patin’s new book Working on Me is a testament to the visionary and transformational leadership that The Guild Literary Complex is experiencing through the one and only Andrea Change.
Executive Director Andrea Change brought a group representing the Guild’s diverse arts community out of the country to Bogota and Quibdó in Colombia with financial support from The Poetry Foundation. In order to do this, Change initially worked with Christian Vasquez, a graduate student from Northwestern University, and cultivated a relationship with Velia Vidal an artist in El Chocó, Columbia.
According to Founding Executive Director Michael Warr, (whose archives provided documentation), in 1993-1994, the Guild Literary Complex did an international exchange program with artists from the Goethe Institute in Berlin, Germany. According to Change, a group of poets representing the Guild Literary Complex also traveled to Norway when the Guild had former Executive Director John Rich at the helm. Nonetheless, through her work, Change is creating a legacy that sets the foundation for other black women in leadership roles, because never before has the Guild Literary Complex gone out of the country to work with people who have had such similar ancestral roots as they do in Quibdó, a city which is located in an isolated region of Columbia known as El Chocó. Change spoke in a March 9, 2024 interview with WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM;
“One of the reasons we were asked to come down there was because Quibdó is an underrepresented community. It’s mostly Afro-Latin, so instead of mostly white-facing Latin folks, this is the black-facing or people of color of Latin descent in that community. They really wanted us to bring folks who look like them to this community. So, all of the writers who are going are of Latin descent. They have brown skin, they have curly hair like me. It will extend the Guild’s mission to another part of the world, but it is still the Guild’s mission to be with underrepresented marginalized groups, and so, this is a city, but it is a small city, and it is a small community. But to be there, and be representing Spanish culture to people who look like us, or who look like me, is a privilege.”
Born and raised in Chicago, Change has been active in the Chicago literary scene, specifically the poetry scene for over 30 years. She knows the sacrifice involved with being a single mother, and the hardships of being the lone head of household in the city. Change described her process to becoming executive director of the Guild Literary Complex where she began as a poet and audience member, then was a volunteer, and eventually, served as an officer on the board of the Guild Literary Complex. The Guild Complex initially began as a brick-and-mortar bookstore under the leadership of Founding Executive Director Michael Warr.
Founding Executive Director of the Guild Literary Complex, Michael Warr in Clarion Alley, San Francisco. (Photo by Patricia Zamora, used with permission.)
According to Warr, the Guild Complex began as a bookstore, and had a reputation for being a gathering place for artistic souls that long encouraged cross-cultural collaboration. Warr is a former BBC reporter, published poet of WE ARE ALL THE BLACK BOY (1991 ), and Armageddon of Funk (2011), and both published by Tia Chucha Press and editedOf Poetry & Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2016. While Warr has experience running the Guild Literary Complex as an executive director, talent agent, performance artist and poet Naiya Davis (aka Clou9aiya), whose Ted Talk Ouch…Did You Really Mean That? drives home the impact of microaggressions, is like Change, a black woman in leadership. During a June 29, 2024, interview with WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM, Davis said:
“When some people find out I am a leader, they look at me funny.”
Naiya Davis is a talent agent, spoken word artist, and poet. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier).
According to a recent Pew Research report, women are behind men in holding leadership positions. However, if Change has had this issue, it doesn’t show. As Mary Hawley, who was part of the Colombia expedition with the Guild Literary Complex and is also a Palabra Pura volunteer, stated “Andrea is humble.” Professor of English Literature at City Colleges of Chicago, Lynn Fitzgerald discussed Change’s leadership at the Guild Literary Complex during a July 6, 2024, WZRD interview:
“Andrea Change has been an instrumental cornerstone in the city of Chicago…she is also a woman of color, she is again, a woman! Women have to make their way in this world of art… Andrea has been instrumental in getting people out in the public eye and getting it known that these people have a voice, which is excellent…She takes more of a behind-the-scenes role, but I don’t think the Guild would be the Guild without her! She is so necessary, she is intuitive, and understands people very very well.”
Change’s acute understanding of marginalized people came through during a March 9, 2024, interview when Change was at WZRD, a week before her historic leadership role in taking the Guild Literary Complex and its representatives on their international odyssey. She described the Guild Literary Complex, which is historically a grassroots organization known for collaborating with other community groups on social and restorative justice issues in the city of Chicago in this way:
The Guild Literary Complex’s Executive Director, Andrea Change, networking after Patricia Smith was honored with the Fuller Award from the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame at the Poetry Foundation on July 11, 2024.
“Grassroots is a nice stamp, but this year we just celebrated our 35th anniversary…grassroots just refers to how we operate in the sense that we like to stay in touch with the community, which is challenging, I’ll say because Chicago is a really big city!”
Now, with Change, who is a gifted poet in her own right, as the Executive Director and support from the Poetry Foundation, the Guild is boldly stepping outside of location-specific arts programming to embrace national and international partnerships. The Guild provides arts and advocacy programming for marginalized voices, specifically black and brown people, including persons with disabilities, those who are incarcerated, and those identifying as LBGTQIA+. Terry Lonaric, poet, author, and journalist said,
“I like the way the Guild partners with community organizations to raise issues of social justice. When the arts become a part of community life, they reach their true potential.”
As Executive Director of the Guild Literary Complex, Andrea Change is helping diverse people reach their potential while creating pioneering and innovative forms of art. Historically, the Guild Literary Complex initiated the National Poetry Video Festival. It also was recognized by the 2022 New City “Lit 50” Awards under the leadership of Andrea Change. It has sponsored poets like Aviya Kushner, author of Wolf Lamb Bomb whose work was hailed as “noteworthy” by the New York Times in 2021. Change had been a long-time supporter of the Guild Literary Complex when she suddenly found herself cast into the role of volunteer at an event, according to Warr (who now lives in San Francisco) as he recalled in a podcast created from a virtual radio broadcast on May 5, 2024 with WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM.
Founding Executive Director of the Guild Literary Complex, Michael Warr discussed the history of the Guild Literary Complex and how Andrea Change first became involved with the 501-3C not-for-profit organization founded in 1989.
Susana Sandoval remembers when Andrea Change took the first step in her evolution from poet and audience member to volunteer. Susana, who, for the last seven years has been a human rights commissioner within the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, is a journalist by training and was employed by the Guild Literary Complex as one of its two staff members, (along with Jen Abrams) under the leadership of Michael Warr in the mid-nineties.
In a virtual interview on July 6, 2024 from Ecuador, she explained that the Guild Literary Complex was a meeting place not only for academics, but for young lovers. She pointed out how she met Kahil El’Zabar, her former husband, and the father of her children at Guild Literary Complex. She also noted that the Lansanas, (Quraysh Ali Lansana and his wife, the poet and community builder Emily Hooper Lansana) met at the Guild as well. The Guild Literary Complex by all accounts was a safe place where artists and academics of any cultural background could go and feel accepted. Andrea Change, a single mother of Phillip, (who is now grown and living with his fiancé in St. Louis) was among them.
“But I don’t look my age!” laughs Change, “…This was one of those things where, and I tell this to people all of the time. ‘I am the executive director, but I like to say that I am sort of an accidental tourist. The work that I have done in the past was laying the foundation for the work that I do now.’”
The Guild Literary Complex is perhaps most well known in the literary community for their annual Brooks Day event honoring renowned poet Gwendolyn Brooks. In 1950, Brooks became the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize. In a fitting example of symmetry, Change noted how poet Tyehimba Jess, still claims the Brooks prize in his biography, although like Brooks, he has gone on to win a Pulitzer Prize for his 2016 book Olio.
According to Change, this year the Guild will break from their usual tradition of celebrating Gwendolyn Brooks on June 7th, which is her birthday, instead celebrating Brooksday in October, 2024. The literary tradition of Brooksday is well documented, for example in this article by the Visualist.
Validating the Guild Literary Complex and their decision to present their annual Brooksday event in October, Professor Fitzgerald noted,
“October is Artists’ Month, and I remember working on Chicago Calling with Dan Godston and number of other people, we would have artists who were Zoomed in – this was before Zoom became some hot topic word – and we were connected on a stream in a Cafe or a Bar from other parts pf the world. So all of October was dedicated to artists. Galleries were just breaking apart at the seams with events! I don’t know if the Guild will resurrect some of that – they probably can because they have such international interactions with people. It is quite possible that they will. October will be a good month for the Gwendolyn Brooks event.”
The Guild Literary Complex embraces the non-binary community through its Press Room Transvengence series, hosted by trans artist Joss Barton. Barton explained during an interview with WZRD on April 30, 2024 how her disco-drag performance at a social justice fair hosted by Exhibit B led to her eventually being recruited by Change to host the series:
Joss Barton dreams of writing a nature collection, based on her experiences growing up in rural Missouri. Here, Joss is on the campus of Northeastern Illinois University, home of WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
“I did this piece…performing disco-drag numbers in between spoken word for the Social Justice Fair – so when Andrea, the Executive Director of the Guild Literary Complex – was in the audience and she saw me do that body of work, she really really enjoyed it! She introduced herself to me after the show, and kind of just pitched the idea of doing something for trans writers with the Guild, and wanted to see if I had any ideas. So, I said ‘Let me think about it.’ So I pitched her the idea of Transvengence.” Barton continued, “Our art can be vengeance. You can take away our rights, but you can’t take away our stories.”
She flashed her dark eyes, flipped her hair, and stood strong in her identity as a trans woman, artist, and storyteller.
Joss Barton prepares to leave WZRD after her interview in April. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Andrea Change introduces Transvengence featuring the work of Joss Barton, Jack, and Lynzo Heartthrob on June 18, 2024. (Photograph and videography by C. Schandelmeier)
On June 16, 2024, Transvengence featured Joss Barton (far left), Jack (on the mic), and Lynzo Heartthrob in an honest, candid conversation after the performance. The show is supported by the Guild Literary Complex Press Room Series. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Change worked with Lansana to promote his 2024 book, Killing the Negative: Poetic Interventions, which he created with artist Joel Daniel Phillips. She explained how Phillips reached out to Lansana after he had discovered the depression-era film negatives of people archived at the Library of Congress with a single hole punched in each that was a destructive act known as “killing the negative” which served as the inspiration for the book. Such innovation through the lens of diversity is not new to Change. In the same interview, Change commented:
“Because of the nature of what we’ve done, we’ve had a strong connection to the poetry community, the African-American community, and other groups. Interestingly enough, we have always had a person of color either in a leadership role or on our board. We have always had someone who represented the LGBTQ community on our board, and someone of Latin descent on our board. It’s been a part of who we are. It is strange when I hear about people’s other boards…for me, it was always the norm to have a culturally diverse group of people who I have worked with.”
The Puerto Rican flag sculptures along Paseo Boricua in Humboldt Park signals Palabra Pura poets and audience members that their destination of La Bruquena. 2726 W Division St, Chicago, IL is near. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier, July 17, 2024).
Change brought transformation to the Guild Literary Complex through the Guild’s recent trip to Bogota and Quibdó, Colombia where they worked with MoTeTe. Change and other members of the Guild Literary Complex such as Mary Hawley (Palabra Pura volunteer and translator) and Hawley’s husband, poet Mike Puican (former board president for the Guild Literary Complex) traveled with a delegation of Spanish speaking black and brown writers (thanks to a grant provided by the Poetry Foundation) in order to interact with their South American artistic peers.
Poet Elizabeth Marino, author of Debris and poet Shontay Luna author of Reflections of a Project Girl, both participated in the One Poet: One Poem event held July 17. 2024 by the Guild Literary Complex’s Palabra Pura series hosted by Gregorio Gomez at a Bruquena. 2726 W Division St, Chicago, IL. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
The Guild Literary Complex representatives did this all while writing, learning, and exploring an environment which echoed their own diversity and linguistic roots. The group of American artists, led by Change, included Kianny N. Antigua and Luis Tubens among others. Followed by a documentary crew, this was the first international experience for The Guild Literary Complex. The release of the documentary based on this epic journey is slated for October, 2024.
Mary Hawley is a translator and long-time Palabra Pura volunteer for the Guild Literary Complex. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Poet Mary Hawley is the translator and long-time volunteer of the Guild Literary Complex’s Palabra Pura series who joined the Guild Literary Complex on their epic adventure to Colombia. Hawley spoke to WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM in an April 27, 2024 interview about the once-in-a-lifetime experience after the journey. She explained how , Vásquez (originally from Colombia) became involved with The Guild Literary Complex, and then introduced Vidal to the organization when she participated in a virtual reading for Palabra Pura during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Because of this professional association through the spoken word, the group went to an annual literary festival in a region of Colombia called El Choco’. The festival, which has officially been in existence for 7 years, is known as FLECHO (so-called because of its initials) and was created thanks to the leadership of Velia Vidal. As Hawley explained,
“When they were organizing this year’s festival, Andrea Change, who is the Executive Director of the Guild Complex, was able to get grant money to send an international delegation of poets from Chicago and the US to this literary festival in El Choco’ with a particular focus on the African diaspora. So our group included Kianny Antigua, who is a poet, novelist, and translator from the Dominican Republic. She teaches at Dartmouth. Luis Tubens otherwise known as ‘Loco Lu’ from Puerto Rico who is here from Logan Square and a few other participants who went with us. We were there for a week.”
James Stewart III is the author of “Defiant Acts” being published by Acre Books out of the University of Cincinnati in 2025. He is also the president of the board of directors at the Guild Literary Complex, and co-founded Exhibit B.
James Stewart III, the President of the Board at The Guild spoke to WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM on July 20, 2024 about Exhibit B, the literary variety show he co-founded. He explained how they had reached out to Andrea Change for support through the Guild Literary Complex. Change welcomed Exhibit B and their innovative ideas (Exhibit B members came together as recent graduates of the Master of Fine Arts program at the School of the Art Institute). He noted that while the Guild pays a hundred dollars per gig at the most, it is more than the average because most people seem to think that artists can live off nothing. Change knows better than this.
True to her name, Change is concerned about preparing the next generation of leadership to take over the Guild Literary Complex, which continues to develop deep meaningful connections within a historically marginalized community. The fact that Change has had health issues increases the urgency of this work. Change is at the cutting edge of creating a difference in the world for all people. If only the rest of the world could pivot into this type of change. To find out more about the Guild Literary Complex go to: GuildComplex.org.
Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref and Emily Maciel are best friends who met in their high school poetry club. They also co-host a spoken word open mic in Wicker Park.
To connect with more like-minded people who support the role of literary women leaders like Andrea Change, visit the Facebook page:
Andrea Change reaches across the aisle in conversation with David Gecic, publisher of Puddin’head Press at the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on April 18, 2024. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
The Beach Poets 2024 closed out with a Beach Bridal Shower for Drew Patrick and Dina Stuart, who are planning a Doctor Who themed wedding. Dina Stuart is a long-time member of the Poetry in Chicago community. Drew Patrick is an actor. Together they will become the Patrick-Stuart family.
The Vision of Poetry in Chicago is to be Chicago’s poetry news source.
Vision Video created by C. Schandelmeier
EVENTS
Poetry in Chicago provides poetry to Chicago through the Beach Poets, hosted by C. Schandelmeier since 1990.
Cathleen Schandelmeier, Nakiyah T. M. Jordan, Alanis Zoe Castillo, and Michael Dean are applauding silently for the July 21, 2024 Beach Poets experience. (Photo by Emilio Maldonado, used with permission).
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We are accepting submissions for publication of our first Poetry in Chicago journal with the theme of Poetry to Free Gaza open to all perspectives on this issue. Call for submissions coming soon.
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The Life Celebration for Effie Mihopolous was organized by me, (Cathleen Schandelmeier, as Effie had requested) and featured poets Cornelius Eady, and David Hernandez as well as filmmaker Josephine Lipuma. The Trapdoor Theatre under the direction of Beata Pilch performed a scene in Effie’s memory. I closed with a poem that ends “When I die, I don’t want to rest in peace. I want to be ground into your souls, and dance…” Then, Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theatre’s Youth Company danced her out.
NEWS
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July 7th: Clou9aiya (Naiya Davis), Lynn Fitzgerald, Adam Gottlieb
Leone Beach at Loyola Park is a family-friendly venue, complete with the Blue Jay Cafe, easy access to bathrooms, and the Beach Poets on a Sunday afternoon. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Chiron Kingfish, Mr. Gottlieb (Adam Gottlieb’s father, standing), Mrs. Gottlieb (Gottlieb’s mother, seated) and Diana, Adam Gottlieb’s partner. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Adam Gottlieb and his father. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
(Left to right) Mrs. Gottlieb, Diana, Douglas Binkley, Patrick Hurley, and his child enjoy the Beach Poets 7-7-24. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
The Beach Poets made it happen with a magical afternoon on the Lake. Adam Gottlieb began the reading with his vibrant and inspiring work. Clou9aiya (also known as Naiya Davis, talent agent, poet, and spoken word artist) gracefully flowed with her poetry, which began during a light sprinkling of rain and continued through a torrential downpour as a sacred circle of community gathered under the Beach Poets tent. Lynn Fitzgerald wrapped up the event, regaling the poets gathered with her poetry combined with tales of the beginnings of the Guild Literary Complex. She was there when it began as a brick-and-mortar bookstore near Lincoln and Sheffield in the Wrigleyville area. Her strong poetry was followed by many people reminiscing about Lee Groban, author of The Cure for Insomnia, and how a party wasn’t a party unless he was there.
July 14th: Transformation with Charli Christine Marker
Charli Christine Marker delighted poets with her vibrant poetry and dynamic presence while lounging gracefully in an avocado-green swimsuit.
Back row: Left to right: Angel and Tony, Ian, Mary, James Stewart III, Tim Anderson, Michael Dean, Dan Weinberg, ChiRon Kingfish, Emilio Maldonado, Josue,
Front row, left to rigth: Doug Binkley, Maria, Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref, Nakiyah T. M. Jordan, Sheila A. Donovan, Natalie Frank, Anabelle Echo, FRONT CENTER Cathleen Ann Schandelmeier and Louie with the groovy bag. (Photo by Katie Bartels 7-21-24 used with permission).
Michael Dean performed lake-themed poetry.
Nakiyah T. M. Jordan, read poetry and prose based on recent experience as a nanny, like her ancestors before her. Michael Dean read his lake-themed work Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref read poetry inspired by Frida Kahlo.
Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref brought her lizard to the Beach Poets. It is the first time in 34 years that anyone has brought their pet lizard to the event. He was very well behaved and seemed to enjoy soaking up the sun.
Nakiyah T. M. Jordan, Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref and Michael Dean in front of the Beach Poets sign painted by the infamous grafitti artist, Reame, who is one of the X-Men Crew. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Cathleen Schandelmeier, Nakiyah T. M. Jordan, Alanis Zoe Castillo, and Michael Dean are applauding silently for the July 21, 2024 Beach Poets experience. (Photo by Emilio Maldonado, used with permission).
Maria, the mother of Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref, is far left, Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref with her two brothers, Tony and Angel.
Exhibit B: A Literary Variety Show with Alanis Zoe Castillo Caref, Michael Dean and Nakiyah T. M. Jordan performed their original work, both poetry and prose at the Beach Poets on Sunday, July 21, 2024. The strong writing that has come to be the hallmark of Exhibit B came flowing from the poets as the song of birds, the whisper of grass, and the waves of the lake gently bubbled up on the beach.
James Stewart III, co-founder of Exhibit B, brought his family out to enjoy the Beach Poets on July 21, 2024.
Some things are meant to be lived. Beach Poets happens in real time. It was a gorgeous day full of inspirational work. According to James Stewart III, co-founder of Exhibit B, in an interview with WZRD on July 20th, their next event will be “The Poets Platform” on August 16th at Co-Prosperity, 3219-21 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60608.
Kaytee Thrun and Faith Rice of the Poetica will feature at the Beach Poets on Sunday, July 18th, 2024.
July 28th: The Poetica with Kaytee Thrun, and Faith Rice
August 11th: Poetry to Free Gaza with Lynn Fitzgerald and Kao Ra Zen
August 18th: End of the Beach Poets Celebration with Damiana Andonova, Janet Kuypers and Emily Maciel.
Patricia Smith and Cathleen Schandelmeier at the Poetry Foundation on July 11, 2024. (Photo by Jose Bono).
I host the Beach Poets which I founded in 1990. Prior to that, I hosted Sheffield’s School Street Cafe, where the first poetry feature I booked was Patricia Smith, who was recently honored with the Fuller Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame at the Poetry Foundation on July 11, 2024.
Anthony Spaulding spoke to WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM on July 13, 2024 about the new performances he has scheduled for his one-man show “To Cut a Barber’s Hands.” (Photo by C. Schandelmeier).
Anthony Spaulding at WZRD Chicago, 88.3 FM on November 23, 2023. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier).
Anthony Spaulding at the opening of his one-man show “To Cut a Barber’s Hands.” (Photo by C. Schandelmeier).
Anthony Spaulding at the opening of his one-man show “To Cut a Barber’s Hands.” (Photo by C. Schandelmeier).
To Cut a Barber’s Hands: Prison, Poetry, Performance and Sexy Chocolate
Imagine all the things people do with their hands: hold a phone, type a text, eat, make love – then imagine what life would be like without hands. This idea begins Anthony Spaulding’s one-man show, To Cut a Barber’s Hands. Poet, writer, director, musician, singer, and performer, Spaulding is a multi-talented man of vision and promise. To Cut a Barber’s Hands is Spaulding’s one-man show about his release from prison, which occurred, according to the February 4, 2022 records of The People of the State of Illinois Versus Anthony Spaulding in May of 2022, and how he felt he was being forced back into the streets rather than being supported in his sincere desire to be a contributing member of society by working as a barber.
Spaulding’s entertaining tale incorporates drama, comedy, romance, and rap in his struggle to obtain his barber’s license. It is a compelling story of faith, hope, and one man’s persistence in the face of overwhelming odds. The show opened at a storefront church at C24/7 Father’s Hands Ministries at 1543 West Howard Street in Chicago on December 16th to a sold-out and enthusiastic crowd. He now has a series of performances of his one-man show that will be performed at The Second City Blackout Cabaret on Sunday, July 14th, 21st, and 28th at 8:30 PM. He is doing his best to create a whirlwind of change regarding incarcerated individuals and to help prevent others from making the same mistakes he did that derailed his life for 27 years.
It happened on a balmy August evening in 1994, when two half naked young people by the names of Malinda Gavin and Ray Bowen, were in a parked car when a group of young men strolled past them. One of the young men suggested that they “f-ck with” the young people inside. After an armed robbery attempt, the shots that ended the lives of the couple came from the gun held by 16 year old Anthony Spaulding, according to the July 17, 2020 court records of The People of the State of Illinois versus Anthony Spaulding. The end of their lives was the beginning of this story of 27 years of incarceration, hard work, and redemption.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. I am a guilty man of the crimes I was convicted of. I committed a murder, and I am guilty of it. I grew up in the hundreds. I fell into the culture of violence. I didn’t have to, but the glitz, some would say the clout of coming up in that ecosystem was just breeding violence. Some say I fell victim to it, but I would say I chose it.”
In a culture where men aren’t allowed to honestly be themselves and grapple with the ramifications of post-traumatic stress disorder, the violence of toxic masculinity trickles down to generations of young men who grow up in these types of environments. The importance of being able to express oneself and to have a healthy outlet for these types of emotions was emphasized by Spaulding’s WZRD interview as he explained,
“When I was locked up, I was writing. I’ve been writing for a long time, every day I would recite poetry, come up with a song, a rap, I was always writing plays, and doing screenplays. I worked with Dr. Margaret Burroughs, she was my mentor. I worked with her for years, you know? We would perform every Tuesday, we would perform something new, every week! I gained a lot of my performance skills over the course of two decades.”
Later, he approached the Goodman Theatre, where other mentors emerged. The manager of Community Programs and the Special Projects Manager at the Goodman Theatre, Liam Collier, had the presence of mind to realize that Spaulding had a gift not only for writing, but for performance to share with the community, and added Spaulding to the Intergens Ensemble (the intergenerational ensemble of artists who collaborate on creating performances for the theater). Prophetically, Collier arranged for Spaulding to attend a performance of Lynn Nottage’s Clydes at the Goodman Theatre.Attending this performance was transformational, and nurtured Spaulding’s faith in his own abilities as a writer and performer.
“I saw Clydes with the writing and the rapping, and I thought, ‘Oh man! I could do that!” Spaulding exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Ms. Willa J. Taylor, (who recently retired as the Walter Director of Education and Community Engagement from the Goodman Theatre where she worked from 2006-2023) encouraged Spaulding to step out of his comfort zone and shine his light. She believed that his story had value, and her faith in his story about the hardships of becoming a barber inspired him to write the play in just under two weeks. He shared it with her, and she gave him the names of people who would help him produce the show, however, he decided to go his own way with it.
“People just started coming out of the woodwork to help me produce this play. They really believed in my work!” Spaulding proclaimed, gratefully. To Cut a Barber’s Hands is the result, a one man show which is billed as being about justice, love, faith and second chances.
“This is not only my story, (but the story of others who are released from prison)… they tell guys they can come home and get their license from the State of Illinois. You have to have 1500 hours and pass the State Board Exam. When I came home, it was the exact opposite. The State (of Illinois) put me in a position where they told me I could get my license, but it was months and months and months – it was like they stymied me. I thought, okay, whatever you need me to do, I will do. So I went back to school, and took the classes they wanted me to take.”
According to Spaulding, he did everything the State of Illinois wanted him to do, he worked to get numerous certificates of community work, cutting hair for veterans, in hospitals, and in nursing homes. He did charity work and back to school cuts, too.
“I was a kid when I committed my crime! I’m just doing the best that I can now, and be able to provide for myself and my family. I mean, what else do you want with somebody coming home?… It felt like they were trying to force me… ‘Well, okay, we’re going to send you back to the streets. You’re not going to do this (He makes a gesture of scissors cutting hair). You are going to do this! (he makes the shape of a gun with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand).’”
Through it all, he remained adamant about doing something positive and productive with his life.
“I felt like I was blessed to come home. Some people would probably say I shouldn’t even be home, but I consider it a blessing, and I wasn’t about to let the people who had supported me down. You know, my family, the lawyers who had supported me and helped me. All the fellows who are in there and incarcerated right now! You know …if I don’t make it, how are they supposed to make it? I look at myself as a trailblazer for a lot of them…We can change things, and we can make other people understand that we can be an asset to society.”
Spaulding can also write and perform. His work is poetry performance at its finest. His singing of a song by a fictitious singer known as Sexy Chocolate is smooth and melodic as KJon’s On the Ocean, which he and other inmates listened to ardently when they were locked up. According to a July 10th interview by Erin Allen in WBEZ’s Rundown, Spaulding discovered artistic inspiration while he was incarcerated. He also lost his parents. The world he left was very different from the one he returned to, but Spaulding doesn’t dwell on his loss. “I always do my best to promote positivity! Make the best of a bad situation!” exclaims Spaulding. To find out more about his work follow him through social media accounts listed through his link tree account at Aplus Innovations LLC.Don’t miss out on this opportunity to see his rising star. To get tickets to see his show, go to https://www.secondcity.com.
Anthony Spaulding pictured at his July 13, 2024 interview at WZRD Chicago, 88.3 FM.
Marc Kelly Smith is the originator of the Poetry Slam, an art form that encompasses the globe. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier, May 25, 2024).
The Uptown Poetry Cabaret from the Green Mill Tavern is making its way to Space at 1245 Chicago, in Evanston, IL. Marc Smith hosted his second poetry reading there on May 26, 2024. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier)
Space is the place for the Uptown Poetry Cabaret
Marc Kelly Smith filmed on location at WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM on May 25, 2024. (Video by C. Schandelmeier)
Envision a world where conflict is resolved through poetry, and whose creator celebrates what makes people come alive. This is the reality of life for Marc Kelly Smith (say his name, and he adds “So What?”) who is the founder and host of the Uptown Poetry Slam at the Green Mill Tavern. Hosted by Smith, it is the longest running show in the history of Chicago, and, while it was stopped during the COVID-19 lockdown, it is back up and running like a clock, on the second Sunday of each month. The doors open at 2:00 pm and the show begins at 3:00 pm. It is an incredibly popular event with standing room only. Many well-known spoken word artists from Chicago point to the beginning of their careers as happening at the Green Mill tavern under the watchful eye of Smith.
Fabrice Garcia-Carpintero, filmed this performance of Marc Smith while he was in Paris, France, in May, 2024. (YouTube Video used with permission).
While he has officially become a knight, “a chevalier” in France, where the poetry slam caught on with great fervor, and has traveled not just nationally, but internationally in the name of the poetry slam which he invented, Smith still identifies himself as a blue collar, working class guy who is humble and shy.
“I am an average student from the Southeast side of Chicago…I found my destiny. I never knew that I was going to be on the stage. The universe, if you open your eyes and heart will steer you in the right direction, so, I got steered in the right direction…and then I started writing love letters to Maria Elaina Rosa in high school. Then, it just kept going! I met my wife, Sandy at Western Illinois University and she loved poetry, so I started writing it – and kept on doing it ever since…”
Marc Smith comes alive when he is performing, as does the crowd who gets caught up in his exuberant energy. “I am a very good performer because I have been doing it for over 40 years.” He says with a sparkle of joy in his eyes. He continued,
“It’s kind of ironic that what the universities criticized in the late ‘80s and early 90’s is now taught. We just had a visiting Italian poet, Eleonora Fisko, from the University of Chicago, and her dissertation is on the poetry slam… I am a little leery of the institutionalization of the slam, and I don’t want it to turn into some academic exercise. It is more of a social activist thing than it is a university thing. But everything goes into the university because it is a study of culture.”
The academics who once found his work unappealing are now using the slam in textbooks. Smith’s work is being used the basis for doctoral dissertations for people such as Eleonora Fisko from Italy. She is the new coordinator of the Students Slam Championship, and is pursuing a PhD from both the University of L’Aquila and Lausanne (Switzerland). One academic, Terrance Jacobus, (1949-2023) had been an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University, as well as a DJ for WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM in its punk rock days, helped inspire the form which evolved into the slam through what he called “bouts.” Smith recalled Jacobus’ work:
Terry Jacobus,he had been at WZRD, he was more in the punk scene which was big at that time. He was hanging out with Jerome Sala and a few more, I forget all their names but at first, he was kind of adversarial. We were young and bumping heads. He had a classic poem like “The Raven” he changed into his own style – Terry – and – the punk scene had started a competition, and we were rivals. They assumed it was this goofy competition that made things so popular at the Green Mill. But it wasn’t! It was the performance aspect! In fact, now, I don’t even do a serious competition at the show. There is technique to performance, and that is what made things so strong. The competition that we started at the Green Mill – it was just the last set of the show, and I kept doing it because it is like a theatrical device. It focuses everyone’s attention. It is a downfall because – no one wants the arrogance that they see when everyone is trying to write and perform just to get the money in the pot. That is something I regret about the slam….I just started doing a podcast with the original history of it. Like what Wendell Barry said “poetry is not to glorify the poet, it is to celebrate the community around the poet.’ That is one of the principles I adopted in forming the slams over the years.”
Emily Calvo, a well-known poet and artist, worked with Smith to create the idea of doing performances in two languages, bringing together people across the linguistic divide, through the Speak’Easy Ensemble which creates the One Poetic Voice performance interpretation. “So many people say that they discovered the something that had been missing from their lives with poetry through my work at the Green Mill.” He said.
When asked about his legacy, he responds that his hope is that great artists will be able to point to his work as the place where it all began because, “I consider performance sacred. That is what the slam is, combining the art of poetry with the art of performing. It has changed people’s lives, truly, it has set them on a direction…there are hundreds of stories about people who came together and created poetry, but it became a saving time for me. It is an art form that makes people come alive!” In this way, the poetry slam helps people realize their hopes for a better world, and better lives. May the rest of the world catch up sometime soon.
Poetry in Chicago 