Poetry in Chicago

Tag: Books

  • Raúl Niño: Poet

    Raúl Niño: Poet

    • Raúl Niño has an attitude of gratitude in his precious volume of poetry, “Still Life with Hands” published in 2022 by Jason Pickleman. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier taken October 19, 2024 at Northeastern Illinois University, with a modified background using Canva).

    In this age of helicopter parents,  no self-respecting Momager would trust a six-year-old to ride public transportation alone, but, in the  1960’s Mexico, that is how a six-year-old Raúl Niño learned to ride the bus: solo. Thankfully, his mother, a housekeeper, taught him such independence and responsibility that he was profoundly capable and self-reliant at an early age. The only child of a creative and resourceful single mother, Niño has grown into a poetic tour de force.

    His writing is so strong that in 1993, he won Chicago’s Sister City competition and was selected to be the poetic ambassador to Mexico City, Mexico. Move forward thirty years, and his dynamic poetry is still being created with love, care and humility. Not only does Niño’s work reverberate throughout the poetry community of Chicago, but also the world. Niño will share his poetic journey with WZRD Chicago, 88.3 FM on Saturday, November 30th at 12:30 pm which streams live via the internet at https://wzrdchicago.org.

    Good writers are good readers and Niño is no exception. In an October 19, 2024 interview with this journalist, he spoke of his passion for books that doesn’t end at the library where he works but follows him home, to his bed, where he sometimes sleeps with up to three books right by his side. Molly Zolnay, Niño’s wife shares his literary passion and theirs is truly a match well made. When asked about what he is currently reading, he responded:

    “As for what I am currently reading, I am assuming that you mean ‘poetry’. Here are two current favorites; Etel Adnan, I have been reading her books Time and Shifting the Silence. The other poet is Charles Wright, I reviewed his 2020 collected works Oblivion Banjo. I personally believe him to be one of the great living poets in our time. As for influences, I would say Octavio Paz, Sandra Cisneros, Gwendolyn Brooks, Joseph Brodsky, Mark Strand, Elizabeth Bishop … there are many more, but that’s a good start.”

    Niño has a variety of lofty literary influences and their inspiration can be seen in his affinity for the small, passing moments in life, which he recreated with such power it is though his vivid memories become reader’s own. His poetry has earned such respect and recognition that Gloria Dávila, a poetic peer whom he met when he was in Mexico, went on to read his entire book of poetry titled The Book of Mornings aloud on YouTube. 

    Niño has had three books of his own poetry published. Including two by March Abrazo Press:  Breathing Light (March Abrazo Press, 1991) and The Book of Mornings (March Abrazo Press, 2007.) He has also been featured at the Green Mill’s famous Uptown Poetry Slam by Marc Kelly Smith.  His most recent collection, Still Life with Hands was published by Jason Pickleman. Pickleman, was a gifted visual artist, poet, and a famous brand designer (for example, he designed the packaging for Skinny Pop Popcorn’s vibrant product). He also was a dear friend who so fervently believed in Niño’s work that Pickleman not only created the layout and design himself, but also published the book. Sadly, Jason Pickleman did not realize that publishing Niño’s book was destined to be his swan song, as Pickleman passed away just a year and a half later. 

    The book, of which there are but 100 copies made for this world, is a revelation. Each page vibrates with wit, tenderness, and clarity. Holding this little volume of poetry in one’s hands is to be entranced by a sacred text, at once intimate, luminous and transcendent. Written to honor his mother, Niño nimbly takes his reader on a voyage through his life, where love is his lifeboat. 

    Naturally shy and unassuming, Niño learned to keep a low profile early on, as his mother toiled to support him. They eventually immigrated to Northfield, where Niño attended some of the best schools in the nation. He has gone on to work at one of the best universities in the country, Northwestern University, where the library staff claims him as one of their own. It is right and proper that Northwestern University’s Library, then, is the only place in the world where one can find a copy of this precious volume of poetry. 

    To see Niño at work is to see a master of the art. The Beach Poets will feature Raúl Niño next summer on June 29th at 1:30 pm. The last word in his book, Still Life with Hands? Gratitude. It’s the reason for the season!

  • An Artist with the Clippers and the Word: Anthony Spaulding

    An Artist with the Clippers and the Word: Anthony Spaulding

    Anthony Spaulding is a multi-talented artist currently working as a barber at State Street Barbers in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. (Photographed by C. Schandelmeier)

    Imagine a child with a bowl on their head whose father cuts around the bowl to create a hair style. This may sound like a cosmetologist’s nightmare, but that is just what Anthony Spaulding’s father did to make sure Spaulding and his brother were clean cut and cost-effective.  The embarrassment of the haircut that followed, encouraged Spaulding to pick up the clippers himself. Spaulding wrote, directed and performed his one man show To Cut A Barber’s Hands which toured locally in Chicago from church to church for months. While he is now hard at work on another show, he also needs to survive. He can be found waxing poetic at State Street Barbers at 1545 N. Wells in Chicago’s Old Town where he cuts hair six days a week. 

    Spaulding is also making sure to contribute to the community by cutting hair for people who, like his family, cannot afford it. The day he interviewed at his place of employment, he had just been to visit a family who was in dire need. He arrived early at their family home and cut hair for everyone there, out of the goodness of his heart. 

    Spaulding is known for  performing with panache, on the spur of the moment. He cuts a striking figure as he showed up to a recent poetry reading at the Highland Park Art Center wearing a stylish black suit and black button down shirt, the only ornamentation being a large gold crucifix around his neck. “You are the best dressed person here!” Exclaimed poetry host Lynn West after Spaulding humbly admitted he was not prepared to perform, and yet came through with a perfectly memorized poetic performance. 

    He has a firm foundation in faith and family while exhibiting a growth mindset.  “When you’re a barber, you have to be willing to change to keep up with the times.” He said during an interview with Poetry in Chicago.  These qualities are paramount in his daily interactions with customers where he has a keen sensitivity for each customer’s  unique style. To find out more about his work, follow him through social media accounts listed on his link tree account at Aplus Innovations LLC. and read Poetry in Chicago’s January article about him. 

    State Street Barbers is located at 1545 N. Wells Street in Chicago. Anthony Spaulding works there 6 days a week.
    Anthony Spaulding provides excellent service at State Street Barbers in Chicago. (Photo by C. Schandelmeier).
  • Lynn Fitzgerald: Irish Rebel Poet

    Lynn Fitzgerald: Irish Rebel Poet

    By C. Schandelmeier

    Poet Lynn Fitzgerald is a modern day outlaw poet, pulling up in a vintage 1997 emerald green convertible Jaguar. The accelerator on the car is so sensitive that before she knows it, she is traveling over the speed limit. Life in the fast lane is no surprise to Fitzgerald, who is a true daughter of Ireland, at once brave and humble, outrageously stylish and brilliantly brainy. Lynn Fitzgerald grew up in Chicago, while tightly bound in the culture of her heritage, though her mother, (a World War II “war bride” shipped in at 19 directly from the Emerald Isle) denied she was from anywhere but Chicago. Is it any wonder that as a young woman in college at Loyola University,  Fitzgerald met her future husband in Loyola’s library. She fell in love with a man who was a Palestinian immigrant, studying politics and history. 

    Their passion helped to change the world. Together, they were members of Teatro Barrio, housed in the original Casa Atzlan in Pilsen, where  performances and readings were staged in Spanish and English. These events depicted the struggle for better wages and conditions for farmworkers, and led to the national boycott of grapes, bringing nationwide attention to the United Farm Workers (UFW). They also were part of Bread and Roses Theatre, and staged a play about the 1937 Sit  Down Strike in Flint, the biggest strike in the 20th century, resulting in the United Auto Workers (UAW) becoming a nationwide labor union, which paved the way for the Steelworkers to unionize. They were involved in theatrical renditions of critical events in history (her husband’s area of specialty). In love, this dynamic young couple brought history to the people and changed lives. Love is what drew them together, and life is what pulled them apart. 

    After their divorce, Fitzgerald, who had few role models of single mothers, suddenly found herself engulfed in teenagers as she was raising her children by herself and teaching teens, too. During this time, she was a teacher (now retired) for Chicago Public Schools. She taught English at Prosser Career Academy, in the International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement programs, as well as at Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School’s evening school for over 20 years. She edited the literary magazine, taught creative writing, and was one of the original high school coaches for the poetry slam in Chicago. Subsequently, she has moved on to become an adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago. Nothing grounds a mother like her children, and Lynn’s children are no exception. They both (though now grown) have faced incredible blowback from their Palestinian heritage during the current Israeli-Hamas war, even though their father passed away two years ago. 

    She has taught not only here but abroad, in China, Kuwait and Beirut. One minute will find her reading her captivating poetry to a packed house at a poetry venue, the next, dashing to teach a class, or create a lesson plan on the likes of the beginning of cinema, with A Trip to the Moon by Georges Méliès.  Fitzgerald is not bound to the conventions of society, and finds inspiration and motivation by spending time with nature, where she finds the most solace and connection.  It is no wonder that her 2011 chapbook of poetry was titled “Closer to the Earth.” Fitzgerald is currently at work writing a manuscript of new poetry as yet untitled. To reach her or find out more, go to her Tumblr account Marycelle.