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.
Poetry in Chicago 