We host workshops and readings led by established poets.

Linda Wallin © 2017

SAVE THE DATE:

Sat., Mar. 19 @ 1 pm Open Mic
Sat., April 30 Haibun Workshop
Details below


February Workshop

Poem Submission Deadline: 

Received by February 14, 2022

Poem Submission Fee:

$5 for members, $10 for non-members
Pay securely online (below) or mail your check to our treasurer.

Workshop flyer PDF ⟶

Creating Effective Haiku

Saturday, February 26, 2022, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Led by Michael Dylan Welch

This is the first workshop we have sponsored about the Japanese artform, and will be led by Michael Dylan Welch, a noted haiku poet and translator from Washington.

If you wish to participate, send your haiku or senryu to our workshop chair, Wilda Morris,
with P & P in the subject line. The cost is $10 for non-members, $5 for members. This price includes a critique of your poem(s) by Welch. You can pay below or send a check to our treasurer, Mike Freveletti.

If you wish to attend but not submit a poem, you may do so for free. The deadline to submit your poem(s) is Feb. 14.

If you are not a member of P&P, now is the time to join! Our membership runs from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31. The cost for an annual membership is $20 and has many benefits. You can join or renew by visiting www.poetsandpatrons/membership-join.net.


Poem Submission Fee Payment

If you submit a poem for critique, there
is a fee of $10 for non-members, $5 for members.

If you submit a poem, you must pay the fee even if you do not attend the meeting because poems are critiqued in advance (leader feedback will be emailed to you if you are unable to attend the Zoom meeting).

Click on the member or non-member button to proceed to pay poem submission fee:


Open Mic for
Members

Poetry Open Mic Celebrating Women’s History March 19, via Zoom

Saturday, March 19, 1 pm

Help us celebrate Women’s History Month. The theme of this zoom open mic is Women’s History, in celebration of the 101st anniversary of women’s right to vote. Hosted by P&P vice president Charles Kouri, poets are encouraged to read poems inspired by this theme, but, as always, you may read any poem that moves you.

If you would like to read, please RSVP by e-mail to poetsandpatrons@gmail.com.


Past Events

August 28, 2021

The Villanelle: a Poetry Zoom Workshop

The villanelle is a poetic form both famous and unknown. Many poets know the villanelle as a workshop exercise and have followed its intricate moves, sometimes ending with a thud and occasionally unleashing the form’s magic. Led by Debra Bruce we did a close reading of some villanelles to better understand what makes this happen.


August 7, 2021

Poetry Open Mic

Poets & Patrons hosted an open mic via Zoom for its members. The event was moderated by
P & P board member, Curt Vevang. Singer / Songwriter Bill Johnson was featured during the intermission.


 

April 24, 2021

Creating Cento Poems Zoom Workshop

Led by Patrice Boyer Claeys A cento is a poem constructed from lines written by other poets. In this workshop, in addition to critiquing poems that were submitted, Patrice shared her passion for centos and helped us learn how to successfully create cento poems of our own.

April 11, 2021

Open Mic for National Poetry Month

Hosted by Curt Vevang, current members read their poems at the event.


February 27, 2021

Creating Memoir from Linked Poems

Led by Arlyn Miller


August 29, 2020

Variations on a Theme

Led by Mardelle Fortier

February 22, 2020

Travelogue, a workshop on Travel Poetry

Led by Jennifer Dotson and Maureen Tolman Flannery

August 24, 2019

Chaos In Fourteen Lines:
Writing Sonnets In Your Own Words
In Our Own Times

Led by Debra Bruce

June 22, 2019

A Moment in Time

Led by Donna Pucciani and Pamela Miller

April 27, 2019 

The Name Game

Led by Gail Goepfert and Patrice Boyer Claeys

February 23, 2019 

Noir, Now

Led by Jenene Ravesloot and John O’Connor

August 25, 2018

Time for a Turn

Led by Sandra Marchetti and Krystal Languell Saturday,

June 23, 2018

A Poem in Dialogue with Another Poem

Led by Jan Bottiglieri and Tony Trigilio

April 28, 2018

Verbalize It: How the Best Action Word Can Enliven Your Poem

Led by Poets & Patrons workshop chair Wilda Morris, author of Szechwan Shrimp and Fortune Cookies: Poems from a Chinese Restaurant.

February 24, 2018

Weaving Magic into Poetry

Led by Rockford poet Christine Swanberg, author of The Red Lacquer Room, Who Walks Among the Trees with Charity, The Alleluia Tree, and most recently Wild Fruition: Sonnets, Spells, and Other Incantations. 

October 14, 2017

Golden Shovel Workshop

Led by Linda Wallin, president of Poets & Patrons and retired Special Education teacher.

August 26, 2017

Sonnets Are Fun!

Led by Mary Hanford, retired English professor and author of Holding to the Light (poetry), Dr. Sally’s Voodoo Man (novel), and Swimming at Villa Hugel (memoir).

June 18, 2017

Let Art Inspire Your Poetry: How to Be Ekphrastic

Led by Beth McDermott, Assistant Professor of English, St. Francis University, Joliet, and Associate Editor of RHINO


April 29, 2017

Speculative Poetry

Led by Caroline Johnson, Vice President and former President, Poets & Patrons of Chicago, and author of two chapbooks

February 25, 2017

What the Heck is a Prose Poem?

Led by Kathleen Rooney, Co-founder of Rose Metal Press and Senior Professional Lecturer, DePaul University
 

October 29, 2016

Music as Muse

Led by Wilda Morris, Former President, Illinois State Poetry Society, and Workshop Chair, Poets & Patrons of Chicago

August 27, 2016

Using Fairy Tale, Myth and Legend in Your Poetry

Led by Jennifer Dotson, Program Coordinator, Highland Park Poetry, and winner of Journal of Modern Poetry
Book Award

June 25, 2016

The Shape a Poem Makes

Led by Christine Swanberg, author of three books of poetry, workshop leader at The Clearing, Door County, WI

April 23, 2016

What We Can Learn About Writing Poetry from Shakespeare

Led by William Yarrow, Professor of English,
Joliet Junior College
 

February 27, 2016

In Praise of Praise Poems

Led by Tom Roby IV, President, Poets Club of Chicago
and creator of The Poetry Wheel, and Jenene Ravesloot, author of three books of poetry
 

October 17, 2015

Surrealist Game Poetry

Led by Pamela Larson, poet, artist and photographer


August 22, 2015

Musical Matters

Led by Debra Bruce, Professor Emeritus, Northeastern Illinois University, and Andrea Witzke Slot, prize-winning novelist, poet and essayist


June 27, 2015

Writing the Spiritual Poem

Led by Judith Valente, winner of the Aldrich Poetry Prize and a Catholic Book Award, and correspondent for PBS


April 25, 2015

Love Poetry with an Attitude

Led by Marilyn Taylor, former Poet Laureate of Wisconsin


February 28, 2015

Confessional Poetry

Led by Albert DeGenova, publisher and editor of
After Hours
 

October 25, 2014

The Fun Art of Haiku & Senryu

Led by Charlotte Digregorio, Midwest Coordinator,
Haiku Society of America and author of Haiku and
Senryu: a Simple Guide for All

 

August 23, 2014

Ekphrastic Poetry: Writing Poetry about Other Forms of Art

Led by Donna Vorreyer, author of 5 chapbooks and two full-length manuscripts, and Cynthia Gallaher, designated by Chicago Public Library as among its “Ten Top Requested Chicago Poets”


June 28, 2014

The Short Poem

Led by William Marr, author of more than 20 books of poetry and former President, Illinois State Poetry Society, and Patrick Dunn, Associate Professor of English,
Aurora University
 

April 26, 2017

Writing Chicago

Led by Caroline Johnson, author of two chapbooks, and Wilda Morris, author of Szechwan Shrimp and Fortune Cookies: Poems from a Chinese Restaurant
 

February 22, 2014

Persona Poems

Led by Martha Modena Vertreace-Doody, Distinguished Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence at Kennedy-King College, and Donna Pucciani, widely published, award-winning poet