Poetry Reading at Morton Arboretum

Sunday, April 19, 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. (CST)

Deadline to submit is Saturday, Feb. 15

Join us for a curated poetry reading at the Morton Arboretum

Poets & Patrons is sponsoring a reading at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle on Saturday, April 19, from Noon – 1:30 pm. This reading will be curated and is open to Poets & Patrons members only. The deadline to submit is Saturday, February 15.

We are searching for poets who have written poems inspired by the Arboretum, or who have poems about nature in general. 

If you are interested, please send 5 – 7 poems to poetsandpatrons@gmail.com. In the header of your email, please put “Morton Arboretum reading”.

We envision 5 – 6 poets reading, but it depends how many poets submit. For those reading, friends and family are welcome and will get free admission. In addition, poets who read may have the option to sell their books.

In selecting poems, preference is given to those who participated in the Write! Chicago at the Morton Arboretum this past Fall 2024, or who have poems inspired by the Arboretum.

For questions, please email Caroline Johnson at: carolinejohnson.author@gmail.com

Past Events

Lecture on Shakepeare’s Romeo & Juliet

Led by Bill Yarrow
Sunday, January 12, 2025 Via Zoom

Attendees of this lecture may also sign up to write poetry for a modern dance production of ROMEO & JULIET in May by Ardent Dance Company.

Poets & Patrons is collaborating with Ardent Dance Company to create poetry that will be presented at three dance performances. Poets will attend a dance rehearsal in Jan. or Feb. and submit poems for consideration by March 1.

Write! Ekphrastic Visits the Museum of Bad Art

Led by Wilda Morris
Saturday, November 16, 2024 Via Zoom

Becoming the Horses and Leaves: An Online Poetry Workshop

Led by Jennifer Clement 
Saturday, June 22, 2024 Via Zoom

Poet as Witness of a Moment

Led by Marj Hahne 
Saturday, February 24, 2024 Via Zoom
Paul Éluard wrote, “There is another world, and it is in this one.” Poems we remember, poems we return to, likely presence for us what it means to be human as a secular spiritual being. How do we write poems that transcend mere description of our visible world? Conversely, how do we write poems about the invisible world, without weighty abstractions, and instead with the sensory details of our earthbound lives? In this workshop under the leadership of Marj Hahne, we looked at poems by other poets and discussed whether they successfully or unsuccessfully bore witness to human experience. Then we reviewed submitted poems, attending to aspects of poem-making that establish the poet as credible witness.

Interested in learning more about workshop leader Marj Hahne? Review or download workshop flyer →

Collaborative Poetry

Led by Anara Guard & Gay Guard-Chamberlin 
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Participants jump-started their creativity with Sibling Revelry in which sister-poets Anara Guard and Gay Guard-Chamberlin led fun collaborative exercises to spark imagination and sense of play! Interested in learning more about workshop leaders Anara Guard and Gay Guard-Chamberlin? Review or download workshop flyer →

Effective Poetry of Protest Zoom Workshop

Led by Marilyn Taylor
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Virtually everybody who reads poetry nowadays is undoubtedly aware of a vast—and relatively new—sub-category over the past few decades: the poetry of protest or resistance. This workshop was intended to help you avoid many of the potholes, sand-traps and bottomless pits that stand in the way of your poem. Poets submitted poems for critique.

Putting Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes:
Persona Poems Workshop

Led by Pat Valdata
Saturday, August 27, 2022
In a persona poem, the speaker is someone other than the poet. It’s like playing pretend, with the added goal of revealing something interesting about our speaker. In this workshop, we read examples of persona poems that show how they reveal story and character. We discussed how to apply these techniques to our own work, and then we wrote a short persona poem.

Erasure Poetry Zoom Workshop

Saturday, June 25, 2022
Led by Bill Yarrow 
“Erasure poetry is a type of found poetry in which the poet takes an existing source text and creates their own poem by erasing, redacting…or otherwise obscuring the words in the original text. It’s a creative process without any “new” writing.” (https://edgeeffects.net/cfp-the-art-of-erasure-poetry/). Bill Yarrow will discussed erasure poetry and led us in a writing exercise.

Joint Poets & Patrons & Illinois State Poetry Society Zoom Workshop
Haiku Checklist Critique Workshop

Saturday, May 14, 2022
Led by Michael Dylan Welch
Poets were invited to submit two haiku (or senryu) for critique by Michael and the group. Michael’s “Haiku Checklist,” at https://www.graceguts.com/essays/haiku-checklist was provided in advance to participants preparing poems for submission.

I’ve Got a Story For You: A Haibun Workshop

Saturday, April 30, 2022
Held in conjunction with Poetry Fest at the Harold Washington Library
Facilitator: Jennifer Hambrick
Participants drafted original haibun for critique. Those who had already written haibun brought haibun drafts for critique.

Poetry Open Mic Celebrating Women’s History, via Zoom

March 19, 2022
Hosted by Charles Kouri, P&P vice president
The theme of this zoom open mic was Women’s History, in celebration of the 101st anniversary of women’s right to vote. Poets were encouraged to read poems inspired by this theme.

Creating Effective Haiku

February 26, 2022
Led by Michael Dylan Welch
The first workshop we have sponsored about the Japanese artform. Led by Michael Dylan Welch, a noted haiku poet and translator from Washington.

The Villanelle: a Poetry Zoom Workshop

August 28, 2021
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.

Poetry Open Mic

August 7, 2021
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.

Creating Cento Poems Zoom Workshop

April 24, 2021
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.

Open Mic for National Poetry Month

April 11, 2021
Hosted by Curt Vevang, current members read their poems at the event.

Creating Memoir from Linked Poems

February 27, 2021
Led by Arlyn Miller

Variations on a Theme

August 29, 2020
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