Illinois Poet Laureate Angela Jackson: A Celebration
About the Event:
When Angela Jackson was named Illinois Poet Laureate in 2020, she quoted her legendary predecessor Gwendolyn Brooks, saying ‘Poetry is life distilled." A poet, playwright, and novelist, Jackson’s repertoire—including poetry collections like Pulitzer Prize-nominated It Seems Like a Mighty Long Time and American Book Award-winning novel Where I Must Go—cements her place next to Brooks among Chicago literary giants. Join us for a poetic life distilled: a celebration of Jackson’s remarkable career in one essential afternoon with an amazing line-up of poets reading and performing, emceed by the fabulous poets Parneshia Jones and avery r. young.
This program is presented in partnership with the Poetry Foundation, Lake Forest College, and Northwestern University Press.
Angela Jackson
Angela Jackson is an award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist, living in Chicago. She is the author of numerous c...
Parneshia Jones
Parneshia Jones is the Director of Northwestern University Press. Her acquisitions have garnered some of the highest ...
avery r. young
Best known as a poet, songwriter, and performer, multi-disciplinary artist, avery r. young is also an award-winning t...
Onyx Appleberry
“All my boys is sunday boys”- Toni Morrison, Sula
Onyx Appleberry is a 21 year old Sunday boy from the s...
Tiff Beatty
Tiffanie (Tiff) Beatty is a Chicago-based arts and culture organizer and spoken word poet. She is the founder and hos...
Tara Betts
Tara Betts is the author of Break the Habit and Arc & Hue as well as the chapbooks 7 x 7: kwansa...
Krista Franklin
Krista Franklin is a writer and visual artist, the author Too Much Midnight (Haymarket Books, 2020), the artis...
Haki R. Madhubuti
Haki R. Madhubuti is an award-winning poet, one of the architects of the Black Arts Movement, an essayist, educator, ...
RL Watson
RL Watson is Assistant Professor of English and African American Studies at Lake Forest College. She is an alumna of ...
Event Details
THIS PROGRAM IS PRESENTED WITH THE SUPPORT OF:
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[Event tile image description: The event image at the top left of the event page is a photograph of Angela Jackson on stage, holding a microphone and looking off camera. Image credit: Daris Jasper]