CHICAGO POETS READ FROM THE CITY VISIBLE
Cracked Slab Books is pleased to announce a reading by poets of its new anthology, The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century, on October 20th at 7:00 p.m. at 3617 W Belle Plaine Ave. (Gethsemane Evangelical Church-yes, in the church).
The readers will include:
Nick Twemlow – Robyn Schiff – Johanny Vázquez Paz – Joel Felix – Peter O’Leary – Garin Cycholl – Chris Glomski – Simone Muench – Cynthia Bond – Kristy Odelius – Lina Vitkauskas – Larry Sawyer – William Allegrezza – Jorge Sanchez – Tony Trigilio – Jennifer Karmin – Ray Bianchi – Kerri Sonnenberg – Eric Elshtain
Admission: $5 (or $15 dollars if you want a copy of the anthology-its retail value is $22.95)
For more information, contact editor@crackedslabbooks.com or call 312-342-7337. For the book, see crackedslabbooks.com or visit amazon.com.
About The City Visible:
Edited by Ray Bianchi and William Allegrezza, this anthology brings together a sampling of some of the best poets working in Chicago and the surrounding region. From all corners of the city, these poets are crafting a voice for Chicago literature in the new century.
The book contains work from the following poets:
Jennifer Scappettone * Suzanne Buffam * Srikanth Reddy * Robyn Schiff * Nick Twemlow * John Tipton * Eric Elshtain * David Pavelich * Peter O’Leary * William Fuller * Michael O’Leary * Mark Tardi * Erica Bernheim * Michael Antonucci * Chris Glomski * Garin Cycholl * Luis Urrea * Kristy Odelius * Lina Ramona Vitkauskas * Simone Muench * Lea Graham * Ed Roberson * Arielle Greenberg * Tony Trigilio * Shin Yu Pai * Dan Beachy-Quick * Maxine Chernoff * Kerri Sonnenberg * Jesse Seldess * Paul Hoover * Michelle Taransky * Robert Archambeau * Bill Marsh * Larry Sawyer * Cecilia Pinto * Johanny Vázquez Paz * Ela Kotkowska * Jorge Sanchez * Joel Craig * Daniel Borzutzky * Joel Felix * Raymond Bianchi * Cynthia Bond * William Allegrezza * Jennifer Karmin * Tim Yu * Laura Sims * Roberto Harrison * Brenda Cárdenas * Stacy Szymaszek * Chuck Stebelton * Jordan Stempleman.
Praise for the Anthology:
When Carl Sandburg asked in his Chicago Poems, close to a hundred years ago, for “a voice to speak to me in the day end, / A hand to touch me in the dark room / Breaking the long loneliness,” little did he know his city would be so fully and livingly answered and so honored. Chicago is again transformed by poetry. Here in these myriad acts of imagination, the poets of The City Visible give to it again, in Shakespeare’s terms, :a local habitation and a name.”
Peter Gizzi
The most exciting and satisfying anthology I’ve acquired in the past month is The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century . . . It not only is easily the best anthology I’ve ever seen that tried to capture the lively scene of the Second City, but it’s a worthy companion to Stephanie Young’s Bay Poetics, which for my money is the gold standard in contemporary poetry anthologies, especially ones that offer a regional focus.
Ron Silliman
There’s a lot of fantastic writing here . . . there s a diversity of expression that makes it a fantastic sourcebook.
Simon DeDeo
The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century is a prudent investment for any reader of contemporary poetry . . . the book is a nice, hearty, earnest sampling of interesting poets.
Olivia Cronk, Bookslut
Unveiling an entire new poetic culture may seem like the act of a master magician, but Allegrezza and Bianchi have been on the case a long time and they know what they’re doing. Volume Two is said to be in the works, and in the meantime I for one will be ordering several copies of Volume One for students, friends, and family relations. When young poets ask me, where should I go, what should I do, nowadays I always say pull out a map, throw in a dart. X marks the spot, but Chicago is the most exciting scene around. Years from now we’ll be looking back at the early 21st century and wishing we’d all relocated there at this time in poetry history.
Kevin Killian