So, my friend and I were talking about taking a spontaneous trip to Chicago this weekend and, instead of just closing my eyes and saying heck yeah, I went into full OCD mode. THis evening, I started researching hotels rates and things to do and the weather...all very non-spontaneous things. I know. I'm a nerd.
There was one surprising and fun that came out of my not-so-spontaneous planning session - I discovered The Chicago Poetry Tour. JACKPOT!
Gwendolyn Brooks’s neighborhood library. Union Stock Yards, where Chicago became Carl Sandburg’s “Hog Butcher for the World.” The Green Mill, home of slam poetry. Maxwell Street and Chess Records, inspirations for bluesy poets. Haymarket Square, memorial to the labor movement.
I didn't realize that Chicago had such a strong poetry history, but it does. As if I need another reason to love the windy city:-) Not sure if we'll go this weekend (it's gonna be 15 degrees and snowy...and I'm a total wimp when it comes to cold), but I'll mos def put this on my list for future trips. Can't wait!
Wanna find out more? I've included a quick snippet below, or you can check out the Poetry Foundation Site. I'll be sure to post a full review when I go.
Stay warm lovelies!
Say What?
The Chicago Poetry Tour, produced by the Poetry Foundation, is a chance to explore the history of the city through poetry. The online version of the tour features archival and contemporary recordings of poets and scholars, local music, and historic photographs. You can take the tour in numbered order, starting downtown, or jump around from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Or, if you’re in Chicago, let us take you on a guided tour: download the downtown portion, tour stops 1-6, hosted by NPR’s Scott Simon, into your MP3 player and take the walking tour beginning at the Chicago Cultural Center and ending at Harold Washington Library.
Whether virtual or actual, the Chicago Poetry Tour is a unique new way to introduce yourself to the Windy City and its great poetry.
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