Bold Type: “First Light” by CAConrad

This installation is part of Bold Type, a new design series presented by Poetry magazine that brings poetry into public spaces. The Poetry Foundation’s central gallery serves as a canvas for large-scale poetic design—inviting visitors to look, linger, and reflect. “First Light” by CAConrad is the first poem in the series, designed by Pentagram. Additional installations of Bold Type will appear elsewhere in Chicago later in 2026.

CAConrad has worked with the ancient technologies of poetry and ritual since 1975. They exhibit their poems as art objects in places such as Champ Lacombe Gallery in London, Futura Gallery in Prague, The Institute for Contemporary Art in Hamburg, the Robert Grunenberg Gallery in Berlin, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York City, Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong, and other galleries. Conrad received the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, a Creative Capital grant, a Pew Fellowship, and a Lambda Literary Award. Their latest book is Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return (Wave Books / UK Penguin, 2024). Conrad currently lives in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and teaches at Sandberg Art Institute and De Ateliers in Amsterdam.

Poetry magazine is the premier gathering space for poets and readers. The magazine publishes contemporary poetry and prose from contributors all over the world. In addition to its print publication, Poetry’s entire digital archive of more than 1,200 issues is available for free. A true Chicago institution, Poetry has been published in the city since its founding in 1912.