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“No one can afford to lose love,” 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize recipient CAConrad states in their poem “First Light: 88 Frequencies” showcased in the first of Poetry Foundation’s new visual series Bold Type, launchingApril 2026. CAConrad goes on to call the alternative “a wasteland.”
The Poetry Foundation’s spring 2026 season goes all in on poetry’s capacity for love in its many forms as a compass for connection, healing, and transformation in a state of emergency. Join us on Thursday nights for free public readings and celebrations of poetry and community:
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Poetry Foundation
A reading celebrating Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda del Valle and Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte.
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Poetry Foundation
An Affrilachian poetry reading celebrating the Frank X Walker folio in Poetry magazine.
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Poetry Foundation
A poetry reading celebrating CAConrad’s mural for the first installment of the Poetry Foundation’s Bold Type.
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Poetry Foundation
A poetry reading celebrating new books by Patricia Smith, Ashley M. Jones, Donika Kelly, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
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Poetry Foundation
A reading celebrating new books by Chicago poets Kameryn Carter, Teresa Dzieglewicz, WJ Lofton, Lisa Low, and A. Martinez.
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Poetry Foundation
A reading celebrating new book releases by Poetry Foundation staff and friends.
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Poetry Foundation
Join us for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Fuller Award ceremony, honoring Ed Roberson.