Chicago’s poet laureate avery r. young brings poetry to his backyard.
Kind of. The Austin resident holds monthly poetry workshops, called chi-soul workshops, at the Austin Branch library in Chicago.
“With chi-soul workshops, we really want to concentrate on narratives that are centered in Chicago and really shed light on all that happens in Chicago, not just what people see on the news,” young said. “Poetry is a great vehicle for shedding light on the things that everyday Chicagoans get to see and experience.”
Selected as Chicago’s first-ever poet Laureate in April 2023, young is an award-winning poet, educator, composer, performer and producer whose work spans the genres of music, performance, visual arts and literature. His work has been featured in several exhibitions and theatre festivals including the Chicago Hip Hop Theatre Fest, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the American Jazz Museum. With more than two decades of experience in the teaching artist field, young has led programs within schools, community-based organizations, and other learning environments.
When young was named the city’s poet laureate, he was awarded $50,000 for the commissioning of new poems and to create public programming during his two-year term.
“Writing poetry is painting with language,” young said. “As is anything, in order to be good at it you have to work on it and workshops help with the craft of writing. I want to teach folks to become better painters with language.”
Ever since he moved to Linder Avenue in North Austin at 8, young has been a fan of the Austin Branch Library. As a child, he walked there frequently to read poetry and literature.
“I spent days upon days upon days at that library,” young said. “I tell folks all the time that the library is an airport. You can go anywhere in the world. Every book is an airplane. That’s what I love about the library. And it’s free.”
His love of poetry began in third grade when he first read the anthology “I Am the Darker Brother,” a collection of poems by Langston Hughes, Mari Evans, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden and others.
Young said that since he “had a mouth” as a kid, poetry also became a helpful tool for expressing his emotions.
“I realized that when I wrote a poem people didn’t see me as flippant,” he said. “When I said what I wanted to say in the context of metaphors or rhyme scheme or haiku, I didn’t get in trouble. In fact, I got praise for expressing myself in that form.”
Although he has written since elementary school, it wasn’t until his early twenties that young decided to seriously pursue poetry.
“I was able to do that through the open mic scene and through performance poetry,” he said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine one day becoming a poet laureate of any city, let alone Chicago.”
Young said the sights, smells, sounds and people of Austin undeniably shaped who he is as a poet today.
“A writer is constantly ear hustling and a writer is also constantly taking mental photographs,” he said. “I don’t think I would be the writer that I am had I not been incubated in the Austin community.”
When asked about how Juneteenth can be honored through poetry, young said “when I think about Juneteenth, I immediately go to emancipation and liberation and the celebration of such liberty – and that’s what a poem can be. It’s a celebration of our liberties. It can be a way that we honor what it means to be a liberated soul. To be armed with your voice is liberty and it’s everything that Juneteenth is about.”
young’s workshops are designed for adult writers of all skill levels to build poems and poetry manuscripts centered on tales of Chicago. The two-hour sessions will include time to edit, workshop and present poetic works in a personal setting.
Registration for chi-soul workshops is required and participants must be at least 18 years old. Workshops will take place from 2-4 p.m. on June 2, July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6 and November 3. Register at chipublib.org/chi-soul. They are held at the Austin Branch Library, 5615 W. Race Ave.