A Bigger Table: 50 Years of the Chicago Poetry Center
Chicago Poetry Center was formed through defiant, organic, community-driven efforts following the threat of literary censorship in the 1950s. A group of Chicago writers and editors organized to create publication and performance spaces that welcomed queer and racially diverse contemporary voices. This created projects such as the Big Table literary magazine and reading series, named after a note that one of the censored writers wrote to himself to “get a bigger table”– a table that has room for everyone. In 1974, these efforts were formalized into the nonprofit Chicago Poetry Center (CPC).
For 50 years, CPC has remained rooted in our history of liberatory artistic practice. Our programs have supported tens of thousands of Chicago Public School students in exploring their powerful voices, offered platforms for nearly a thousand poets to express themselves in writing and in spoken word, and engaged individuals nationwide in critical conversations around race using poetry as a springboard for transformative dialogue.
Register Now: Anniversary Launch Party & Exhibit Opening
To celebrate our five historic decades, we will be launching an exhibition featuring 50 broadsides, 50 iconic vintage poetry event posters, archival materials and ephemera, and the premier of a documentary film A Bigger Table: 50 Years of the Chicago Poetry Center. Find out more on the Poetry Foundation’s website.
Where: Poetry Foundation, 61 W Superior St, Chicago, IL 60654
Exhibition Run: June 27 – Sept 14
Exhibition Event: July 13, 2-4pm (Reception 2-3; Live Program and Screening 3-4)
Check out a sampling of CPC’s earliest event posters below and in our store.
