Downloadable PDF – Lit Life Intern Posting
** UPDATE: We’re no longer accepting applications. Thank you to all who have applied! We will follow up with all candidates.**
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Mission & Programs
The Chicago Poetry Center’s mission is to connect people and poetry, equitably engage poets with communities, and foster creative literacy in the city and beyond. We do this work through poetry education programming across Chicago, public poetry events, Critical Conversations @ Work, and special projects and online resources.
Culture
We are a small and actively growing organization that sets our goals into action through collaboration, clear communication and expectations, and strategic and creative thinking. Staff work both independently and as part of a team. Our culture is one that supports feedback, communication, and growth, and values artistic and creative expression and creative community.
Commitment to Inclusion
The Chicago Poetry Center values diversity at all levels and understands that a safe and supportive environment is necessary to facilitate our work in valuing and uplifting creative expression. The Chicago Poetry Center commits to inclusion and will not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, age, religion, national origin, marital, parental, or veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We strive to uphold our values in action through our decisions, programming, community building, and fostering an environment of continuous learning. CPC works in an ADA accessible building with gender neutral bathrooms. CPC supports a staff, teaching artist team, and program participant community that is diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, and ability, and leadership continuously audits our practices to deepen our inclusion.
ABOUT THE POSITION
The Chicago Poetry Center is currently seeking a creative, versatile, outgoing, and hard working Literary Life Intern to support our public performance offerings, with a primary focus on promotions and event support for the Blue Hour reading and workshop series.
The Literary Life Intern will work directly with the Reading Series Curator and in tandem with the communications intern to promote and run the monthly reading series. Primary responsibilities will include in-person promotion of the series at literary events citywide as well as in-person support at the monthly event.
This role is for someone excited to connect with people around the city to increase awareness and excitement about the workshop and reading series. Eagerness to talk with people and attend literary events in communities citywide is a must, along with comfort making compelling public announcements during those events. The intern can expect to receive support in crafting announcements, brainstorming and identifying promotion opportunities, and will receive printed materials to distribute.
Some meetings and events will take place at locations around the city, including at the CPC office in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Because attendance at literary events is a primary focus of this role, work should be anticipated to include evenings and weekends and to involve significant amounts of travel within the city. Work product will primarily utilize GSuite.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Identify opportunities and create a season-long plan to broaden the audience and increase awareness of the Blue Hour series, with a focus on in-person events and physical locations for promotional materials
- Attend in-person literary events citywide, distributing promotional materials and where possible making announcements about the series
- Support the monthly Blue Hour reading and workshop including event preparation, set-up, event management, and clean-up
TIMELINE
The position is for 5-10 hours per week from August 15 – November 15, 2023, with the potential to renew for the spring term. Please indicate in your application if you are interested in a single term or have interest in continuing through the spring term. CPC has a strong preference for supporting interns in long-term engagements over multiple terms. Weekly schedule will be determined by the Director of Strategy & Innovation considering the intern’s schedule and can flex throughout the year.
This position requires in-person attendance at the Blue Hour events on these dates, working a minimum of 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.:
- August 16
- September 20
- October 18
- November 15
QUALIFICATIONS
As this position will require independent remote work, the intern must have personal access to a computer and internet. The intern may also be asked to make phone calls on occasion. Travel throughout the city of Chicago will also be required; this is the responsibility of the intern and can occur via public transit or personal vehicle.
Minimum age for this position is 21 years of age; many of the events the intern will be required to attend to promote the reading series will take place in bars where one must be of legal drinking age to enter.
Required skills for the position include public speaking and ability to represent CPC compellingly and appropriately in a range of settings, open communication and a willingness to learn on the job. Learning on the job includes both researching one’s questions to see if the answer is within reach, and when it’s not, asking for support.
The ideal candidate:
- is comfortable presenting information in public forums and one-on-one
- is self-directed and able to work independently, possessing resourcefulness and strategic problem-solving ability
- is flexible and adaptable; open to change, learning, and improvement
- has exceptional relationship management and communication skills (written and oral)
- has exceptional organization, time, and resource management skills
- is able to thrive in a culture of professional development: gives and receives continuous constructive feedback, creates and participates in a culture of mutual support
- is intellectually curious; seeks to understand, learn, and grow
- has clear and demonstrated alignment with CPC’s mission, values, and commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion
COMPENSATION
Along with exemplary on-the-job experience and skill-building, the Chicago Poetry Center will pay the Communications Intern a $1,000 stipend per term.
HOW TO APPLY
Submit your resume and a brief cover letter by email to jobs@poetrycenter.org. In the subject line, please use this format: Lit Life Intern: Applicant Name
If you prefer to submit your cover letter in video format, feel free to send a video file or link with a recording not to exceed four minutes.
Your submission letter or video should let us know why you’re interested in working for the Chicago Poetry Center in this capacity, and tell us a bit about yourself and your relationship to poetry. We encourage you to include in your resume and/or cover letter any relevant skills you’ve acquired that aren’t tied to work experience–in other words, volunteer, life, and school experiences are also recognized as valid.
Deadline to apply: July 24, 2023
