Free Writing Class at StoryStudio Chicago

StoryStudio Chicago is an organization dedicated to providing a supportive community for writers of all levels, and on Wednesday, August 27, StoryStudio is hosting an open house and free class:  

Join us for coffee, tea, and conversation with other writers, and then stay for Your Life As Fiction, a fun, all-levels free class that will explore what happens when you combine personal experience with your imagination.

What: Open House and Free Class

Where: StoryStudio Chicago, 4043 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, IL 60613 

Cost: Free!

Click here for more details and to RSVP.

April Is National Poetry Month

Yesterday marked the beginning of National Poetry Month. The celebration's organizer, the Academy of American Poets, has hundreds of suggestions for ways to celebrate. Here are a few highlights:   

• Sign up for Poem-A-Day to receive a new poem via email each day.      

• Choose an activity from the "30 Ways to Celebrate list," such as Poem in Your Pocket, recording your favorites in a commonplace book, or gathering friends to play the intriguingly named Exquisite Corpse. 

• Browse poems by topic: love, teaching, parenting, and more--including sharks.

• Listen to readings of the site's most popular poems. (Click here to listen to the site's most popular recording, Dylan Thomas's "Do not go gentle into that good night."  

• Explore the rich history of poetry here in Illinois. (Distance students, click here to find information about your state.) On each state-specific site you'll find biographies and the work of local poets, lists of "poetry-friendly bookstores," event calendars, information about local literary organizations and publications, and poems about the state, its cities, and its people.