Blue Hour
October 12, 2019

The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR with Berry Grass and Raych Jackson at The Whistler.

Featured Readers

Raych Jackson

Raych Jackson is a writer, educator, and performer whose poems have gained over 2 million views on YouTube. Jackson continues to instruct workshops through the Poetry Foundation, InsideOut Literary Arts, and more. She pushes educators to implement culturally relevant poetry within their curriculum using her five years of experience teaching in Chicago Public Schools. Jackson’s work has been published by many— including Poetry, The Rumpus, The Shallow Ends, and Washington Square Review. Her debut collection Even the Saints Audition won Best New Poetry Collection by a Chicagoan from Chicago Reader in 2019. Jackson currently lives in Chicago.

Berry Grass

Berry Grass is originally from rural Missouri, got their MFA in Tuscaloosa, and now lives & teaches writing in Philadelphia. They are the author of Hall of Waters (forthcoming in 2019 from The Operating System). Their essays and poems appear in DIAGRAM, The Normal School, Barrelhouse, BOAAT, Phoebe, Bedfellows, The Wanderer, and Sonora Review, among other publications. They are a 2019 nominee for the Krause Essay Prize. Their chapbook, Collector’s Item, was published in 2014 by Corgi Snorkel Press. They host Tragic: the Gathering — an occasional transgender literature reading series in Philadelphia. When they aren’t reading submissions as Nonfiction Editor of Sundog Lit, they’re embodying what happens when a Virgo watches too much professional wrestling.

When

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Where

The Whistler
2421 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Please join us for the October installment of the Six Points Reading Series featuring Raych Jackson and Berry Grass. The Six Points Series is a program of the Chicago Poetry Center, curated by Doe Parker, artistic direction by Elizabeth Metzger Sampson. As always, this event is free and open to the public. Accessibility varies by venue, please see below for this month’s details.

About the readers:

Raych Jackson is a writer, educator and performer. While teaching third and fourth grade in Chicago Public Schools, Jackson competed on numerous national poetry teams and individual competitions. Her poems have gained over 2 million views on YouTube. She is the 2017 NUPIC Champion and a 2017 Pink Door fellow. Jackson recently voiced ‘DJ Raych’ in the Jackbox game, Mad Verse City. Her latest play, “Emotions & Bots”, premiered at the Woerdz Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland. Jackson wrote a room dedicated to her city for 29Rooms’ first installment in Chicago, through Refinery 29. She co-created and co-hosts Big Kid Slam, a monthly poetry show in Chicago. Jackson’s work has been published by many— including Poetry Magazine, The Rumpus, The Shallow Ends, and Washington Square Review. Her debut collection EVEN THE SAINTS AUDITION is forthcoming through Button Poetry. She currently lives in Chicago.

Berry Grass is originally from rural Missouri, got their MFA in Tuscaloosa, and now lives & teaches writing in Philadelphia. They are the author of Hall of Waters (forthcoming in 2019 from The Operating System). Their essays and poems appear in DIAGRAM, The Normal School, Barrelhouse, BOAAT, Phoebe, Bedfellows, The Wanderer, and Sonora Review, among other publications. They are a 2019 nominee for the Krause Essay Prize. Their chapbook, Collector’s Item, was published in 2014 by Corgi Snorkel Press. They host Tragic: the Gathering — an occasional transgender literature reading series in Philadelphia. When they aren’t reading submissions as Nonfiction Editor of Sundog Lit, they’re embodying what happens when a Virgo watches too much professional wrestling.

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Accessibility: The venue is 100% ADA accessible. This months event is 21+.