Ed Paschke Art Center Reading 10~13~19 — D A V E L A N D S B E R G E R

In October I was privileged to read my work at the Ed Paschke Art Center in Jefferson Park.

I was reading alongside Richard Williams. This was his first ever poetry reading of his work. He ceased writing poems eighteen years ago after reforming himself after a stint in prison. His book is called, The Emotional Realist.

When you read poetry you can only hope that the poets reading in front of you are authentic and able to connect to the audience. Richard was crying up there.

Being reminded of poetry’s surrender as he read words (words nearly two decades old) was cool. Nothing cooler. What a way to start this reading series.

Oil painting by Mariano Chavez, whose work was exhibited in the gallery where we read

I love this painting by Mariano Chavez - some mad Jack Kirby vibes

When I moved to Jefferson Park a year ago, I knew I wanted to approach the EPAC about poetry in the community. While Jefferson Park has many cultural gathering spaces there isn’t much real estate in the neighborhood dedicated to the arts themselves.

Drankin a “Paschke Pilsner” - all sponsors on my shirt can send checks payable to White Horse Poetic Industries, LLC.

Vesna & Lionel at the Ed Paschke Art Center were open to my idea of bringing poetry to the neighborhood in a series of readings. Over the course of a few months, we shaped into form what we’d like to do for the community.

I’ll put my setlist of poems at the bottom. One thing I really want to do with this series is expose the community to other ancillary Chicago poets. Not even the popular ones doing work, but the poets who maybe lived here for a year or two, here and there. I want to read poets tethered to Chicago, regardless of time served in wonder. This time around I read a poem from the recently departed David Berman, and from my friend and publishing-mate the Dominican Poet Frank Baez.

If something stands out from this reading in my mind aside from Richard’s presence, it would be how signature the Q&A was. There was lots of engagement and interest from the community about our work, process, and meaning. Ultimately a lot of conversation stemmed from my final poem “35th Birthday” which is about being at Mandalay Bay after a mass shooting occurred there.

Here’s to more local poetry readings in Jefferson Park. I’m not going anywhere.