These poems challenge systems, imagine new futures, and give voice to resistance, liberation, and collective care. As we navigate an ever more challenging world, we hope this event is not only a shared cultural experience but also a place for connection and community building. The program will be followed by a reception with light refreshments and books from the readers for purchase.

**Register through Ticket Tailor to receive a link to the virtual event on the day of the event.**

**We ask all attendees wear masks in the event space during the program for the health and well-being of the speakers and other guests.**

Derrick Austin is the author of three poetry collections including This Elegance, forthcoming from Boa Editions in May 2026, Tenderness (Boa Editions, 2021), winner of the 2020 Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, and Trouble the Water (Boa Editions, 2016) selected by Mary Szybist for the A. Poulin Jr, Poetry Prize. He is a 2026 AICA-USA Art Critics Fellow.

I.S. Jones is the author of Bloodmercy, chosen by Nicole Sealey as the winner of the 2025 APR / Honickman First Book Prize and the chapbook Spells of My Name, selected by Newfound in 2021 for their Emerging Writers Series. Currently, she is a Senior Editor for Poetry Northwest, where she runs her column, The Legacy Suite. Her works have appeared in Granta, LA Review of Books, Guernica, Prairie Schooner, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. While she has lived in many places across the U.S., she gratefully calls Chicago home.

Diamond Sharp is a poet and writer from Chicago. Her work has appeared in Poetry, New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. She is a former editor of Bandcamp Daily and Rookie and a graduate of Wellesley College. Her debut book of poetry, Super Sad Black Girl, was published in 2022

Hosted by Tim Stafford, editor of the all ages anthology series Learn Then Burn (Write Bloody Books) and the author of the poetry collection The Patron Saint of Making Curfew (Haymarket Books).

This initiative is presented by Goodman Theatre in partnership with Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Allstate.