Join us for a writing workshop with writer, photographer, scholar, and former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Kimberly M. Blaeser presented in conjunction with the NEA Big Read: Indigenous Stories.
Since November, Illinois Humanities has partnered with book stores and non-profit organizations to support free statewide book groups and public conversations around the experiences and stories of Native people in North America.
This workshop, in collaboration with the Center for Native Futures, will engage emerging writers in the process of developing their own authentic, creative voices.
Kimberly M. Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets, is a writer, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of five poetry collections, most recently Copper Yearning, Apprenticed to Justice, and Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance. Her photographs, picto-poems, and ekphrastic pieces have appeared in exhibits such as “Visualizing Sovereignty,” and “No More Stolen Sisters.”
Blaeser, an Anishinaabe activist and environmentalist, is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation who grew up on the reservation. A Professor Emerita at UW–Milwaukee and MFA faculty member for Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, her accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award from Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas.
Blaeser lives in rural Wisconsin; and, for portions of each year, in a water-access cabin near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. Her book, Ancient Light, is forthcoming from University of Arizona Press in 2024.
Haymarket House is located at 800 W. Buena Avenue in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. There is limited, free parking in the building’s parking lot accessible via Clarendon. There is also free street parking nearby and parking for a fee at nearby Walter Disney Magnet School on Clarendon and Belle Plaine about a block away. The 146, 151, and 36 buses stop nearby. The CTA Red Line at Sheridan or Wilson is about 7 blocks away.
Haymarket House’s COVID-19 Safety Guidelines
Haymarket House does not have a COVID-19 vaccination or masking policy. However, visitors are highly encouraged to wear masks.
Supporters
This event is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
About The NEA Big Read
This event is a part of The NEA Big Read: Indigenous Stories, a series of free book groups celebrating contemporary Native writers. Book groups, events, and hands-on workshops are being held throughout the Chicago area from November 2022 to April 2023. Learn about other events and join a book group at ILHumanities.org/BigRead.
