The Midland Authors presents

Chicago Poetry

Chicago poets Marc Kelly Smith and Kevin Coval will talk about poetry and the use of Chicago dialect and idiom.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 7 p.m. Central (doors open 6:30 p.m.)
Volumes Bookcafe, 1373 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Free and open to all.

Marc Kelly Smith is a Chicago icon who started the poetry slam, and with it a new brand of poetry. Smith performs with the Last Word Quintet and hosts a monthly show at the Green Mill jazz lounge. His books include Ground Zero and The Spoken Word Revolution.

Kevin Coval is an Emmy-nominated, award-winning writer, filmmaker and author of more than a dozen collections and anthologies, including The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop and A People’s History of Chicago. His full-length feature film, Madina in the Summertime, is due out in this fall. Coval will read some new poetry at Tuesday’s event.