In conjunction with the exhibition opening for Harriet Monroe & the Open Door, we will host a conversation with Poetry’s four women guest editors from 2021-22: Esther G. Belin, Su Cho, Suzi F. Garcia, and Ashley M. Jones.

Moderated by Carmen Giménez, this conversation shifts the frame of the Open Door series to spotlight the creative labor of editors to open up poetry as a porous category. The name of the series honors the legacy of Poetry’s founding editor Harriet Monroe, who declared in 1912, “The Open Door will be the policy of this magazine—may the great poet we are looking for never find it shut, or half-shut.”

This is a hybrid event, which will be offered in-person and via livestream.

Esther G. Belin is an urban Indian, born at an Indian Health Service hospital in Gallup, New Mexico and raised in the greater Los Angeles area. She has two poetry collections, From the Belly of My Beauty, and Of Cartography, and is one of the editors of the anthology of Navajo literature, The Diné Reader. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and lives on the Colorado side of the Four Corners region.

Su Cho is a poet, essayist, and the author of The Symmetry of Fish (Penguin Books, 2022) which won the 2021 National Poetry Series. She lives in South Carolina where she is an assistant professor of English at Clemson University.

Suzi F. Garcia is the author of the chapbook A Home Grown Fairytale (Bone Bouquet, 2020). She is the co-publisher of the award-winning independent press, Noemi, and along with José Olivarez, is a poetry editor for Haymarket Books. In addition, Suzi is the review manager for the Lambda Literary Review, which has been serving the queer literary community for over 30 years. Suzi is a CantoMundo Fellow, a Macondista, a Lambda Literary Fellow, and participated in the first ever Poetry Incubator at the Poetry Foundation. She has served as a CantoMundo steering committee member, CantoMundo regional director, and a board member for the Latinx Caucus.

Ashley M. Jones is the poet laureate of Alabama. She is the first person of color and the youngest person to hold this position in its 93 year existence. Jones is the author of three award-winning poetry collections, most recently Reparations Now! She is the co-editor of WHAT THINGS COST: An Anthology for the People. Her work has been featured by CNN, the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC News, and the New York Times. Jones is the associate director of the University Honors Program at UAB and she teaches in the Low Residency MFA Program at Converse University.

Carmen Giménez(moderator)is publisher and director of Graywolf Press and the author of several books, including Be Recorder, a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award.

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-doors-guest-editors-panel-tickets-691003188137?aff=oddtdtcreator

In-Person Attendance
Masks are strongly encouraged and available at check-in for those who would like to wear one. Please note that some event performers may choose to perform without a mask. The Foundation reserves the right to update this policy if community levels of COVID-19 increase significantly. Read our full COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines. Guests are encouraged to register in advance.

Livestream Attendance
The livestream link will be shared with registered guests on the day of the event. In order to receive the livestream details, please register in advance here.

The Poetry Foundation’s events are completely free of charge and open to the public. This event will include CART captioning and ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit our Accessibility Guide.

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Tags: Ashley M. Jones, Chicago, Esther G. Belin, Harriet Monroe & the Open Door, Harriet Monroe Editors Panel, Near North Side, Open Doors, Open Doors: Harriet Monroe Editors Panel, Su Cho, Suzi F. Garcia, The Poetry Foundation