Poetry Reading: Liberation Poetry with Ramiro Rodriguez, Ivy Raff, and Shonda Buchanan
@ Humboldt Park Library
1605 N Troy St, Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Monday, August 5th, from 5:30PM - 7:30PM
Join us for an electrifying evening celebrating the spirit of liberation through poetry. Award-winning writers Shonda Buchanan, Ivy Raff, and Ramiro Rodriguez will read fierce verse reflecting on resistance and freedom in all its forms. What does it mean to be free in body, mind and spirit?
Ramiro Rodriguez hails from Bellflower, California and the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, where he now serves as a youth mentor. Affected by gang life in the 1990s, Ramiro was incarcerated for over 13 years before debuting as a poet with a self-published chapbook, Coming Home. He connects with his ancestral roots as a Mexika Danzante for Kalpulli Danza Azteca Xochipilli in East Los Angeles, and continues to follow the road of the Mexikayotl.
Ivy Raff’s bilingual English/Spanish poetry collection, What Remains, garnered the Alberola International Poetry Prize and is forthcoming from Editorial DALYA in 2025. Her debut, Rooted and Reduced to Dust (Finishing Line Press, 2024) was hailed by Pulitzer finalist Bruce Smith as “lacerating, fearless.” Ivy serves artist communities as MacDowell’s Senior Systems Project Manager and as a member of Seventh Wave Magazine’s editorial team. She sits on the Board of Houston’s Colectiva Feminista Colibri.
Award-winning author and educator Shonda Buchanan is the founding literary editor of Harriet Tubman Press. Her work appears in Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, AWP’s The Writer’s Chronicle, and many other notable publications. She has served as a judge for multiple writing and grants contests including the Poetry Foundation, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, CavanKerry Press, and the Library of Virginia’s Poetry Book Awards. Her most recent books include, The Lost Songs of Nina Simone (forthcoming 2025), and the critically acclaimed memoir Black Indian.
Accessibility
Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.
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Tags: Chicago, Humboldt Park, Humboldt Park Library, Ivy Raff, Liberation Poetry, Ramiro Rodriguez, Shonda Buchanan
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