The Midwest Writing Center & the Rock Island Public Library are thrilled to welcome several of the editors of The Spoon River Poetry Review for an afternoon of of poetry writing & reading with the SRPR Poetry Road Show on Sat. 6/22 from 12pm – 2pm!

The event will start with a workshop called “OuLipo: Poetry with Rules.” The workshop will be led by Rockford, IL Poet Laureate, Jenna Goldsmith (approx. 45 minutes) – see the description below.

The workshop will be followed by a reading from participants and an open mic (approx. 30 minutes).

The event will close with a feature reading from several of the editors of the Spoon River Poetry Review (approx. 30-40 minutes) – full list of featured readers coming soon.

The event is free & open to the public, and participants will also receive a free copy of the MWC Press anthology SHATTERED CONSTRAINTS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF RADICAL HOSPITALITY.

This event will be held in the Community Room at the Rock Island Public Library Downtown Branch. RSVP is appreciated but not required; let us know if you plan on attending at mwc@mwcqc.org.

“OuLipo: Poetry with Rules” – Workshop Description:

What is OuLipo?
What is an OuLipian?
Find out at this workshop featuring hands-on practice with OuLipan methods, and free your creativity by following some rules!

Workshop Instructor Bio:

Jenna Goldsmith is a poet and writer living in Northern Illinois. She is Senior Instructor I at Oregon State University Cascades (remote) where she works with the low-residency MFA Program in Creative Writing. Her 2022 chapbook CRUSH was the winner of the Baltic Writing Residency Chapbook Contest. In January 2023, she was sworn in as the City of Rockford’s 2nd Poet Laureate.