Literary Event
“Up Here: Women, Weed and other Rogue Pharmacopoeia”
Event Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024 | 2–4 p.m.
Place: 1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607
“I believe that the truth of any subject only comes when all sides of the story are put together.” — Alice Walker
In 2024 Women and Femmes find themselves at a unique juncture with newly legalized access to cannabis and safe, standardized cannabis products. Does weed open the doors of the mind or is it the same old ‘gateway’? Femmes and NB writers will share their experiences with marijuana, microdosing and other organic altered states. Readers include Pauline Kochanski, Kat Lipson, and Nikki Patin. Literary Curator: Jae Green.
Pauline Kochanski lives in the Chicago area is a multi-disciplinary artist, independent curator, writer, and teacher with a love of finding new words. Pauline is pleased to have published poems and exhibited art in juried and invitational shows internationally, nationally and in the Chicago area as well as having been a featured artist during the 2003 Chicago Artists Month. She received numerous awards and recognitions for her work from Best of Show, first place and honorable mentions to receiving Illinois Arts Council Grants. Pauline is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and DePaul University.
Kat Lipson is an interdisciplinary artist based in West Bloomfield, MI. Before her a[rt]-ha moment (c. 2018), Kat received a Bachelors in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, and a Masters in Nonprofit Management from DePaul University. She worked in the nonprofit sector for 12 years before becoming a stay at home mom to her two incredible children. An absolute lover of the creative process, she feels incredibly honored for this opportunity to share her writing.
Nikki Patin holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine, with pieces published by WBEZ, Move to End Violence, the Chicago Reader, Torch Literary Arts, on Public Newsroom, courtesy of City Bureau, and in the anthology, Carving Out Rights from the Prison Industrial Complex. She is the founder of Surviving the Mic, a survivor-led collective that curates performances and workshops for writers and performers who are also survivors of sexual harm. Patin’s debut memoir, Working on Me, is forthcoming from Vine Leaves Press in April 2024. In addition to Patin’s written and performance work, Patin is also a visual artist. In 2019, Patin was the recipient of the Jackman Goldwasser Residency at Hyde Park Arts Center, where she began developing an ongoing practice of healing, visual meditations, entitled 10,000 Labyrinths.
(Banner image: RHINO POETRY & Woman Made Gallery Present “Without Borders: The Laughing Place.”)
See Poetry ArchivesWMG’s Literary Events Curator
Jae Green – WMG Literary Events Curator Jae Green is connected to Woman Made Gallery since its early days when the organization was located at its first location in Ravenswood Manor on Chicago’s northwest side. Jae is a visual artist, writer and published poet. She serves since 2020 on WMG’s Board of Directors and is also part of WMG’s Program Committee. In celebration of Woman Made Gallery’s 30th Anniversary she co-juried the Generations group exhibition in 2022 together with Gallery Coordinator, Marisa Miles.
WMG’s Former Literary Team
Nina Corwin Much gratitude goes to Nina Corwin and her years of service as WMG’s Literary Events Curator until Covid prevented us from planning any public events. Nina is a published poet, Founding Editor for Fifth Wednesday Journal and psychotherapist/advocate for victims of sexual assault. She is the author of two books of poetry, The Uncertainty of Maps and Conversations With Friendly Demons and Tainted Saints. Her work has appeared in ACM, Forklift OH, Hotel Amerika, New Ohio Review, Southern Poetry Review, Verse and has been nominated for the Pushcart prize. Corwin is an Advisory Editor for Fifth Wednesday Journal and co-edited Inhabiting the Body: A Collection of Poetry and Art By Women. She has read and performed her work across the country, at times set with musical or choreographic compositions.
Jennifer Steele Thank you Jennifer Steele for your service as WMG Literary Events Outreach Coordinator for several years. She is a published poet and educator and serves as Partnerships Coordinator for Teen Services at Chicago Public Library. She served as co-founder and co-curator of the Revolving Door Reading Series. Her work has appeared in Another Chicago Magazine, Callaloo Journal, Columbia Poetry Review, Warpland Journal, So To Speak, and others, and is a Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop fellow. She has taught creative writing and digital media arts across Chicago since 2008 and has collaborated with numerous youth organizations and cultural institutions, designing innovative arts programming.
Kurt Eric Heintz We are grateful to Kurt Eric Heintz who served as WMG’s Literary Events Audio Recordist through 2019. Kurt once taught computer graphics programming at Columbia College, and worked as an independent web developer. He’s since become the lead video director at Britannica. Kurt is known for his poetry videos, begun in the early 1990’s. He also video-conferenced his colleagues’ poetry in the late 1990’s — years before Skype and the iPhone. He was a technical advisor to the Electronic Literature Organization in its earliest years, and is the video content editor for Another Chicago Magazine.
Thank you Angela Narciso Torres, for your wonderful work and support for WMG and our past Literary Program!
Woman Made Gallery is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Illinois Arts Council Agency; a major anonymous donor; and the generosity of its members and contributors.