Free Poetry Reading & Workshop with Nadia Colburn at The Book Cellar

(Chicago, IL) On Tuesday, February 6th, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., The Book Cellar will present I Say the Sky: Poetry, Grieving, and Celebration with award-winning poet Nadia Colburn.

In this interactive poetry reading and writing workshop, poet and beloved teacher Nadia Colburn, Ph.D., will read from her new poetry collection, I Say the Sky (University Press of Kentucky 2024), offer short guided meditations and writing prompts, and lead an interactive discussion on how poetry can help us find meaning, spirit, beauty, and strength, even in these difficult times.

From personal traumas, illnesses, and losses, to the climate crisis, social injustice, and inequality, there is much that needs healing. But there is also much to incite wonder. Poetry can be a space of both: Poetry is particularly effective at probing spaces that otherwise are left unnamed and unsaid. It also helps readers and writers focus their attention, be more present, and integrate mind and body through image, sound, meaning. And it invites us into unexpected moments of joy.

Participants will be led toward a deeper understanding of their own multi-faceted experiences in the world and given tools to shape those experiences into poetry.

Enjoy a restorative and empowering interactive evening. This presentation is suitable for people with any level of poetry experience.

Admission is Free. RSVPs are recommended but not required. RSVP HERE.

The Book Cellar is located at 4736 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625.

Learn more about this event on its webpage HERE.

For questions about the event, please contact The Book Cellar at (773) 293-2665 or send an email to words@bookcellarinc.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nadia Colburn is the author of poetry books I Say the Sky and The High Shelf, and her poetry and prose have appeared in more than eighty publications, including the New Yorker, American Poetry Review, Kenyon Review, Spirituality & Health, Lion's Roar, and the Yale Review. She holds a PhD in English from Columbia University and is the founder of Align Your Story Writing School, which brings traditional literary and creative writing studies together with mindfulness, embodied practices, and social and environmental engagement. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children. Find her at nadiacolburn.com, where she offers meditations and free resources for writers.

ABOUT THE BOOK

I Say the Sky by Nadia Colburn. In poems at once profound and accessible, Nadia Colburn finds splendor and astonishment in a natural world—and a human world—that is deeply troubled yet still majestically beautiful. Both elegy and celebration, I Say the Sky addresses some of the most challenging aspects of human existence, from childhood trauma to environmental devastation, and discovers, in unexpected and clear-sighted ways, wisdom, wonder, and peace.

Colburn's brilliant second book charts a journey to meet the self. From girlhood to parenthood, loss to discovery, in poems that sing, the book explores how meaning is made. Claiming the female voice from silence, the poems find their grounding in the body and achieve rootedness and hope.

I Say the Sky is a meditative and ultimately inspiring book that will be savored by seasoned readers as well as those new to poetry. Order I Say the Sky from The Book Cellar here.

ABOUT THE BOOK CELLAR

The next time you come to Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood, be sure to visit The Book Cellar. Since The Book Cellar opened in 2004, it has been an independent and woman-owned bookstore and cafe. Known for their excellent taste in books and wine, they also host frequent author events and book clubs. They’re located in the heart of the culturally diverse neighborhood once known as the city's Germantown. For more information, visit https://www.bookcellarinc.com/.

* * *