We are so excited to launch the second year of our special Pride Month podcast series Queer Poem-a-Day. Exclusive to the Deerfield Public Library Podcast, which otherwise features interviews with authors and other notable people, Queer Poem-a-Day is the first daily-poetry podcast to focus exclusively on the LGBTQIA+ community. Once again we are thrilled to feature many award-winning, leading, and emerging poets—as well as several poets with Chicagoland connections—and provide this unique snapshot of LGBTQIA+ poetry today. An archive of our first year (2021) is available on our website.
Every day of June 2022, you can read and hear a poem on our website, deerfieldlibrary.org/queerpoemaday, or subscribe to the Deerfield Public Library Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. You can also follow along on social media with the hashtag #queerpoemaday and find books and ebooks by our participating poets in our Library’s catalog. Additionally, we’re hosting several related programs, listed below.
Queer Poem-a-Day is founded and co-directed by poet and teacher Lisa Hiton and me, Dylan Zavagno, Adult Services Coordinator at the Library and host of the Deerfield Public Library Podcast. This year we received generous support from both the Friends of the Deerfield Public Library and the Deerfield Fine Arts Commission.
To kick off season two of our series, Lisa and I had a short conversation reflecting on the success and excitement of our 2021 run, which attracted many new listeners and was featured on Chicago Public Radio WBEZ, PEN America, and in curriculums at Stanford University, Boston University, and Illinois public schools. We also discuss our series as a public library program against a climate of newly introduced, specifically anti-trans, and broadly anti-LGBTQIA+ laws and book bans throughout the country. To reflect a different year, our music has changed as well: our Chicago-based pianist, Daniel Baer, aptly chose the first movement, Schéhérazade, from Masques, Op. 34 by composer Karol Szymanowski.
Listen to our short kickoff podcast intro below and subscribe now to get the poems on the podcast feed starting June 1.
Queer Poem-a-Day is a program from the Adult Services Department at the Library and may include adult language.
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Related Programs
Adult Programs
Classics Book Discussion: Selected Poems by Federico García Lorca,
Thursday, June 16, 7:00 p.m. | Hybrid: In-Person & Virtual | Register
The works of the great 20th-century Spanish poet gave the world his signature duende style. Packets of the poems we’ll discuss are available for pickup at the Adult Services Desk.
The Book and the Body: Queer Poetry in Public Spaces
Thursday, June 30, 7:00 p.m. | Virtual | Register
The co-directors of Queer Poem-a-Day present a capstone lecture exploring the history, legacy, and vitality of LGBTQIA+ poetry featured in public institutions and spaces, including books by Queer Poem-a-Day authors on the library shelves.
Teen Program
Workshop: Poetry is Who I Am
Wednesday, June 15, 5:00-6:15 p.m. | Virtual | Register
Poets Lisa Hiton and Sam Herschel Wein lead a poetry workshop for Grades 6-12 that will help young poets express their unique identities. No prior writing experience required!
Queer Poem-a-Day is presented with generous support from the Friends of the Deerfield Public Library and the Deerfield Fine Arts Commission.
