CPL at Printers Row: Two Paths, Many Stories: Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte and Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda Del Valle

Join CPL at Printers Row Lit Fest for Two Paths, Many Stories: A Poetry Reading and Discussion featuring Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte and Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda Del Valle in conversation with Adrian Matejka, Editor of Poetry magazine Mayda del Valle is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised on Chicago’s South Side. She is the author of The University of Hip-hop and A South Side Girl's Guide to Love & Sex. She was the 2001 National Poetry Slam Champion and appeared on six episodes of HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. An original cast member and contributing writer of the Tony Award-winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, she has performed internationally, including at the White House by invitation of President Obama and the First Lady. She is the 2026–2027 Poet Laureate of the City of Chicago.Writer Mark Turcotte (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) is the current Illinois Poet Laureate and Distinguished- Writer-In-Residence in the English Department at DePaul University.Moderator Adrian Matejka is the author of eight books including The Big Smoke, which was awarded the 2014 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in poetry. His first graphic novel Last on His Feet was a finalist for the 2024 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. His selected poems, Be Easy, was published by Liveright May 2026. He lives in Chicago and is editor-in-chief of Poetry magazine. How to Attend: Printers Row Lit Fest is located on historic Printers Row, on and around the area of Dearborn Street, from Polk Street to Ida B. Wells Drive (formerly Congress Parkway) in Chicago. This event will take place on Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation Stage (On W. Polk St., just east of Clark St.).  A map of festival activities and locations is available at the Printers Row Lit Fest website.  AccessibilityNeed 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.