May 5: Free poetry reading with Chicago poet avery r. young

Come hear the powerful words of avery r. young, Chicago’s inaugural poet laureate, at 3 p.m. May 5 in the Esper Peterson Reading Room, room L102, at the College of Lake County (CLC) Grayslake Campus. The event, sponsored by Voices of Lake County, is free and open to the public.

young is an interdisciplinary artist and educator and has more than two decades of experience in the teaching artist field.

In 2023, Young was appointed Chicago's inaugural poet laureate. His opera “safronia” premiered to sold-out audiences in April with the Chicago Lyric. He is also a co-director for the Floating Museum, which organizes art installations around Chicago.

"Voices of Lake County is a committee dedicated to creating humanities and arts programming that fosters connections between CLC and our local community,” said Adjunct English Instructor Alexandra Swanson. “This year, our theme is 'Voices and Advocacy.' We are thrilled to be able to bring avery r. young to campus. He is an extraordinarily interdisciplinary artist whose work spans poetry, music and visual art and consistently centers issues of voice and advocacy. This is an opportunity to see him in conversation with students who have studied and been moved by his work."