These events took place in 2009

POETRY WRITING WORKSHOPS
In acknowledgement of April as National Poetry Month and in partnership with CityVerse, the Chicago Public Library’s initiative to promote poetry across Chicago, a series of free poetry writing workshops will focus on themes of neighborhood and community.
Reservations required. Call (312) 747-8191.

Saturday, April 4, 2:00 p.m.
Workshop with Johanny Vasquez Paz
Lozano Branch
1805 S. Loomis St.

Saturday, April 4, 3:00 p.m.
Workshop with Regina Harris Baiocchi
South Shore Branch
2505 E. 73rd St.

Thursday, April 16, 3:00 p.m.
Workshop with Pam Osbey
Kelly Branch
6151 S. Normal Blvd.

Saturday, April 18, 11:00 a.m.
Workshop with Jennifer Karmin
Bezazian Branch
1226 W. Ainslie St.

Saturday, April 18, 1:30 p.m.
Workshop with Cynthia Gallaher
Harold Washington Library Center, Room 3N5/3rd Fl.
400 S. State St.

Wednesday, April 22, 6:30 p.m.
Workshop with Carlos Cumpián
Albany Park Branch
5150 N. Kimball Ave.

Saturday, April 25, 2:00 p.m.
Workshop with Kelly Norman Ellis
Legler Branch
115 S. Pulaski Rd.

SANDRA CISNEROS TALK AND BOOK SIGNING
Tuesday, April 14, 6:00 p.m.
Chicago Public Library
Harold Washington Library Center – Cindy Pritzker Auditorium
400 S. State St.
Join Sandra Cisneros as she reflects on her prestigious career 25 years after the initial publication of her groundbreaking work, The House on Mango Street. A book signing will follow, with books available for purchase by Barbara’s Bookstore.

DRAMATIC READING AT SHIMER COLLEGE
Saturday, April 4, 7:00 p.m.
Shimer College
3424 S. State St.
Shimer College students will present a dramatic reading of vignettes selected from Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, directed by Eileen Buchanan, Professor of Humanities and Director of the Shimer College Theatre Program.  A reception will follow.
For more information call (312) 235-3510 or email b.stone@shimer.edu.

PALABRA PURA READING SERIES
Wednesday, April 15, 7:30 p.m.
Decima Musa
1901 S. Loomis Ave.
The Guild Complex presents a bi-lingual poetry reading featuring work by Latino/a poets that moves between languages and cultures. Poets reading their work include Dan Vera. For more information on the reading series and The Guild Complex, go to http://guildcomplex.org.

PROYECTO LATINA READING SERIES
Monday, April 20, 7:00 p.m.
Radio Arte
1401 W. 18th St.
Mangos, Chismes y Mucho Más! This monthly reading series promotes and features emerging and established Latinas of all written and performance disciplines from Chicago. This month’s event honors Sandra Cisneros and includes a sneak peak at Tanya Saracho's adaptation of The House on Mango Street. Proyecto Latina is a collaborative between Teatro Luna, Tianguis Books, and Mariposa Atomica Ink.  For more information, go to www.proyectolatina.org.

STAGED READING: THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET
Monday, April 27, 7:00 p.m.
Steppenwolf Theatre - Upstairs theatre
1650 N. Halsted Ave.
This fall, Steppenwolf will present Sandra Cisneros' inimitable work about growing up Latina in Chicago. Adapted by Tanya Saracho, co-founder of Teatro Luna, this play will bring the world of Esperanza—her friends, family and neighbors, her dreams and her heartbreak—to vivid life on the stage. This reading presents Chicago actors performing scenes from the adaptation-in-progress.
Free event, reservations required! Call (312) 335-1650.

COMMUNITY FORUM ON IMMIGRATION
Wednesday, April 29, 7:00 p.m.
Chicago Public Library
Logan Square Branch
3030 W. Fullerton Ave.
Join fellow Chicagoans from all backgrounds for a “town hall” meeting on the topic of 
immigration. The evening will feature a short reading, input by local activists, and your conversation.
This program is presented as a partnership between the Chicago Public Library, The Guild Complex and Latinos Progresando.

ONGOING EXHIBIT: MEXICANIDAD, OUR PAST IS PRESENT
National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W. 19th St.
(312) 738-1503
Sandra Cisneros has always drawn inspiration from the work of Mexican and Chicano artists such as those included in this permanent exhibit. Come experience the work of just a few of her favorites, including Ester Hernández, Josefina Aguilar, César Martínez, Einar and Jamex de la Torre, Olga Costa, and Carmen Lomas Garza.
This permanent exhibition showcases the National Museum of Mexican Art's 6,000 piece Collection as it chronologically traces the cultural history on both sides of the border. The changes, struggles, and triumphs within Mexican communities are brilliantly depicted in the works of art and artifacts presented in each of the five sections. The exhibition begins with the ancient indigenous pre-Cuauhtémoc era and influences, and is followed by four additional sections: Colonial Mexico, Independence to Revolution, Post-Mexican Revolution to Present Day Mexico, and the Mexican Experience in the U.S. For more information, go to www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org.

ONE BOOK ONE CHICAGO AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

Panel Discussion: Celebrating Latina Creativity in Chicago
Thursday, April 2, 6:00 p.m.
DePaul University—John R. Cortelyou Commons Building
2324 N. Fremont St.
Join a distinguished panel of artists who will discuss the path of their own creative journeys, examine the ways in which their work has been influenced by Cisneros, and trace the dynamic relationship between artists and their communities. Panelists will include Professor Bibiana Suarez from the Department of Art, Media, and Design at DePaul University; Irasema Gonzalez, poet and founder of Tianguis Books; Coya Paz, co-founder of Teatro Luna and Visiting Multicultural Faculty in DePaul University’s Theatre School; and Tanya Saracho, co-founder of Teatro Luna who is adapting The House on Mango Street for the stage.
Co-sponsored by the Women’s Center at DePaul University. Free and open to the public; no reservations required.

Lecture: Mango Street Revisited—Youth, the Community/Barrio, and Immigration in Mexican Chicago
Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 p.m.
DePaul University—McGowan South Building
1110 W. Belden Ave., Room 108
Come to DePaul for a lecture by Juan Mora-Torres, Associate Professor in the Department of History. In the spring of 2006, over a million people, including large numbers of young people, marched in Chicago to demand civil rights for the undocumented population. This lecture/presentation revisits key themes in Sandra Cisneros’ novel, The House on Mango Street — the meaning of community, the politics of the youth and issues of immigration in the making of contemporary Mexican Chicago.
Free and open to the public; no reservations required.

Panel Discussion: Uprooted and Unprotected—Voices of Longing in The House on Mango Street
Wednesday, April 29, 6:00 p.m.
DePaul University—Student Center, Room 120
2250 N. Sheffield Ave.
Join a panel of distinguished DePaul faculty who will explore various questions about the impact and importance of The House on Mango Street, from its representation of Latino communities in Chicago to its portrayal of the challenges faced by immigrants and first-generation Americans. Panelists will include Lourdes Torres, Professor in the Latin American and Latino Studies Program; Euan Hague, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography; Bill Johnson González, Assistant Professor in the Department of English; and moderator, Maria Beltran Vocal, Professor in the Department of Modern Languages.
Free and open to the public; no reservations required.

DePaul University Course on The House on Mango Street
DePaul University’s Department of English offers a course dedicated to exploring the city’s One Book selection in a challenging academic setting. The course, entitled English 378, “Literature and Social Engagement:  Chicago's One Book—Issues and Perspectives,” will be taught this spring by Bill Johnson González, Assistant Professor of English. The class will survey all of Cisneros’ published works, with a special emphasis on Mango Street, and will explore such topics as multilingualism, transnationalism and the place of Cisneros’ work in the tradition of Chicano/a literature. The course is available to DePaul undergraduates as well as adult learners seeking graduate level credit. DePaul students who enroll in this course for Junior Year Experiential Learning credit will take advantage of a variety of service learning opportunities in the community. Life-long learners who have already earned their bachelor’s degree are encouraged to visit www.depaul.edu/~oboc for more information about tuition and for further details about the application process. This ten-week course meets on Tuesday evenings, 5:45-9:00 p.m., beginning on March 31th.

DISCUSSION GROUPS
The below One Book, One Chicago discussion groups take place outside of library branches. Reservations are not required unless noted.

Thursday, April 15, 10:00 a.m.
Literacy Chicago
17 N. State St.
(312) 870-1100

Tuesday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Webster Place
Presented by the Great Books Foundation
1441 W. Webster Ave.
(773) 871-3610

Wednesday, April 22, 7:30 p.m.
Wright College – Library
4300 N. Narragansett Ave.
(773) 777-7900

Wednesday, April 22, 5:30 p.m.
Instituto Cervantes – Biblioteca
31 W. Ohio St.
(312) 335-1996 ext. 4045

Thursday, April 23, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Harold Washington College
30 E. Lake St.
(312) 553-5883

Thursday, April 23, 2:00 p.m.
Loyola University Chicago
Lewis Library, Water Tower Campus
25 E. Pearson St., Room 713
(773) 508-2641

Thursday, April 23, 7:00 p.m.
Gerber/Hart Library
1127 W. Granville Ave.
(773) 381-8030

Tuesday, April 28, 7:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Old Orchard
Presented by the Great Books Foundation
55 Old Orchard Center, Skokie
(847) 676-2230