Chicago Poetry Marathon: the facts

In my in-box today from the Poetry Foundation:

Poetry Marathon
Friday, December 28
7:00-9:30 PM

Chicago Ballroom
School of the Art Institute
112 South Michigan Avenue
Free & ADA accessible to the public

More than 50 emerging and established poets
from across the country give a marathon reading
of contemporary poetry to coincide with the annual meeting
of the Modern Language Association.
Featured poets include:

Joe Amato
Robert Archambeau
Dodie Bellamy
Ray Bianchi
Tisa Bryant
Charles Cantolupo
Stephen Cope
Josh Corey
Joel Craig
Elizabeth Cross
Garin Cycholl
Michael Davidson
Patrick Durgin
Joel Felix
Kass Fleisher
C.S. Giscombe
Renee Gladman
Steve Halle
Carla Harryman
William R. Howe
Pierre Joris
Jennifer Karmin
Kevin Killian
Petra Kuppers
Quraysh Ali Lansana
David Lloyd
Cate Marvin
Philip Metres
Laura Moriarty
Simone Muench
Aldon Nielsen
Mark Nowak
Kristy Odelius
Bob Perelman
Jen Scappettone
Robyn Schiff
Susan Schultz
Don Share
Ed Skoog
Kerri Sonnenberg
Chuck Stebelton
Mark Tardi
Catherine Taylor
Tony Trigilio
Nick Twemlow
Lina Ramona Vitkauskas
Barrett Watten
Tyrone Williams
Tim Yu

Co-sponsored by the Writing Program
at the School of the Art Institute
and the Poetry Foundation

***

Here is what I found out, today:

One of the two organizers (both of whom graciously offered in an e-mail message a glimpse into how this event was curated), said that "we sent to approximately 75 poets nationwide a call for suggestions, out of which not a single Latino/a poet was named."

He went on to say:

"Hopefully concerns about the make up of the publicized list of participants in the Chicago Marathon Reading will fuel some generative discussions as to how it reflects not only our processes but the literary landscape it, however obliquely, reflects."