5th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award Plus Guitarist Raphael Dussaussoy – Guild Complex

Thanks to the generosity of Ms. Brooks, one poet will win $500 for a single poem. Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks will personally present the check to the winner. The Awards have changed since last year. The contest was still open to anyone over 18 years of age. This time the poems were first submitted to a panel of judges from the Chicago literary community. The judges were Beatriz Badikian, professor of creative writing at Roosevelt University and author of the poetry collection Mapmaker; Gwendolyn Mitchell, publisher of Third World Press; Daniel Ferri, educator and national poetry slam competitor; Dwight Okita, poet and playwright and author of the poetry collection Crossing with the Light; and Frances Calloway Parks, self-published poet and educator. The judges selected 25 poems to read in the open mic. At the event, the 25 poets chosen by the judges will recite their poem and the audience will vote for the winner of the $500 prize. In an effort to soothe the contestants during the tallying of votes, we?ve asked musician Raphael Dussaussoy to join us. Raphael is a versatile guitarist from the Chicago music scene. He has worked in various musical genres, most recently with the band ?Redball?