5 Queer Chicago Poets You Should Know

Back in April, I said every month feels like poetry month in Chicago. I feel the same way about Pride — this city stays bursting with queer energy. But, in honor of official Pride month, here are some local LGBTQ+ poets worth checking out.

Jamila Woods

Yes, Jamila Woods is a famous singer and all-around hometown hero. She’s also a decorated poet, often mining her Beverly upbringing for her work.

• A bar: beverly be the only south side you don’t fit in / everybody in your neighborhood color of white hen
• Did you know? Woods’ friendship with another local queer poet, Fatimah Asghar, inspired the series “Brown Girls.” Stream it Open Television.

Rachel Mennies

Rachel Mennies is a Chicago-based writer whose poems get at queer longing. Her collection “The Naomi Letters” is full of epistolary poems, written to the woman the speaker loves.

• A bar: you touched my shoulder / through my coat, enough to pool desire / where I most wanted you to touch me.

Britteney Black Rose Kapri

Britteney Black Rose Kapri is — I can attest — a great (though tough) poetry teacher. She’s published two books of poetry, including “Black Queer Hoe.”

• A bar: House, as in abode, as in dwelling, as in crib, as in where your inhibitions go to rest.

Katana Smith

Born in Colorado, Katana Smith is now based in Chicago and previously served as Northwestern University’s artist-in-residence. Her poems “Three of Us” and “Sh*tty Boyfriend” are an excellent package: petty and moving.

• A bar: Maybe I was the only friend who would talk to you about him … I would have talked to you about literally anything.

Oli Rodriguez

Oli Rodriguez is an artist and writer born in Chicago whose intersectional work explores the AIDS pandemic.

• Must-read: “Papi, Papi, Papi” tells the story of a “sondaughter” raised in gay bars — and recalls the cruising hotspot that was Belmont Harbor.