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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Welcome To Hyde Park
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250911T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250911T203000
DTSTAMP:20260423T230306
CREATED:20250823T192312Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250823T192312Z
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SUMMARY:Canto-Kójo: Reading Series and Bloodmercy Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:In Yorùbá the word “kojo” means “to gather”. In Spanish\, “canto” means “to sing”. In our efforts to gather community together\, we hope to make something new sing. With that\, the inaugural Canto-Kójo Reading Series launches on September 11\, 2025 at 7 PM. The inaugural session will be accompanied by the launch of Chicago-based poet I.S. Jones’ debut collection\, Bloodmercy. Reception to follow! \nSelected by Nicole Sealey as the winner of the 2025 APR/Honickman First Book Prize\,Bloodmercy is a must-read debut that reimagines the tale of Cain and Abel as sisters. \n“Violence is a failure of communication” opens this book as an omen and foregrounds a family exiled from Eden. In I.S. Jones’s stunning and evocative debut collection\, Cain and Abel are reimagined as sisters whose care for each other becomes increasingly fraught–the siblings vicious as they vie for the attention of a negligent father. Parallel to this\, their bodies budding within and against the still-forming landscape\, the girls navigate the shame of Eve’s sin while coming into their own sexuality. \nGrounded in the remote natural world\, enclosed by firs and redwoods\, Bloodmercy follows Cain and Abel through the dense geography of girlhood into young womanhood. Along the way\, they discover the limits of power and control\, spite and sex\, faith and death\, and man’s dominion over the earth. Found in the space between the Old Testament and the modern world\, the girls gaze heavenward and pose enduring questions to God. Lyrical\, lush\, and bursting with tender imagination\, Bloodmercy marks a debut to watch. \nI.S. Jones is an American/Nigerian poet\, editor\, essayist\, and former music journalist. She is a Graduate Fellow with The Watering Hole and holds fellowships from Hedgebrook Callaloo\, BOAAT Writer’s Retreat\, Brooklyn Poets\, and Bread Loaf\, where she was the 2023 Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in poetry. Jones co-edited The Young African Poets Anthology: The Fire That is Dreamed Of (Agbowó\, 2020) and served as the inaugural nonfiction guest editor for Lolwe. She is an editor at 20:35 Africa: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry and has freelanced for Complex\, Revolt TV\, NBC News THINK\,and elsewhere. \nYazud E. Brito-Milian (they/them) is a Chicane poet\, impatient collagist\, abolitionist\, and eldest sister. Born in Winston-Salem\, NC\, and based in Chicago\, IL\, they are working on their first chapbook\, crossfade\, dedicated to their dad’s black and yellow KORG M50 and the musicians who raised them. Yazud received fellowships from The Watering Hole\, Periplus\, and CantoMundo. Their work can be found in Muzzle Magazine\, Voicemail Poems\, The Poetry Project\, and Huizache Magazine.
URL:https://welcometohydepark.com/event/canto-kojo-reading-series-and-bloodmercy-book-launch/
LOCATION:Call and Response Books\, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd.\, Chicago\, 60615
CATEGORIES:Lecture/Literary/Book Signing/Storytime
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ORGANIZER;CN="Call and Response Books":MAILTO:info@callandresponsechi.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250902T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250902T203000
DTSTAMP:20260423T230306
CREATED:20250708T201812Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250718T174234Z
UID:10006688-1756839600-1756845000@welcometohydepark.com
SUMMARY:Book Talk: Full of Myself with Austin Channing Brown and Nikole Hannah-Jones
DESCRIPTION:Book Talk: Full of Myself with Austin Channing Brown and Nikole Hannah-Jones \n***Each ticket includes a copy of Full of Myself; Austin will be available to sign copies and meet attendees following the event!*** \nJoin us as we celebrate the release of New York Times bestselling author Austin Channing Brown’s latest book\, Full of Myself: Black Womanhood and the Journey to Self-Possession! Austin will be joined in conversation with journalist and academic Nikole Hannah-Jones! \nIn a time of rising authoritarianism and attacks on personal freedoms\, the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here chronicles her efforts to live as her full self in a society that wants women—and Black women in particular—to do anything but that. \nAs an antiracism educator and writer leading through America’s cycles of racial unrest\, Austin Channing Brown reached a crossroads. “I love my work\,” she writes\, “and I am tired. We are tired. Tired of protesting. Tired of ‘saving democracy.’ Tired of educating and explaining.” She began to ask\, “What do I deserve\, not just as a citizen but as a human?”Full of Myself answers that question. \nWeaving personal narrative with perceptive social commentary\, Brown offers a look at the mechanisms that limit who Black women are allowed to be—at work\, at home\, in community—and the defining moments when she decided that self-possession is the justice work she had been made to undervalue. From skinny-dipping in the ocean to becoming a mom\, she delves into the drama of life and invites readers to begin defining themselves not as empty vessels to improve the world\, but as people born free in spirit\, in hope\, in joy. For Black women seeking to understand the true roots of their burnout\, or for anyone wondering what it means to live joyfully in a hostile world\, Full of Myself is a breath of fresh air and an invitation to full humanity. \nAustin Channing Brown is an author and speaker providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness\, a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her work has been featured by outlets such as On Being\, Chicago Tribune\, and WNYC. \nNikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University\, where she is the founding director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Her reporting has earned her the Pulitzer Prize and the MacArthur “Genius” Grant.
URL:https://welcometohydepark.com/event/book-talk-full-of-myself-with-austin-channing-brown-and-nikole-hannah-jones/
LOCATION:Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts\, 915 East 60th Street\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Lecture/Literary/Book Signing/Storytime
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ORGANIZER;CN="Call and Response Books":MAILTO:info@callandresponsechi.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250829T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250829T203000
DTSTAMP:20260423T230306
CREATED:20250828T152121Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250828T152658Z
UID:10006930-1756494000-1756499400@welcometohydepark.com
SUMMARY:August Trivia Night!
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a night of high (read: low) stakes fun and friendly competition at our monthly Trivia Night! Come with a team or come ready to make new friends! Trivia questions cover a wide range of topics\, with some bookish questions interspersed (what?! it’s a bookstore). All ages welcome! Attendees are welcome to bring a snacks and beverages\, but please wear a mask while not eating or drinking!
URL:https://welcometohydepark.com/event/august-trivia-night/
LOCATION:Call and Response Books\, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd.\, Chicago\, 60615
CATEGORIES:Free,Trivia
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ORGANIZER;CN="Call and Response Books":MAILTO:info@callandresponsechi.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250816T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250816T123000
DTSTAMP:20260423T230306
CREATED:20250709T231353Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250718T174557Z
UID:10006692-1755342000-1755347400@welcometohydepark.com
SUMMARY:Story Time with Dr. Kay!
DESCRIPTION:Story Time with Dr. Kay! \nJoin us on Saturday\, August 16 at 11 a.m. for a cozy kids’ storytime with local author Dr. Nekaiya Jacobs Pratt! Dr. Nekaiya will be reading her latest book\, The Magic Bonnet: Zoe’s Hospital Adventure and exploring the importance of accepting your inner and outer beauty even during scary times. \nBooks will be available for purchase during and after the event\, and Dr. Nekaiya will be available to sign copies! \nDr. Nekaiya “Kay” Jacobs Pratt is a South Carolina native and Chicago-based physician who now calls the historic Bronzeville neighborhood home. A pediatric critical care doctor and passionate health equity advocate\, she was inspired to write The Magic Bonnet: Zoe’s Hospital Adventure during the COVID-19 pandemic\, when she began bringing inclusive hair products from home to help care for hospitalized children with textured hair. That simple act grew into a system-wide effort\, expanding access to culturally conscious hair care across hospitals in six states. \nHer debut children’s book is the culmination of that journey—a vibrant story that celebrates identity\, resilience\, and the magic within. More than a hospital story\, The Magic Bonnet is a tribute to Black hair and the strength it carries from generations past. Through Zoe’s adventure\, young readers are reminded that their hair is not just beautiful\, but powerful—rooted in culture\, history\, and self-worth. \nDr. Kay is proud to share this story with the South Side of Chicago\, where the community and culture continue to inspire her work and her voice.
URL:https://welcometohydepark.com/event/story-time-with-dr-kay/
LOCATION:Call and Response Books\, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd.\, Chicago\, 60615
CATEGORIES:Community,Family Fun,Free,Lecture/Literary/Book Signing/Storytime
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://welcometohydepark.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Dr.-Nekaiya-Storytime-Graphic-2.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Call and Response Books":MAILTO:info@callandresponsechi.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250806T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250806T203000
DTSTAMP:20260423T230306
CREATED:20250626T222450Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250630T161448Z
UID:10006588-1754506800-1754512200@welcometohydepark.com
SUMMARY:Book Talk and Signing - Sandra Jackson-Opoku
DESCRIPTION:Book Talk and Signing – Sandra Jackson-Opoku \nOn Wednesday\, August 6th\, we’ll be welcoming Chicago poet and journalist Sandra Jackson-Opoku in celebration of her debut cozy mystery novel Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes! Sandra will be joined in conversation with Sylvia Ewing. \nA sparkling debut mystery set on the south side of Chicago\, featuring the quick-witted\, unforgettable Savvy Summers\, proprietor of a soul food café.When Savvy Summers first opened Essie’s soul food café\, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers\, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer\, drops dead at table two\, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie’s reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.Even as the police deem Grandy’s death an accident\, Savvy quickly finds herself—and her beloved café—in the middle of an entire city’s worth of bad press. Desperate to clear her name and keep her business afloat\, Savvy and her snooping assistant manager\, Penny Lopés\, take it upon themselves to find who really killed Grandy.But with a slimy investor harassing her to sell her name and business\, customers avoiding her sweet potato pie like the plague\, and her police sergeant ex-husband suddenly back in the picture\, will Savvy be able to clear the café’s name and solve Grandy’s murder before it all falls apart?After all\, while Savvy always said her sweet potato pie was to die for\, she never meant literally. \nSandra Jackson-Opoku is an accomplished novelist\, journalist\, and academic. Her published novels include The River Where Blood is Born\, winner of American Library Association Black Caucus Award for Best Fiction and Hot Johnny (and the Women Whom Loved Him)\, an Essence Magazine bestseller in hardcover fiction. Her stories\, poetry\, articles\, essays\, and scripts are widely published and produced\, with work appearing in Islands Magazine\, Los Angeles Times\, Ms. Magazine\, The Literary Traveler\, and elsewhere. \nSylvia Ewing is a distinguished media professional\, nonprofit leader\, and community builder. Ewing has been a long-time trusted voice in Chicago’s media landscape\, known for her work as a broadcaster\, executive\, and advocate for culture and community. Sylvia is an inductee into The HistoryMakers African American archives for media and an on air talent for PBS pledge drives. Author of the Comfort and Joy: Stories of Hope\, Meditations for Happiness audio book\, Sylvia is also a poet who has been published in Obsidian\, the Chicago Reader\, and Newcity magazine.
URL:https://welcometohydepark.com/event/book-talk-signing-sandra-jackson-opoku/
LOCATION:Call and Response Books\, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd.\, Chicago\, 60615
CATEGORIES:Community,Free,Lecture/Literary/Book Signing/Storytime
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://welcometohydepark.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Sandra-Jackson-Opoku-Event-3.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Call and Response Books":MAILTO:info@callandresponsechi.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250801T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250801T203000
DTSTAMP:20260423T230306
CREATED:20250626T181557Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250630T160803Z
UID:10006586-1754074800-1754080200@welcometohydepark.com
SUMMARY:Book Talk and Signing - Bones at the Crossroads with LaDarrion Williams
DESCRIPTION:Book Talk and Signing – Bones at the Crossroads with LaDarrion Williams \nJoin us on Friday\, August 1 at 7 p.m. as we celebrate the follow-up book in LaDarrion Williams’ Blood at the Root series\, Bones at the Crossroads! LaDarrion will be joined in conversation with Chicago author Julian Randall! \nBooks will be available to purchase either with admission or on-site during the event. \nIn the sequel to the “unforgettable” (People)\, New York Times bestselling fantasy debut Blood at the Root\, a Black teenager with magical powers returns to Caiman University only to find new dangers and new secrets. \nIt’s Homecoming season at Caiman University\, and all 17-year-old Malik Baron wants to do is be a regular college student…or as regular as he can get at a magical HBCU for young\, Black Conjurers. He’s ready to go to parties\, hang out with his new friends\, choose a major\, and talk to girls. Instead\, he’s reeling from a summer of revelations\, heartbreak and betrayal\, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy.The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair\, and a new relative who shows up on his doorstep brings even more questions. Then there’s the mother he risked everything to find\, who might be the biggest threat to the life he’s trying to build. To protect his new community\, Malik joins an elite secret society with roots in ancient magic. \nHis journey takes him even deeper into his own heritage and the history of the magical world\, while bringing him closer to a classmate whose friendship might mean something more\, if Malik is ready to let her in. But how can he use powers he can’t even control to defend a world he’s not sure will ever fully accept him? And as the pressure and danger builds\, will he be able to confront the deepening cracks within the magical society\, and those building within himself? \nLaDarrion Williams is a Los Angeles based-playwright\, filmmaker\, author\, and screenwriter whose goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy\, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new\, fresh and fantastical way. He is currently a resident playwright/co-creator of The Black Creators Collective\, where his play UMOJA made its West Coast premiere in January 2022 and produced North Hollywood’s first Black playwrights festival at the Waco Theater Center. Blood at the Root is his first novel. His viral and award-winning short film based on the same concept\, is currently on YouTube and Amazon Prime. \nJulian Randall is a Living Queer Black author from Chicago. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem\, CantoMundo\, Callaloo\, and the Watering Hole. Julian is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and the winner of the 2019 Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award from the Publishing Triangle. Julian is the author of five books across three genres. For adults Refuse (Pitt\, 2018)\, winner of the 2017 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and a finalist for a 2019 NAACP Image Award and The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives\, Mississippi and Black TV Nerd Sh!t (Bold Type Books\, May 2024). For younger readers: the Pilar Ramirez duology and the middle grade novel The Chainbreakers (all from Holt Books for Young Readers).
URL:https://welcometohydepark.com/event/book-talk-signing-bones-at-the-crossroads-with-ladarrion-williams/
LOCATION:Call and Response Books\, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd.\, Chicago\, 60615
CATEGORIES:Community,Free,Lecture/Literary/Book Signing/Storytime
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://welcometohydepark.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/LaDarrion-Williams-Author-Event-3.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Call and Response Books":MAILTO:info@callandresponsechi.com
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