24. Chicago Poetry Tour Announced as Finalist for National Magazine Award

ASME’s ‘Ellie’ recognizes “imaginative use of interactivity and multimedia”

CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetrymagazine, is excited to announce that its Chicago Poetry Tour is a finalist for a National Magazine Award in Digital Media in the category of “Multimedia Feature or Package.” Fellow category finalists Esquire, New York, Newsweek, and Runner’s World are all past American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) Award winners. This is the first ASME nomination for the Poetry Foundation.

The National Magazine Awards have been presented each year since 1966. The awards, sponsored by ASME in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, are regarded as the “most prestigious in the magazine industry,” according to the New York Times.

“Chicago is and always has been an exciting place for poetry,” said Anne Halsey, media director at the Poetry Foundation, at the launch of the tour in April 2009. “The Chicago Poetry Tour makes clear the connections between the city’s rich literary history and its significant architectural, social, and cultural contributions.”

Featuring the work of a range of Chicago poets past and present—Gwendolyn Brooks, Carl Sandburg, Li-Young Lee, Haki Madhubuti, Harriet Monroe, Stuart Dybek, and many more—and addressing a variety of neighborhoods and landmarks—the Loop, Bronzeville, Maxwell Street, Haymarket, Pilsen, and New Chinatown among them—the tour includes archival and contemporary recordings of poets and scholars, local music, and historic photographs.

The tour also features the late legendary Chicago personality Studs Terkel; professor of Chicago literature Bill Savage; WBEZ’s Richard Steele; and slam poetry founder Marc Smith.

The downtown walking tour demonstrates how poetry shaped, and continues to shape, the heart of the city. From the Cultural Center to the Harold Washington Library, people can experience Chicago’s iconic architectural sights, including Millennium Park, the Art Institute, and the Fine Arts Building. The tour is also featured in the multimedia gallery of the City of Chicago’s official tourism website, www.explorechicago.org.

For more information on the Chicago Poetry Tour and the newly released DC Poetry Tour, please visit www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrytours.