Member Spotlight:
Alyssa Bell

January 2026

Alyssa Bell is currently a Junior at Newark Academy and a leader in and out of school. She has experience in advocating and loves to study political systems. She is a member of her school’s Equity and Inclusion Team, Model UN Club, Black Student Union, and serves as a Middle School liaison. She has been writing poetry since elementary school, has self-curated two poetry portfolios, and has been published in the “American High School Poets” – Spring 2024 anthology.

cumin runs in my veins
cinnamon skin and peppercorn eyes
call out for everyone's attention
my words HOT on your breath
like the uncomfortable tingle of a ghost pepper
that is my truth

you don’t have to like me
you can hate my cinnamon skin and peppercorn eyes
but you will listen to me, listen to me and taste my words
HOT like the uncomfortable tingle of a ghost pepper on your lips
your lips that are my truth, created my truth and will be the truth

say I am too hot
too flavorful
too outspoken
but my words are simply
my truth
the truth you caused

when you took away the cumin in my veins

except.

I am exactly what you want,
polished to meet your expectations perfectly.
Properly pronounced,
I know how to write.
Almost white,

except.

you aint satisfied
least not till my hair fried dead an’ gone
looking like a skin bleached labrador
i ain't exactly what you want
and i'll never be perfectly polished for yalls expectations

How were you introduced to poetry, and how did you start writing?

There has never been an Alyssa without poetry, an Alyssa without a writing process. For as long as I can remember, poetry and I have been a single entity – from buying my first book of poetry in third grade to writing my first Haiku in fifth grade; my earliest memories are intertwined with poems. Poems that my grandmother wrote, poems in the form of songs, poems that I may have found on the street; I can’t officially say that I was “introduced” into poetry because, for as long as I’ve known myself, I’ve also known poetry. Read more ⟶

Introduction

Poets & Patrons was founded in 1954. Poets & Patrons is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting poetry development in the Chicagoland area. It does this through sponsoring and hosting congenial, professional workshops at The Harold Washington Library; running an annual Chicagoland Poetry Contest with modest cash awards for multiple categories; facilitating free writing workshops at area museums and outdoor venues (Write! Chicago); and an annual Awards Ceremony. Poets & Patrons is an excellent vehicle for defining your work, meeting with other fine poets for unique critiques, and exploring with others the power of well-crafted verse.

We meet in workshops four times a year and have started a series of meetings called Write! Chicago, where poets gather in a specific Chicago location and write afterwards. The workshops are designed to increase skill in writing both traditional and non-traditional poetry.  We also sponsor 2 contests each year.  Please see our Contest page for more information.

Unless otherwise noted, the workshops will be in room 6-N on the third floor of the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State Street, Chicago, Illinois. 

A Brief History

Poets & Patrons evolved from a common desire to promote a meeting ground for poets and poet enthusiasts in the Chicago area.  The Midwest Writers Conference previously filled the need with meetings and contests, but folded in the mid 1940s. Another poetry group, Poets Club of Chicago, was founded in 1936 by a group of high school teachers. Admission to Poets Club was by invitation and submission of poets’ work. Members paid modest fees, held workshops and discussion sessions, and shared a mutual love of poetry. At one point, Poets Club president Isabelle Gillespie Young proposed a new club that would be open to all.

By 1954, Poets & Patrons was established. It was set up as a non-profit outreach group for poets who wished to receive professional criticism, with four workshops a year, held on the fourth Saturday in February, April, June and August. In 1956, Poets & Patrons created a Chicagoland Poetry Contest, open to all in the area. At one point there were 22 categories with awards and cash prizes.

Finding suitable meeting places was always a challenge for the group - libraries, a bank, the Cultural Center, and Carson Pirie Scott – were discovered. Among the early meeting rooms was an unforgettable one offered by one of the group’s founders, Anne Nolan. In the early 1950s, she offered space in the inner offices of her family’s business, the Nolan Boiler and Tank Service. Members dubbed the group the Poetry Forge and Anne was the registered agent for 31 years. She was a highly skilled poet, as were her husband Clifford and her three sons. Her death in October 2006 greatly saddened Poets & Patrons members. 

Sincere thanks and gratitude go to all members who have helped the group survive and flourish since 1954. The Court of awards held in 2006 marked the 50th celebration of The Chicagoland Poetry Contest.

In Memoriam ⟶