Write! Chicago
Event

Write! Chicago visits the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago —
an in-person event led by Sheila Elliott

Saturday, Sept. 27 at 10:30AM CST 
RSVP by email by Thurs., Sept. 25

Saturday, September 27 at 10:30AM CST 
RSVP by email by Thursday, September 25

How to RSVP
1.    Email: poetsandpatrons@gmail.com
2.    Put HOUSING MUSEUM  in the subject line 
3.    Include your name in the message. 

The Museum location
The National Public Housing Museum
919 South Ada Street
Chicago, IL 60607

Located on the corner of Taylor and Ada Streets.
On-site parking is available.

The event — Meet / Tour / Write
Poets & Patrons will gather at the entrance to the Museum at 10:30AM.We expect to spend about two hours touring the Museum.
After the Museum visit, we will gather at a nearby cafe or library to draft our poems. 

Cost: Free admission and a Fee for an optional guided tour

Admission to the Museum is free — with access to a general walking tour of the Museum itself.  

There is a fee for an optional 60-min guided Historic Apartments Tour at 11AM — with access to actual apartments where families lived during various time periods. Fee for the tour — Adults: $25; Seniors (65+): $15; Students: $15; Youth (6–18): $15.

NOTE: If you choose to do the Apartments tour, there is a 15-person limit so you should purchase tickets in advance through this link: Get Tickets

 About the Museum

Experience the texture and fabric of public housing throughout time by visiting three recreated historic apartments showcasing different families’ experiences at different moments in public housing history between 1938 and 1975. The intimate individual, family and community stories become the lens to understand large national public housing policies and their impact.

Over the past century, more than 10 million people across the United States have called public housing home. In the late 1990s, as thousands of public housing units across the country were being demolished, public housing residents began to dream about creating a museum to preserve their collective voices, memories, and the histories of public housing nationwide. They wanted their children and grandchildren, and the public at large, to know more about their place in the American experience and to understand the public policies that helped to shape their families.

In 2007, civic leaders, preservationists, historians, cultural experts, and many others joined with residents to help incorporate the National Public Housing Museum, which has since then offered transformative programs that connect the past with contemporary issues of social justice and human rights. The Museum’s permanent home opened in early 2025 at the historic Jane Addams Homes at 919 South Ada Street in Chicago’s Near West Side.

We offer free poetry writing workshops, Write! Chicago & Write! History events.

About Write! Chicago and
Write! History

“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.” 
Pablo Neruda

Several ago we decided we needed a writing workshop in addition to the bimonthly critiquing sessions.  Hence, Write! Chicago was born.  We normally hold 4 or 5 workshops a year and have met in such venues as the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, Garfield Park Conservatory, the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Field Museum, the Chicago History Museum, the Hemingway House in Oak Park, and many more.

Generally, interested poets meet at a museum, disperse to view the art or exhibits, then gather once again to write together and share their poetry (only if they wish!). If you would like more information, please e-mail us at poetsandpatrons@gmail.com. Or stay tuned to our website for the latest poetry outing.

Past
workshops

We are always seeking new venues for our Write! Chicago and Write! History trips. Please email us if you have suggestions.

Write! History

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. A Poets & Patrons online Write! History event in celebration of Women’s History Month. Participants met up on Zoom and visited the Museum. After receiving some guidance on navigating the museum’s website, each participant selected an exhibit or an object from the museum as inspiration for writing a poem. Participants who wish to shared a draft of the poem they had written. Hosted by Wilda Morris on Mar. 11, 2023, via Zoom.

The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. To celebrate Black History Month we visited both museum websites and wrote poems based on the exhibits. Led by Caroline Johnson on Feb. 12, 2022.

Write! Chicago

The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL — led by Sheila Elliott and Caroline Johnson.
An exciting Fall event — participants enjoyed a few hours of hiking, fall colors, nature observation, thought-provoking art, and time to write and socialize with peers. After exploring the spacious grounds and exhibits the group met up to have lunch, write poems and share these new works. 

Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago — led by Sheila Elliott.
Turn to local history and nature for poetic inspiration. The Garfield Park Conservatory is one of the Midwest’s largest and most prestigious collection of horticultural masterpieces. Participants met at 10:30 am and spent about 90 minutes exploring the greenhouses and the wonderful prairie just west of their campus. Around noon, the group met up in the Conservatory to go over notes and drafts for new poetry.

The Fullersburg/Graue Mill Nature Preserve, Oak Brook, IL — led by Sheila Elliott.
Turn to local history and nature for poetic inspiration. The Fullersburg/Graue Mill Nature Preserve is part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District, with centers situated along beautiful Salt Creek. Graue Mill once served as a site on the Underground Railroad and its trail system offers plenty of places to stop, observe the flora and fauna, and make notes for a first draft of a poem.  

Museum of Contemporary Photography, 600 S. Michigan Avenue. The exhibit for our August visit was “Beyond the Frame” and included pictures from the college’s permanent collection.

Cantigny Park and Gardens, 1s151 Winfield Road, in Wheaton, Illinois
Cantigny, with its combination of nature and history, was a great source for first drafts. Around 2:30 p.m. we gathered at Cantigny’s Cafe for writing, refreshments, and socializing.

Field Museum on Lake Michigan’s shore, after meeting up participants dispersed to view exhibits. After a few hours of exploring exhibits, we met up to write.

Chicago Maritime Museum in Bridgeport

National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen to view the Day of the Dead exhibit, among others.

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, 220 Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst
The museum has a unique collection of gemstones, jade carvings, and cameos, and a temporary exhibit about Italian shell cameos and Chakra Stones.

Hemingway House, 339 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park
About 15 of us met at the Hemingway House at 339 N. Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017. A guide gave us a private tour of the home, then we gathered for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Some of us drafted a poem or prose piece and shared it with the group.

American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., Second Floor, Chicago 
About 10 of us met at the newly constructed American Writers Museum on Saturday, June 10, 2017, the same weekend as Printers Row Lit Fest. The museum sports permanent and temporary exhibits, including one about poet M.S. Merwin. It's definitely worth a trip if you haven't done so already!