The Newberry Library in Chicago will host a lecture on 1893 World’s Fair poet Harriet Monroe on October 19, 2023. Liesl Olson, Director of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and former Director of Chicago Studies at the Newberry Library, will present “Harriet Monroe & the Open Door.”
Harriet Monroe’s extraordinary life and work gave the world one of the most exciting and enduring magazines devoted to “the best English verse which is being written today, regardless of where, by whom, or under what theory of art it is written.” In partnership with the current exhibition at the Poetry Foundation, this talk and discussion will explore Monroe’s life and legacy, including her landmark poem for the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair; her 1905 operetta “The Troll’s Holiday,” which she wrote while a resident at Hull-House; and the great experiment of launching Poetry magazine in 1912.
The lecture will be held from 6–7 pm in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library (60 West Walton Street in Chicago) and online via Zoom. The program is free and open to all, but advance registration is required.
