{"id":"22","title":"Jamie Wendt: Book Launch & Signing Event","starts_at":"2025-05-04 14:00:00","ends_at":"2025-05-04 16:00:00","body":"<p>Founded in 1992, Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to uplifting women and non-binary artists through exhibitions, mentorship, and community engagement.</p><p><br></p><p>For over three decades, WMG has presented more than 475 exhibitions featuring over 10,000 artists from local, national, and international communities. Each show invites viewers to experience art that challenges, inspires, and reflects the world through a feminist lens.</p><p><br></p><p>Beyond the gallery walls, WMG nurtures a creative network of 350+ member artists and connects with 15,000+ supporters through workshops, artist talks, and panel discussions that spark conversation and build connection.</p><p><br></p><p>Whether you’re an art lover seeking discovery or a donor passionate about equity in the arts, Woman Made Gallery offers a chance to be part of something meaningful — a movement where creativity drives change and every voice matters.</p><p><br></p><p>Image: Artist: Tara Sabini</p>","type":"EventCategory","state":"published","slug":"special-event-or-closing-reception","created_at":"2024-06-06 19:44:21.776635","updated_at":"2024-06-06 19:44:21.776635","excerpt":"","is_timeless":false,"organization_id":634,"highlighted":false,"opening_starts_at":null,"opening_ends_at":null,"searchable":"'-1914':141B '1912':140B '2018':257B '2019':260B '2022':241B '2024':320B,331B '2025':234B 'addit':143B 'an-ski':133B 'ancestor':80B,155B,218B 'ancient':211B 'antholog':285B 'assimil':55B,191B 'author':223B 'award':267B,335B 'belong':208B 'book':3A,232B,249B,266B,307B,312B 'broadston':231B 'catamaran':289B 'centuri':169B 'charact':46B,147B 'chicago':43B,159B,184B,358B 'children':118B 'cigarett':113B 'clockhous':299B 'collect':20B,227B 'communiti':212B 'competit':324B 'connect':77B,215B 'consequ':300B 'contribut':306B 'council':313B 'creativ':347B 'cultur':61B,182B 'delv':50B 'earth':253B 'econom':174B 'ekphrast':24B,109B 'emigr':157B 'escap':170B 'essay':273B 'ethnograph':131B 'event':6A 'expedit':138B 'explor':27B,178B 'feder':262B 'feminin':287B 'finalist':238B 'find':214B 'first':248B 'forthcom':279B 'forward':298B 'free':333B 'fruit':250B 'fuel':295B 'green':290B 'hardship':175B 'heart':199B 'heartfelt':68B 'heritag':72B 'hold':193B,343B 'holloway':332B 'husband':361B 'illinoi':338B 'immigr':54B 'includ':286B 'jami':1A,17B,219B 'jet':294B 'jewish':31B,71B,104B,179B,311B 'join':7B 'journal':283B 'journey':41B 'kid':364B 'labor':122B 'late':167B 'laugh':13B,63B,81B,201B,228B 'launch':4A,11B 'levin':243B 'lilith':293B 'literari':282B 'live':29B,102B,356B 'long':75B 'look':96B 'magazin':302B 'main':254B 'maintain':60B 'maker':114B 'mani':144B 'march':233B 'meet':112B 'mfa':345B 'minyan':301B 'mother':116B 'mountain':291B 'nation':261B 'nebraska':353B 'nineteenth':168B 'offer':66B 'omaha':354B 'other':304B 'pale':36B,92B,162B 'part':129B 'persecut':172B 'persona':22B,107B,150B 'philip':242B 'photograph':127B 'poem':25B,49B,110B,151B,177B,271B 'poetri':226B,246B,269B,323B,340B 'portray':47B 'press':264B 'prize':244B,317B,328B 'publish':276B 'rag':256B 'reader':85B,111B 'rebelli':117B 'reflect':69B 'religi':171B 'reuben':321B 'review':292B,296B,308B 'rise':288B 'root':180B 'rose':322B 'russia':34B,90B 'russian':137B 'second':327B 'settlement':38B,94B,164B 'shoemak':119B 'shtetl':88B 'sign':5A 'sky':135B 'societi':341B 'spiritu':79B,217B 'state':339B 'street':255B 'struggl':58B,189B 'take':84B 'theme':52B 'third':316B 'tradit':62B,196B 'two':363B 'union':121B 'univers':351B 'us':8B 'various':98B,281B 'vers':334B 'vivid':45B 'well':186B 'wendt':2A,18B,153B,220B,342B 'window':99B 'women':32B,105B,265B 'won':258B,315B,326B 'write':348B 'yearn':206B 'yiddish':15B,65B,83B,203B,230B 'young':115B","thumbnail":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1762532076/efko3olojcdvjyfq1d3e.jpg","calendar":null,"carousel":false,"event_body":"<p>Join us for the launch of&nbsp;<em>Laughing in Yiddish&nbsp;</em>by Jamie Wendt, a collection of persona and ekphrastic poems that explore the lives of Jewish women in Russia’s Pale of Settlement and their journey to Chicago.&nbsp;Through vivid character portrayals, the poems delve into themes of immigration, assimilation, and the struggle to maintain cultural traditions. Laughing in Yiddish offers a heartfelt reflection on Jewish heritage and the longing for connection to spiritual ancestors.</p><p><em>Laughing in Yiddish</em>&nbsp;takes readers to the shtetls of Russia’s Pale of Settlement to look through various windows into the lives of Jewish women. Through persona and ekphrastic poems, readers meet cigarette makers, young mothers, rebellious children, shoemakers, and union laborers, some of whom are photographed as part of ethnographer S. An-Sky’s Russian expedition from 1912-1914. In addition, many of the characters in these persona poems are Wendt’s ancestors who emigrated to Chicago from the Pale of Settlement in the late nineteenth century, escaping religious persecution and economic hardships. These poems explore Jewish roots and culture in Chicago as well as the struggle of assimilation while holding on to tradition. At the heart of&nbsp;<em>Laughing in Yiddish</em>&nbsp;is a yearning for belonging to an ancient community and finding connection with spiritual ancestors.&nbsp;</p><p>Jamie Wendt&nbsp;is the author of the poetry collection&nbsp;<em>Laughing in Yiddish</em>&nbsp;(Broadstone Books, March 2025), which was a finalist for the 2022 Philip Levine Prize in Poetry. Her first book,&nbsp;<em>Fruit of the Earth</em>&nbsp;(Main Street Rag, 2018), won the 2019 National Federation of Press Women Book Award in Poetry. Her poems and essays have been published and are forthcoming in various literary journals and anthologies, including Feminine Rising, Catamaran, Green Mountains Review, Lilith, Jet Fuel Review, the Forward, Clockhouse, Consequence, Minyan Magazine, and others. She contributes book reviews to the Jewish Book Council. She won third prize in the 2024 Reuben Rose Poetry Competition and won second prize for the 2024 Holloway Free Verse Award through the Illinois State Poetry Society. Wendt holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two kids.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p>","name":"Special Event or Closing Reception","organization_type_id":"1","district_id":"3","telephone":"+13127380400","website":"http://www.womanmade.org","email":"general@womanmade.org","hours":"W–Su 12–5","location":"1332 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60607","display_location":"1332 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60607","latitude":"41.864505","longitude":"-87.647140","contact":"","sub_district_id":"40","promoted_at":"2018-10-24T20:51:12.315Z","optional_sort_name":"","paid":true,"position":null,"category_name":"Special Event or Closing Reception","orgname":"Woman Made Gallery","orgslug":"woman-made-gallery","image":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1745955620/x3pkywp3rpgfrtrfmiuy.png"}