Renowned poet Jacob Saenz to read at Oakton May 7
Award-winning poet Jacob Saenz will read selections from his collection of works from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at Oakton Community College's Studio One Theater, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines. Admission to this Chicago Writers Series event is free and open to the public.
Born in Chicago and raised in Cicero, Saenz's first collection of poetry, "Throwing the Crown," was awarded the 2018 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize. The Honickman Foundation awards prizes to encourage excellence in poetry and to provide a wide readership for a deserving first book of poems.
Gregory Pardlo, judge of the 2018 Honickman First Book Award, states: "Jacob's themes are easily sentimental, and there's a tension in his work that I just find incredibly fresh."
Saenz's works have appeared in "PANK," "Poetry," "Tammy" and other journals. He has served as an editor at "Columbia Poetry Review" and as associate editor at "RHINO." He has read his poetry at a number of Chicago venues.
"Jacob came to Oakton about five years ago as part of the Chicago Writers Series," said David Kelly, Oakton English lecturer. "His event was very popular because many students connected with Jacob's youth, energy and insight. With the publication of 'Throwing the Crown,' Jacob is becoming a big name in Chicago poetry."
Saenz is an acquisitions assistant at the Columbia College Chicago Library, where he earned his bachelor's degree in creative writing. The CantoMundo fellow has also been the recipient of a Letras Latinas Residency Fellowship and Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship.
Funded by the Oakton Educational Foundation and student activity fees, the Chicago Writers Series attracts award-winning fiction and nonfiction writers and poets to Oakton to perform, engage and educate. Oakton's connection to native Chicago authors, as well as those who have called Chicago "home," allows the community to access diverse, inspiring and relevant authors in a space outside the traditional classroom. For more information, contact David Kelly at (847) 635-1950 or dkelly@oakton.edu.