European Festival of Languages: Poetry Reading—Chicago Transatlantic

The Alliance Française de Chicago is thrilled to partner with cultural organizations and government institutions around the city in celebration of the European Festival of Languages!

In celebration of cultural exchange and the expansive linguistic and immigrant heritages of Chicago, the Poetry Foundation partners with European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) for a multilingual poetry reading on European Day of Languages. Poems will be read in Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Lithuanian, and Spanish.

Featured poets include Ruth Llana, Ondřej Macl, Olympia, Léon Pradeau, and Audre Budrys Nakas reading Liūnė Sutema. Filling out the lineup are Nick Makoha and Raymond Antrobus, transatlantic contributors from the Black British Poetry folio in Poetry’s September issue.

This program is presented in partnership with Chicago’s Poetry Foundation, Instituto Cervantes, the Czech Consulate, the Consulate General of Lithuania, Villa Albertine, the Goethe-Institut, and the Italian Cultural Institute as part of the European Festival of Languages. It is also part of the Poetry Foundation’s fall 2025 season, Facing Life.

Additional Information

• All Poetry Foundation events are completely free of charge and open to the public. Advanced registration is encouraged. The performance space is ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible. The program will feature CART captioning and ASL interpretation. For more information about accessibility at the Poetry Foundation, please visit their Accessibility Guide.

Related program: Multilingual Story Hour at the Alliance at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 27