The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy Open Mic

The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy Open Mic Inviting all artists and art lovers, especially those from the Disability Community! The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy is one of the only accessible open mics on the Southside of Chicago. Come and partake in the vibe. It’s easy, just come flow through The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy.

Event description

The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy is an Open Mic for artists to share their gifts and receive the gifts of others. It is one of the only accessible open mics on the Southside of Chicago. Where artists and art lovers of all genres can come together to enjoy performances and share their art. The Speakeasy is always accessible to people within the Disability Community.

The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy was created by Cherlnell Lane (she/her), The Poetic Storyteller, a Black Writer with disabilities and an ambulatory wheelchair user. She was blessed with this idea in 2015. However, after hosting the first Disability Open Mic for The National Poetry Slam in 2018 Lane was amazed by the amount of talent in the room. It confirmed she needed to create a place where people with disabilities could feel welcomed. ‘People who use wheelchairs, crutches, canes, and other mobile aids have not only been kept out of open mics, poetry sets, theaters, and concerts as spectators but performers. Poets, actors, singers, musicians, and dancers, put Heart, Soul, and Spirit into their work to share it with others. However, they’ve been unable to do so because of stairs, narrow doorways, lack of interpreters, inaccessible bathrooms, and missing ramps.

Well no more!

Cherlnell Lane wants everyone to know that The Poetic Storyteller's Speakeasy isn’t a disability open mic. it is a place for artists to come together to read, share, listen, and learn which happens to be accessible.

Cherlnell Lane Bio

Cherlnell Lane is a Griot, author, poet, speaker, activist, curator, performer, and teacher. Lane also known as The Poetic Storyteller uses her life experiences and words to create incredible worlds, stories, and performances that change the minds of those around her. Her written work has transcended genres and covers a multitude of topics and emotions. Extending past the written word, Cherlnell has proved herself to be an excellent communicator using her voice, body, and movements to convey messages, teach lessons, and demand justice and equity. As an activist, she has worked on behalf of several groups including Black women, the disabled community, and sexual abuse, and domestic violence survivors. She has performed, hosted, taught, published, spoken, and featured for several publications, organizations, events, media outlets, campaigns, and educational institutions. Lane has collaborated with different organizations including but not limited to Melanated in America, Surviving The Mic, Loop-Us, Access Living, and the Southside Community Art Center.

In 2014 Cherlnell started Writing Through It workshops and Healing Through It summits. These programs help people heal from trauma while also encouraging them to recognize and celebrate strengths and positive experiences. Fostering different methods of healing based in the arts such as, writing, painting, dance, and acting helps participants learn practices they can do at home. Cherlnell assists people in healing themselves. In 2020, Lane created “Words, from a Black Woman’s Experience” a live, interactive, visual podcast where Black women come to share their stories boldly and unapologetically. Guests include women from different backgrounds. The interviews cover a variety of topics, such as, “Creating Your Own Lane, Walking in Your Purpose.” and “Self-Love With Narcolepsy.” One of her goals is to show Black women aren’t monolithic. Cherlnell Lane’s newest creation is The Poetic Storyteller’s Speakeasy, a traveling open mic held on the Southside of Chicago. The Speakeasy is an event accessible to people with disabilities. The open mic will start Fall of 2024.

Cherlnell’s mission, vision, and drive have been recognized. In 2019, Lane was honored with a Melanated Queen Award and was the first recipient of the "Gratitude for Black Girls Business Grant". In 2021, she received the “We See You, Sis” award at the “This Is Us!” event for Black Women’s History Month.

Lane published books; Confessions of the Other Woman (2013) and Tales of an Undiscovered Writer (2014) [E-Book], written under the pseudonym, Cookie Battles are collections of poetry and short stories that are available on Amazon.

You can contact Cherlnell by email, at [email protected] or find out more information on Cherlnell’s website www.cherlnell.com.

Cherlnell Lane is a roaring fire, with a cool demeanor and a kind soul that she shares authentically in hopes of healing the world.

Cherlnell Lane

The Poetic-Storyteller

"Bearing my soul to heal yours"

Parking Information: Free street parking is available and pending event size a few spots are available in the back of the plaza

Special Thanks

The Go Green Griot Plaza was made possible by the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and with the generous support of The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. This space was also funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, a part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Road to Recovery Plan.

About the Go Green Griot Plaza

The Go Green Griot Plaza will be an outdoor community arts and organizing hub connected to the Go Green Community Fresh Market in Englewood. Alongside helping to create vibrancy and vitality on the important 63rd and Racine node and to drive interest in and traffic to the Market, the Plaza will host artistic performances, health workshops, vendor pop-ups, community forums, cooking demonstrations, and be a space for community cook-outs, art projects and open-mics. The Plaza will be the latest in the series of City of Chicago-supported POP Court venues opening up on once-vacant and abandoned land, and will mark an important milestone in the effort to draw attention and further investment into critical projects like the reopening of the Racine Green Line Station and the Granville T. Woods Regenerator project on the same intersection. The Plaza commemorates the legacy of the griot--the West African storytellers revered for preserving the legacy of their communities--and pays tribute to the power of story to connect, inspire, and drive our collective efforts forward.

Host or Publisher Inner-City Muslim Action Network | IMAN