Where the Monarchs Never Die: A Book Launch and Conversation
About the event:
Join us in celebrating local Chicana poet Rocío Franco’s debut poetry chapbook Where the Monarchs Never Die (Arcana Poetry Press). Franco will be joined by writers Sylvia Ewing and Hilesh Patel in an evening of poetry and conversation. Doors open at 6:00 PM with the reading beginning at 6:30 PM. Copies of Where the Monarchs Never Die will be available to purchase and get signed! The event will also be in support of Chicago Street Vendor Relief Fund for their work in our community through a suggested $5 donation. This event is in partnership with 18th Street Casa Cultura and Bilinguey Productions.
About the book:
Where the Monarchs Never Die is a fierce and unyielding portrait of immigrant life in Chicago, tracing the rhythms of work, memory, and belonging. With honest and luminous poetic narratives, this collection carries identity and experience with quiet strength and persistent force, honoring resilience in the face of erasure and discovering beauty where others might look away. Like the monarch returning year after year, we are reminded that claiming space is its own form of resistance-and that everywhere we go, there is a light that never goes out.
About the authors:
Rocío Franco is a self-identified Chicana warrior poet from Chicago. She holds fellowships from Rad(ical) DreamYard Consortium, The Watering Hole, Roots Wounds Words, and Periplus Collective under the mentorship of Kemi Alabi. The Frost Place Conference on Poetry, Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, Voices of Our Nations (VONA), Tin House’s Summer Workshop, and StoryStudio Chicago have supported her work. She is a two-time Best of the Net nominee, a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and a 2025 finalist for the Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Awards. You can learn more about her work at www.rociofranco.com and follow her on Intstagram at @chio_la_chingona.
Sylvia Ewing is a poet published in Obsidian, the Chicago Reader, and Newcity Magazine. A distinguished media professional, nonprofit leader, and community builder, Ewing has been a long-time trusted voice in Chicago’s media landscape, known for her work as a PBS broadcaster, nonprofit executive, and cultural advocate. You can follow them on Instagram at @sylvia.ewing.drams.
Hilesh Patel is a writer, consultant, mediator and member of the art group The Chicago ACT Collective (@thechicagoactcollective). His writing investigates immigration, healing, memory and the idea of living memorials. He is a proud immigrant and has called Chicago home for most of his life. His work has been published in Sixty Inches from Center, Relief Journal, Passengers, Jaggery, AIOTB Magazine, and others. He is actually a funny poet trapped inside a serious poet’s body. You can follow them on Instagram at @hilesh.
About Bilinguey Productions:
Bilinguey Productions curates comedy, literature, and performances for bilingual Latine audiences in Chicago and online. It was founded by Angelica Julia Dávila, author of poetry chapbook, Bilingual Bitch. Bilinguey Productions’ first event Words Like Images, a celebration of Latine writers and vendor’s market during National Poetry Month, was sold-out and connected writers from the Pilsen community together.