Atrocious Poets
Cart 0
Cart 0
Atrocious Poets

ATROCIOUS POETS

We put poetry where it doesn’t belong.

A polaroid photo of two women wearing yellow safety vests. One wears a hard hat and the other holds a megaphone. The words Lima Beans are written in marker on the bottom of the photo.

Touch the poetry

WE ENCOURAGE IT.

Our space in the Woodstock Square Mall is all about poetry you can play with. Technically we inhabit an oversized closet under the stairs, but poetry leaks out of the walls and sprawls out on the counter, waiting for you. Listen to a poem on our poetry phone. Make a poem on the magnet board. Pick up some reading recommendations in the waiting room that vaguely reminds you of a 1980s doctor’s office. Pull up to our wood-paneled vending machine that’s constantly changing: you might get a poem that looks like a fortune from a rodent, a poetic message from your future self, or a tiny art print that is guaranteed* to cure your specific malady. This ever-evolving, slightly inexplicable space offers up a rotisserie of experiments and games and nonsense that have no purpose other than to remind you that poetry exists for you. So please touch the poetry. We’ll be disappointed if you don’t. 

*Listen, guarantee might be too strong of a word.

COME ALONG

TURN UP AND DO POETRY WITH US.

WAX POETIC OPEN MIC
Third Thursday of each month • 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The Records Department • 216 Main St. Woodstock, IL
Every third Thursday we co-host a poetry open mic at the coolest record shop in town, The Records Department. Join us over at their new spot on Main St. for some fine poetry shenanigans. Sign up at the door to read your stuff or just hang out and soak in the poetry. The shop is wheelchair accessible.

SATURDAYS AT THE MALL
Most Saturdays • 1 to 3 p.m.
Atrocious Poets Office • Woodstock Square Mall • 110 S. Johnson St. Woodstock IL
Saturdays from 1 to 3 we’ll be hanging out at our office in the Woodstock Square Mall. Drop by to do a writing exercise, check out our vending machine, or just say hi. (Schedules change quicker than this website. So check our Instagram for updated info.) Mall is wheelchair accessible through the east entrance.

SEND YOUR FUTURE SELF A VALENTINE
Now through March 1st
Wish you could hang on to more kindness in the midst of...all this? Want to hug your future self? We got you. We're going to help you send a valentine to yourself next year. Here's how it works:

  • Write yourself a love note.

  • Give us the letter in person at one of our Saturday hangouts in February OR email it to us by March 1st.

  • We will hold on to your love letter for one year, and then we'll mail it to you via USPS next February. (There might even be a little bonus mailed along with it.)

If you need a prompt to get rolling, try one of these:

  • What are your superpowers?

  • Describe the way you are with your best friends.

  • Tell yourself a secret.

  • Describe a small moment of joy that you were a part of this year.

  • Your body is a map. Where is it leading you?

Once you've written your letter and given it to us, we won't read it. (If it comes in via email, we will see it, but we won't read read it.) If you drop it off with us at a Saturday hangout, we'll have envelopes for you to self-address. If you email it to us, please include your mailing address. If you want to drop it off at our office when we aren't there, put your love letter in an envelope with your own mailing address on it and drop it in our mailbox.


Now go sweet talk yourself. You absolutely deserve it.

If you require additional accommodation in order to attend any of our events, please let us know 2 weeks ahead of time. We will do our best to make sure you can comfortably participate.

 

SERIOUSLY, THOUGH

WE ARE A 501(C)3 NONPROFIT WITH A CHECKING ACCOUNT AND A MISSION STATEMENT AND EVERYTHING.

Here’s our mission statement:
The Atrocious Poets connect people through poetry. We look for unexpected and engaging ways to bring poetry into the everyday life of our community. We spark conversations and provoke reflection, helping people find meaning in their own and others' experiences.

And you can donate here:

ROLODEX

FIND US

In our closet under the stairs on the ground floor the Woodstock Square Mall
110 S. Johnson St., “Suite” 101
Woodstock, IL 60098

On Instagram and Threads
@atrocious_poets 

On Mark Zuckerberg’s Emporium of Neighborhood Grievances and Racist Uncles
/atrociouspoets

Via email
atrociouspoets@gmail.com

Bouncing around rural cell towers
815-527-6630

We regret that we do not have a fax machine. Sincerely.

Our programming is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

A vintage vending machine sits in a hallway. The sign on front reads Liminal Space Photo Booth. A small video screen at the top shows an 80s-style graphic.
A man in a cap stands at the front of a room full of people who are both seated and standing. The man is behind a music stand and a floor mic. There are large windows behind him and records displayed on the wall.
A dark green typewriter with white keys is in the foreground. A small poetry chapbook sits on the table beside it. In the background, there is an art gallery. Several people are standing and looking at the art. Lights twinkle overhead.
A woman leans out of the poetry office on to a counter beneath the window. The outside of the office is decorated for Pride with a weather theme. There are tornadoes, rainbows, raindrops, and twinkle lights.
The words Atrocious Poets on a magnet board
The phrase Please Take a Compliment is written on a large red arrow above a deli-style take-a-number machine. The number 82 is showing and there is handwriting on it. The entire contraption is on a wall.