Chicago as a poem: The birthplace of slam poetry finally gets a contemporary anthology of poetry

CHICAGO Some days the hardest thing in the world is explaining Chicago to someone not from Chicago. Other days, particularly when you already live here, the hardest thing is seeing the city clearly, as vast and varied, as larger than your block, your neighborhood or your ward. Hence, the violent reputation, the provincialism, the old mash of cliches: as journalist (and South Shore native) Carlo Rotella jokes in the introduction to an invaluable new collection, “Wherever I’m At — An Anthology of Chicago Poetry.” A collaboration of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, the venerable South Side staple Third World Press and the Elmwood Park-based After Hours Press, it’s a portrait of the city as seen