Steven Peterson is a poet and playwright living in Chicago. His poetry has appeared in many magazines and journals over the past six years and has now been collected in his new book, Walking Trees and Other Poems. Steve will read his poems and comment on how they came about. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and Steve will be glad to sign your copy. (The book is also available on Amazon.)

 

Steve's grandparents and great-grandparents lived in the Andersonville neighborhood, not far from today's Swedish-American Museum. Using his poems, Steve will tell the tale of what brought his family from Sweden to Chicago. His grandfather, uncle, and father all became dentists, with their dental practice located on the SE corner of Clark Street and Foster Avenue from 1924 to 1988. He'll describe how, over the generations, their Swedish-American identity developed, adapted, and endured. 

 

About the images:

1. Steven Peterson

2.Steven's grandparents, Clarence Herbert Peterson and Ruth Lindstrom Peterson, when they were dating in 1916, shown here after playing tennis in Winnemac Park, Chicago. (They married in 1919.)

3. Book cover of Walking Trees and Other Poems