Michael Workman: Writing as Cultural Archaeology and the Poetics of Place

A free lecture and writing workshop at SITE/less, presented through the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau

Join Bridge founder and Editor-in-Chief Michael Workman at SITE/less for a lecture and participatory writing workshop exploring language, place, and cultural memory.

Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026
Time: 2–3 p.m.
Location: SITE/less
Address: 1250 W. Augusta Blvd., Chicago, IL 60642
Admission: Free and open to the public

RSVP for the lecture and writing workshop

About the program

How can writing uncover the histories, memories, and relationships embedded in the places we inhabit?

Drawing on their background in experimental poetics and an interdisciplinary practice spanning language, movement, and performance, Workman approaches writing as a form of cultural archaeology: an excavation of the layered relationships between language, identity, and place. With reference to artists and writers including Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Johanna Drucker, and Charles Reznikoff, the program explores how writing, history, and landscape intersect to shape cultural memory.

Participants are invited to consider their surroundings as a living archive of stories, gestures, and voices that inform community life. As an experimental architecture, movement, and research center, SITE/less offers a distinctive setting for exploring how the spaces we move through shape our perceptions, memories, and relationships.

The workshop

Combining a short lecture, readings, guided writing exercises, and reflective discussion, the program introduces “poetic fieldwork”—an approach that connects close observation, movement, and writing.

Participants will respond to prompts drawing on their surroundings and personal memories of place, considering how geography shapes emotion and thought. Through individual writing and group dialogue, attendees will develop short fragments of writing and explore new ways of perceiving familiar environments. The approximately one-hour program includes time for voluntary sharing and questions.

No prior writing or performance experience is required. Please bring a notebook and pen and arrive a few minutes early to settle in. Sharing your writing is optional.

About Michael Workman

Michael Workman is a Chicago-based artist, writer, and sociocultural critic, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Bridge, the nonprofit publishing and cultural organization established in 1999. Their work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Guardian US, Newcity, and WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, among other outlets.

Their writing and performance practice explores the intersections of language, movement, and place. Their publications include Propositional Attitudes (Golden Spike Press) and Perfect Worlds: Artistic Forms & Social Imaginaries (StepSister Press), launched with performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Their performance work includes Active Investigation at the Neubauer Collegium in 2023.

Workman was the 2025 Joan and Peter Hood Artist-in-Residence at Allerton Park and is a 2026–27 Illinois Humanities Road Scholar.

RSVP and venue information

Register using our Google Form

SITE/less is located at Augusta Boulevard and Willard Court, east of the Kennedy Expressway. Public transit options include the CTA Blue Line Chicago station, the #66 Chicago Avenue bus, and the #56 Milwaukee Avenue bus.

For venue questions, entrance and parking information, or to discuss accessibility accommodations, contact SITE/less at 773-489-5069 or info@siteless.org. Workshop activities can be adapted for mobility or sensory needs; please contact the venue in advance to discuss arrangements.

Venue information and directions

Presented at SITE/less through the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau.