jessie mccarty
itisjessiemccarty@gmail.com
Jessie McCarty is a writer and cataloger in Chicago, originally from Louisiana. They are the author of two chapbooks: The Bovine Huff (Track and Field Studios) and Our Fairy Diary (I Read Stuff Bookstore).
McCarty has presented performative poetics in an array of spaces, including Facility Theater, Comfort Station, Illinois Wesleyan, SITE Galleries, the Iowa City Writers’ Festival, and more. They have taught cataloging and poetry at the Latin School, Index Space, and Center for Fiction.
awards
2023 Best New Poet, The Bovine Huff, Chicago Reader.
Best New Poetry Book, The Bovine Huff, Chicago Reader.
2022 Italy International Scholarship, California Rare Book School.
Librarianship in Praxis Scholarship, The California Rare Book School.
2017 Best New Art Film, Love in July, Bossier City Arts Council.
books:
Our Fairy Diary, I Read Stuff Bookstore. Chicago, IL. 2023.
The Bovine Huff, Track and Field Studios. Austin, TX. 2021.
publications:
2024 Catalogs as a way to self-soothe. Thick Press, Chicago.
2023 Memories of Sinead O’Connor. The Documentarian, Chicago, IL.
theater:
2024 Lamb Play. Runaways Lab Theater, Rhino Fringe Festival. Chicago, IL.
The Explanatory Gap, Queer Bibliography Conference 2024,The California Rare Book School. Indexer. Dir. Niky Crawford. Los Angeles,
2022 Somethings Just Fall Down, a Published Dramaturgy. Perforated Play, Facility Theater. Chicago, IL. 2022.
2019 Affection as a Space Vacuum. Runaways Lab Theater, Rhino Fringe Festival. Chicago, IL.
video:
2024 my progress is none of your business. Runaways Lab Theater, comfort station, opening for Carter St. Hogan, 11:11 press. Chicago, IL.
2023 Perforated play. Facility Theater, Hate Lab, Runaways Lab Theater. Filmed in Modena, Italy.
2017 Love in July. Chicago International Film Festival, Cine Youth. Chicago, IL.
2016 Love in July. Bossier City Arts Council. Bossier City, LA.
leadership:
Committee Member. Queer Bibliography 2024. The California Rare Book School. Los Angeles, CA.
Artistic Director. The Runaways Lab Theater. Chicago, IL.
education:
BFA, Creative Writing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Certification in Rare Book Cataloging, The California Rare Book School