Poets from the city, such as Daniel Borzutzk-y, Kerni Sonnenberg, and Mark Tardi, were printed alongside poets from the nearby north, such as Roberto Harrison and Stacy Szymaszek from Milwaukee and Steve Timm from
Green County, Wisconsin. Like Jesse, some of these writers have since moved away, but the connections were made in Chicagoland reading series, bookstores, and small presses.