NEWS: Bridge Mourns Untimely Passing of Poetry Section Editor Spencer Paul Hutchinson

NEWS: Bridge Mourns Untimely Passing of Poetry Section Editor Spencer Paul Hutchinson

It is with profound grief and sadness that the Bridge editors today share news of the tragic and untimely passing of Bridge Poetry Section Edtor Spencer Paul Hutchinson. According to his obituary posted by surviving family on Legacy.com, Hutchinson, 39, was found to have "passed away unexpectedly April 21, 2024 in his apartment in East Garfield Park, Chicago."

"He was born to Portia S. Hutchinson and George B. Hutchinson on July 16, 1984 in Knoxville, TN, and attended schools there, in Oak Ridge, TN, and in Bloomington, IN, before attending Indiana University for two years and then transferring to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was particularly focused on electronic music. He graduated with a BFA in Sound and New Media in 2009. He subsequently did graduate work at the University of Chicago and then entered the MFA program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, receiving an MFA in new media in 2020.

"His work has been shown nationally and internationally in Sacramento, CA, Chicago, Knoxville, Detroit, Mexico City, Ravenna and Assisi, Italy, and Manchester, UK.

"Spencer's art practice traversed many media and styles, from digital sound and 3D animation to sculptural installations with found objects, collaborations with performance artists, and above all, in recent years, painting. His work has been shown in multiple galleries around Chicago, and he had many friends in the Chicago arts community while maintaining treasured friendships from his youth in Bloomington, Indiana and Knoxville and Oak Ridge, Tennessee."

HUTCHINSON’S LEGACY AT BRIDGE

According to Bridge Editor-in-Chief Michael Workman, they had just completed work on selections of poetry for this year's annual volume of the Bridge Journal, scheduled for release this fall 2024, and made decisions on the first books of poetry in a planned new Bridge Books poetry series. "We were planning a celebratory dinner party at his place for July, and I’d begged him to share his legendary Moroccan chicken recipe with me, which he generously did. We had plans to share a table together at the Harold Washington Library at Poetry Fest for National Poetry Month and when he didn’t show up or answer emails, and I knew something was wrong."

The next volume of the Bridge Journal, Volume 24, Number 1 will be dedicated to Hutchinson’s memory, and include a copy of his Moroccan chicken recipe for anyone to make at home, to remember and celebrate his love for art, poetry, and life.

Remembrances for Spencer are being collected online on his Tribute Wall, where the family states memorial service and art exhibit in Spencer’s honor will be held in Chicago at a later date.