Writers & Readers

Deepen your craft and connect with Chicago’s vibrant literary community. Explore our workshops to refine your writing, attend readings to discover new voices, and delve into our archives to experience poetry’s rich history.

A poet in a magenta dress reads at a microphone to a seated audience in a warmly lit event space, with a Chicago Poetry Center banner beside her.

Online Learning

Stream videos from our digital event series, Blue Hour recordings, and more

 Participants sit around a long table during a Blue Hour generative writing workshop, bent over their notebooks in concentration, with dusky blue light visible through the windows.

Blue Hour Workshop series

Join Blue Hour, a monthly poetry reading with an open mic, two featured poets, and a generative writing workshop

 A wall collage of vintage Poetry Center event posters featuring readings by poets including Denise Levertov, Dennis Brutus, Bill Knott, Galway Kinnell, Margaret Atwood, James Laughlin, Mark Strand, Maxine Kumin, Faye Kicknosway, Naomi Lazard, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Reading Series Archive

Explore over 50 years of Chicago poetry readings and events with our digital archive