Lit Life

Join Chicago’s poetry community. Experience our public readings—from Blue Hour to Poetry at the Green—and discover collaborations that connect people through verse.

A poet in a pink tank top reads from her phone at a microphone while an ASL interpreter signs beside her in an elegant room with dark-framed windows and natural light.

Blue Hour

Monthly reading series with two featured poets, a generative writing workshop, and a limited open mic

 Two dancers leap joyfully on a plaza stage at an outdoor Poetry at The Green event, with audience members seated on the grass and downtown buildings in the background.

Poetry at the Green

Weekly outdoor reading series with one featured poet and an open mic

 A poet reads from a music stand on a purple-lit outdoor stage at night in the Pilsen neighborhood, with children and adults gathered on the street to listen.

CPC Presents

Special poetry events and community collaborations

 Poets chatting and smiling at Blatant Gold summer gathering.

Blatant Gold

Annual summer celebration with a headlining poet, an open mic, and the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for Excellence in Teaching