The best literary and poetry readings in Chicago

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: First Tuesday of each month, 7–8:30pm

OUTspoken, the LGBTQ+ storytelling event held monthly at the sprawling Northalsted bar Sidetrack, celebrates uniquely personal stories from a cross-section of the LGBTQ+ community. Curated by two-time winner of the Moth GrandSLAM Archy Jamjun, each event typically presents six storytellers with one intermission. OUTspoken! offers a safe, accepting space for the LGBTG+ community and their allies to share their stories. 

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: Second Wednesday of each month, 8–10pm

Held on the second Wednesday of each month at Life on Marz Community Club—located on the border of Logan Square and Bucktown—artsy, ambitious newcomer Comportment is quickly establishing itself as a vital new poetry series on the circuit. Expertly curated by poet Jamie Thomson, poet/filmmaker Kai Ihns, writer/translator Cecily Chen and poet/translator Léon Pradeau and hosted by musician and DJ C. DiCero, the series presents top shelf talent in the intimate new brewery taproom and cafe offering craft beers, non-alcoholic drinks and a rotating selection of delicious tinned fish and preserved seafood to snack on while the poetry flows.

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: First Tuesday of each month, 7:30–9:30pm

Held the first Tuesday of each month in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf in Andersonville, Tuesday Funk is an eclectic reading series that serves up a variety of fiction, poetry, essays and other works of all genres, read live by the authors. Current hosts Andrew Huff—the cofounder and former editor and publisher of Gapers Block (RIP)—and zinester Erin Watson welcome five preselected readers each month. The program usually lasts between 90 minutes to two hours, including an intermission, which gives you the opportunity to sample one of Hopleaf’s many Belgian beers on draft. 

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: All ages
Frequency: Every Monday (Jun–Aug), 6–7pm

This West Loop reading series and open mic—the result of a partnership between Chicago Poetry Center and The Green at 320—is held outdoors every Monday throughout the warmer months (weather permitting) in Chicago’s largest privately owned public park in the West Loop, from 6 to 7pm. Lounging on the grass and soaking up some poetry as the golden hour approaches in this oasis of green space surrounded by the hustle of the West Loop is a great way to end a hectic Monday. Co-curated by Chicago Poetry Center Poets in Residence Joy Young and Timothy David Rey, a featured poet shares their work each week followed by an open mic session where attendees can take the stage to read their own work.

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: Second Wednesday of each month, 6–8pm

Test Literary Series is a community-centered, interactive reading series held on the second Wednesday of each month at the art-and-literature-friendly confines of The Whistler in Logan Square. Hosted by poets and fiction writers Nick Kirwen and Zach Kocanda, a collaborative and cooperative workshop atmosphere prevails, where a curated lineup of local authors share works-in-progress and are encouraged to engage in open discussion with the audience after their reading, which can provide an insightful peek behind the curtain into the creative process. 

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: Third Sunday of each month, 6:30–8:30pm

The popular Sunday Reading Series: Poetry, Prose, & Cocktails at Roscoe Park’s Hungry Brain is thoughtfully curated and hosted by poets and educators Simone Muench and Kenyatta Rogers on the third Sunday of each month. The series is widely beloved for presenting highfalutin literary talent in the laid-back, low-lit, dive bar atmosphere of Hungry Brain, where it’s cash only at the bar and patrons can lounge in the mismatched, retro rec room furnishings and sip cheap beer as the writers and poets share their work from stage. 

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: All ages
Frequency: Third Thursday of each month, 6:30pm–9pm

The PO Box Collective, a “creative collective and intergenerational social practice center dedicated to building Rogers Park community through radical art making, musical aid and programming” was founded in 2019. PO Box Poetry Series began a short time after and has been going strong ever since. Series curator S. Yarberry—a trans poet, writer and editor of online poetry publication Tyger Quarterly—builds community by uniting neighborhood poets with fellow writers from across Chicago. Each edition of the poetry series is preceded by a generative writing workshop and communal hangout with refreshments.

Admission: $10
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: Third Sunday of each month, 3–5pm

The venerable Uptown Poetry Slam, the original slam event and a staple on the Chicago spoken word and lit performance scene since it was founded in 1985 by poet and longtime host Marc Smith, has been drawing crowds to Chicago’s legendary The Green Mill on Sundays for nearly forty years. The series has even spawned legions of diaspora and imitators all over the world. There is an open mic segment during each event, a slam competition and often a crew of special guest performers from around the world. At this point, it’s an official Chicago institution. 

Admission: $10 suggested donation
Age restrictions: All ages
Frequency: Last Thursday of each month, 6:30–8:30pm

Longtime champion of indie presses and zinesters across the region, Wicker Park’s Quimby’s Bookstore opens its space on the last Thursday of each month for its After Hours reading series. Curated and hosted by local author Taylor Thornburg, each evening typically highlights the work of a local, independent press or journal (on-brand for Quimby’s) such as the quarterly arts and literary journal Milwaukee Avenue Messenger, featuring the work of local writers and artists; indie book publishing house Raging Opossum Press, which highlights local DIY Chicago writers and artists and local boutique surrealist Veilance Press. The program consists of curated readings from the press’s contributors, a short open mic (with up to five spots available) and a live Q&A with the press’s editors.

Admission: $10 suggested donation
Age restrictions: All ages
Frequency: Third Wednesday of each month (Sept–May), 6–8pm

Blue Hour is a monthly reading and writing workshop sponsored by the Chicago Poetry Center at Haymarket House in Uptown, held on the third Wednesday of each month September through May, curated and hosted by poet, spoken-word artist and educator Marty McConnell. The workshops are offered from 6 to 7pm and designed for writers and poetry fans of all levels. The Blue Hour readings consist of a brief open mic followed by two featured poets from Chicago and beyond. The open mic includes five readers drawn lottery-style from a hat that goes out at 7:15pm, with the reading starting promptly at 7:30pm. Each open mic poet reads one poem—or for three minutes, whichever comes first. Space is limited for the workshops and pre-registration via Eventbrite is required.

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: 21+
Frequency: First Wednesday every other month, 6–8pm

This bimonthly reading series features the work of six writers from Chicago and beyond on the first Wednesday of every other month at Logan Square cocktail bar The Whistler, which has become a hub for the local arts and literary scene. Curator and host Ben Niespodziany (a.k.a. @neonpajamas), the founder of Piżama—Polish for “pajamas”—Press, is dedicated to centering “the voices of the strange, the uncanny, the absurd, and the surreal,” and the Neon Mic Nights often reflect this ethos.

Admission: Free
Age restrictions: All ages
Frequency: Second or third Saturday of each month, 5:30–7pm

Playfully dubbed “Chicago’s most awkwardly timed reading series,” An Inconvenient Hour: Prose, Poetry, & Coffee takes place during the liminal hours between afternoon and evening in Edgewater’s Metropolis Cafe, on the second or third Saturday of each month. Writer Jeffrey Wolf, the creator, curator and host for this friendly neighborhood reading series, gathers local literary voices—from Chicago in general and the far North Side in particular—to share their work with the community in an intimate setting. The readings, coffee, pastries and vibe are all outstanding, despite the inconvenient hour. 

Admission: Free–$10, dependent on event
Age restrictions: All ages
Frequency: One week every October/November

The Lit & Luz Festival, produced annually since 2014 by MAKE Literary Productions, is a cultural exchange between authors, musicians and visual artists from Chicago and Mexico. This series of readings, conversations, artist talks, and performances highlights new translations and artistic collaborations and showcases some of the most innovative contemporary artists from both countries. The festival culminates each year in the “Live Magazine Show” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, where artists from Mexico City are paired with artists from Chicago to create collaborative projects which are performed at the show. A corresponding festival takes place each in Mexico City for a week during February or March. Check the Lit & Luz website for specific event details, dates, and times.