February Blue Hour Featuring Jalen Eutsey and Michelle Peñaloza
Schedule
Wed Feb 18 2026 at 07:30 pm to 09:00 pm
UTC-06:00Location
Haymarket House | Chicago, IL
About this Event
The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop. Our February featured readers are Jalen Eutsey and Michelle Peñaloza.
Each event takes place at Haymarket House (800 W. Buena) and includes a brief open mic followed by two featured poets. Pre-registration is free and recommended. The open mic includes five readers drawn lottery-style from a hat that goes out at 7 p.m. The reading starts promptly at 7:30. Each open mic poet reads one poem or for three minutes, whichever comes first.
ABOUT THE FEATURES:
Michelle Peñaloza is the author of "All The Words I Can Remember Are Poems," winner of the 2024 Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award and the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets (Persea Books, 2025). Her debut, "Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire," won the 2018 Hillary Gravendyk National Poetry Prize. The proud daughter of Filipino immigrants, Michelle was born in the suburbs of Detroit, MI and raised in Nashville, TN. She now lives in Covelo, CA.
Jalen Eutsey is a writer from Miami, Florida. A recipient of the Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University, his poems have appeared in Best New Poets, The Yale Review, Poetry Northwest, and The Hopkins Review. His chapbook, "Bubble Gum Stadium," was published by Button Poetry.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION: The mission of the Chicago Poetry Center is to connect people and poetry, equitably engage poets with communities, and foster creative literacy in the city and beyond. Learn more about our programs at www.poetrycenter.org.
ABOUT THE SPACE - Accessibility, Health, & Safety:
- All restrooms at Haymarket House are gender-neutral, including single-user and stalled restrooms.
- Each event includes ASL interpretation. Haymarket House is ADA compliant and fully wheelchair-accessible; email [email protected] to ensure ramp access and with any other accessibility needs.
- Masks are strongly encouraged for all indoor events, and the space is equipped with a professional air filtration system.
PARKING: Limited free and paid street parking is available near Haymarket House. The parking lot at Disney Magnet School is relatively close and is a paid lot; there are also locations nearby available through SpotHero.
Looking for the Workshop? Register here.
Where is it happening?
Haymarket House, 800 West Buena Avenue, Chicago, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
