September Blue Hour Featuring Hussain Ahmed and Ali Black

The Chicago Poetry Center presents BLUE HOUR, a free monthly in-person reading series and generative writing workshop. Our September featured readers are Hussain Ahmed and Ali Black.

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:

Hussain Ahmed:

Hussain Ahmed is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Crossroad Mirror (2025) published by Curbstone Books / Northwestern University Press. Ahmed won the 2024 Gulf Coast Poetry Prize and the 2024 Black Warrior Review Poetry Contest. His work appeared in Poetry Magazine, Best American Poetry Anthology, The Nation, American Poetry Review, A Public Space and elsewhere. A Nigerian poet and environmentalist, he holds an MFA from the University of Mississippi and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Cincinnati.

Ali Black:

Ali Black is a writer from Cleveland, Ohio. She is the author of the poetry collection, We Look Better Alive (Burnside Review Press, 2025) and the poetry chapbook, If It Heals At All (Jacar Press, 2020). We Look Better Alive was nominated for a 2026 NAACP Image Award for outstanding work in literature for poetry. Ali’s chapbook was selected by Jaki Shelton Green for the New Voices Series and named a finalist for the 2021 Ohioana Book Award in poetry. Ali is the winner of the 2025 Cleveland Arts Prize in the emerging artist category. Her poems and essays have appeared in The Atticus Review, jubilat, Literary Hub, The Offing, The Adroit Journal and elsewhere.

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 curator@poetrycenter.org 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.

Looking for the livestream? Register here.