I have a secret, neither dark nor deep. Never have I ever smoked pot. You kids still call it pot, right? Marijuana is pejorative. Grass, Mary Jane, and reefer seem dated, evoking […]
How Do You Smoke a Weed?—Graphic Novel Review
Dan Kelly
Books-a-Seven-Thousand: Pilsen Community Books to Host First Annual Book Sale, October 5–6
Mary Gibbons, co-owner of Pilsen Community Books says her store had a bevy of books… Nay—a surfeit of books… Strike that—a profound profusion, if not potential plethora of books in storage, doing no […]
Da Sacred and Profane: The Best of Royko: The Tribune Years—Review
I met my good friend, Flats Slobnik—tuck pointer, softball shortstop, and professional Chicago everyman—at our favorite watering hole, Brzbchynski’s Tavern on Pulaski and Lower Wacker Drive. Karol Brzbchynski, a 300-pound ex-steelworker who […]
She Wore Red Shoes by the Newsstand: An Interview with The Gold Pawn Author L.A. Chandlar
New York-based writer L.A. Chandlar is the author of The Silver Gun and the just-published The Gold Pawn, the first two books in her Art Deco Mystery series. I spoke with her by […]
Review: Happy Campers Are All Alike
Journalists love looking for America, and Dave Hoekstra—WGN radio host and author of The Camper Book: A Celebration of a Moveable American Dream—is as smitten as the rest. For the past two […]
Gilded Age White People Problems: Henry Blake Fuller’s The Cliff-Dwellers: Book Review
Whatever happened to melodrama? A hero, a villain, a damsel in distress—a histrionic trinity entangled over late rent payments, potentially besmirched honor, and the inevitable train track bondage scene. Well, life got […]
Anna and Her Sister: An Interview with The Window Author Amelia Brunskill
In her debut novel The Window, Amelia Brunskill tells the story of Jess Cutter, a Montanan girl whose twin sister Anna is found dead below her bedroom window. Jess—as thoughtful, mild, and […]
Folk(tale) Hero: An Interview with Author Edward McClelland
I wish I could describe Edward McClelland in legendary terms—it would be so damned apropos. I’d tell you he’s as tall as a redwood, as strong as a herd of wild […]
