Lit, Reviews, Stages

Review: Ensemble, Mark Larson’s Oral History, Brings Chicago’s Theater Past Alive

Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater is a book you can enjoy in two ways. You can read it from beginning to end, as you would any narrative of […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Fiction, Lit, Reviews

Book Review: Minus, Lisa Naffziger’s YA Graphic Novel, Is Part of a New Generation of Comics Writers

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Minus By Lisa Naffziger Iron Circus Comics We’re living in a golden age of comics. Even better, we’re living in a golden age of comics for all ages. In my […]

Dan Kelly /
Fiction, Lit

Book Review: In Tied with Twine, Pam Records Tells Stories of Polish Hegewisch

Tied with Twine, by Pam Records, Indigo River Publishing Reviewed by M.D. Walters The residents of Hegewisch harbor painful secrets, perplexing little mysteries, and big ambitions – all tangled up […]

Guest Author /
Fiction, Lit, Reviews, Uncategorized

Review: A Great Novel, a Work of Scripture, a Failure, or What?—Adam Levin’s The Instructions

On occasion, we’ll revisit and run reviews of books published in the past, both near and far. This week, guest author Patrick T. Reardon looks back at Adam Levin’s The […]

Guest Author /
Chicago history, Lit, Reviews

Review: Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here—Compliments of Chicagohoodz

Compliments of Chicagohoodz: Chicago Street Gang Art and Culture James “Jinx” O’Connor & Damen “Mr. C” Corrado Feral House Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit gets most of the attention, but the […]

Dan Kelly /
Fiction, Lit, Reviews

Book Review—Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

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Trust Exercise Susan Choi Henry Holt and Co. If high school didn’t exist, writers would have to invent it. A writer’s job is to articulate what others feel; and what […]

Guest Author /
Lit, Music, Reviews

“I Wanna Go on with That Next One Myself”: Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson

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Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson By Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow Chicago Review Press Robert Johnson is a definitive legend, though the dead-at-27 bluesman […]

Dan Kelly /
Fiction, Interviews, Lit

From Fangirl to Philosopher: Julia Fine on Exploring Feminist Theory through Fairytales and Fiction

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Interview conducted by contributing writer Terry Galvan Julia Fine is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago’s MFA program. She lives in Chicago with her husband and their son. Her […]

Guest Author /
Lit, Reviews, Stages

Review: Ensemble-Made Chicago Lets Us Peek Into Some of Chicago’s Most Inventive Theaters

Chicago is home to 200 to 250 theater companies, depending on who’s counting. Most of them are what we might call traditional theaters that stage scripted productions, both new works […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Film, Film & TV, Interviews, Lit, Live lit events, Music, Reviews, Television, Video

Smells Like Heavy Metal Poisoning: An Interview with Cinéaste Mike McPadden

Mike “McBeardo” McPadden is truth in human packaging. A beard is indeed present, bristly, with streaks of grey—suggesting wisdom in matters strange and arcane. I’ve seen McPadden in action as […]

Dan Kelly /
Lit, Live lit events, Poetry

Eve Ewing Untangles Time in New Poetry Collection 1919 Launched at Writers Museum

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By Ariel Parrella-Aureli Eve Ewing knows how to pack a room and capture the moment. With her goofy humor and charismatic energy, the local author, poet, and professor pleases anyone […]

Guest Author /
Art & Museums, Lit

Preview: Write Your Own Story at the American Writers Museum’s Tools of the Trade Exhibit

Typewriters, inkwells, Braille writers and more of the tools that writers use will be featured in the Tools of the Trade exhibit opening at the American Writers Museum on Saturday, June […]

Nancy S Bishop /