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 […]
Book Review: Minus, Lisa Naffziger’s YA Graphic Novel, Is Part of a New Generation of Comics Writers
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Book Review—Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
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 […]
“I Wanna Go on with That Next One Myself”: Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson
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 […]
From Fangirl to Philosopher: Julia Fine on Exploring Feminist Theory through Fairytales and Fiction
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Eve Ewing Untangles Time in New Poetry Collection 1919 Launched at Writers Museum
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 […]
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 […]