Review: MLK, X, and BLM—The Sword and the Shield, by Peniel Joseph
The Sword and the Shield by Peniel Joseph Basic Books Reviewed by Carr Harkrader When Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago in 1966 to promote integrated housing, his marches […]
Review: Byronic Heroines, Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know, by Samira Ahmed
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed Penguin Random House Reviewed by C.E. Archer-Helke I don’t often find a book that simultaneously transports me to the best parts […]
Poem: The Queen of Brooklyn—R.B.G. (1933–2020)
She was the queen of Brooklyn although she wore no gold crown except in the public’s imagination and on t-shirts. Instead her apparel of choice was a white frilly lace […]
Interview: VGA Gallery’s Brice Puls and Eleanor Schichtel on Going Virtual, Future Plans and VGA Zine
The last time we saw the gang from VGA Gallery, things were a lot different. It was January 2020 and we were crowding the VGA Gallery’s small space on Bloomingdale […]
Review: The Joy and Bother of City Streets, The Streets of Europe: The Sights, Sounds, and Smells That Shaped Its Great Cities, by Brian Ladd
The Streets of Europe: The Sights, Sounds, and Smells That Shaped Its Great Cities By Brian Ladd University of Chicago Press, 320 pages, $30 I’m having a difficult time deciding […]
Review: Murder Most Female—He Had It Coming, by Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather
He Had It Coming Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather Midway: An Agate Imprint A crime only gains sex appeal after it’s been committed, and it’s usually an ingredient added by […]
Essay: Racial Injustice Themes in Pop Culture Shine a Light on the Change We Must Demand
We’re living in a strange period of horror shows in politics, health and racial injustice. You never know what type of abomination you’ll find when you turn on your phone, […]
Review: The Very Near Future—Midwest Futures, by Phil Christman
Midwest Futures By Phil Christman Belt Publishing The Midwest is a deeply mysterious place to the coastal essayists, pundits, and politicians. Rarely visiting, save to write clunky closed factory and […]
Book Review: Relentless, Raw Outrage, Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore Harper, 306 pages, $26.99 Elizabeth Wetmore’s Valentine, set in 1976 rural West Texas, is a novel of relentless and brutally raw outrage. A fury-filled howl of […]
Rubbernecking Rich Living, Chicago Apartments: A Century and Beyond of Lakefront Luxury
Chicago Apartments: A Century and Beyond of Lakefront Luxury By Neil Harris with Teri J. Edelstein University of Chicago Press, 364 pages, $85 Reading Neil Harris’s Chicago Apartments: A Century […]
Interview: “Wait for the Empire to Come Home.” We Talk With Michael Zapata on His Debut Novel
Michael Zapata is a founding editor of the award-winning MAKE Literary Magazine. He is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Award for Fiction; the City of Chicago DCASE Individual Artist Program […]
Review: The Skin You Live In Is a Kids’ Book for Today by Two Chicagoans
The Skin You Live In By Michael Tyler Illustrations by David Lee Csicsko Chicago Children’s Museum The Skin You Live In, a book targeted to 4- to 8-year olds, can […]