Chicago Zine Fest Recap: A Cross-Town Tribute to a Miniature Medium
By Liz Mason Chicago Zine Fest is one of my favorite yearly events: a major gathering of people into what I’m into—zines. Don’t know what a zine is? Don’t worry […]
A Poet Spreads the Love: Poetry in a Bubble Gum Machine
Yvonne Zipter, poet and Portage Park resident, is spreading her love for poetry in a creative way. She has placed “poetry machines” in two neighborhood venues. Customers can drop 50 […]
Interview: Third Coast Talks Secret Chicago with Jessica Mlinaric
From the moment I saw the bright pink cover of Secret Chicago by Jessica Mlinaric I was excited. Visions of the kinds of things I loved to see so much on […]
Fooditor 99 Perfect for Hungry Chicago Stomachs and Adventurous Spirits
Michael Gebert doesn’t write about food. He writes about the people behind it as the editor-in-chief and main contributor of Fooditor, a tribute to those starry-eyed entrepreneurs who smile through […]
Review: Lock & Load: Armed Fiction, Guns and the American Imagination
Guest reviewer June Skinner Sawyers is a writer and editor; she has published many books on music and travel, including works on Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. She is the […]
Commune With the City’s Dead In New Book About Chicago Cemeteries, Chicago Eternal
Cemeteries remind us this is a city of change in multiple ways. Not just the impermanence and fragility of life, but in the ways the landscape of the city shifts […]
Bitch Planet Vol. 1 is Well Worth the Read
Given the current political climate and the completely welcome rebellion against male-dominated media, it’s no surprise that a comic like Bitch Planet hits all the right feminist notes. A quick-witted and […]
Title 13: Good Game Plan, Faulty Execution
Title 13, the debut novel of Michael A. Ferro, has all the trappings of an engaging conspiracy thriller. There are secret internal documents regarding the personal information of US citizens, […]
Kevin Coval Celebrates Chicago History in Poetry and Hip-Hop at Driehaus Museum
The evening opened with DJ Cash-Era playing some tunes as the audience gathered in the elegant ballroom of the Richard Driehaus Museum, that mansion of the Gilded Age. The ballroom’s […]
Up in Here Falls Flat in Form, But Starts a Necessary Conversation
Up in Here is the memoir of writer Mark Dostert. Having written for publications like Salon and the Houston Chronicle, Dostert has written Up in Here, his first full book, about his experience as a […]
Poem for January
(An homage to the St. Louis poet who became a Brit and also to Lou Rawls) January is the cruelest month. Where did T.S. Eliot get that April business? […]
Same Dream Another Time Captures Gambling Centers from Another Era
When we think of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, clichéd images come to mind such as Elvis impersonators, showgirls, tough-looking mobsters and lounge lizard entertainers. Many of these images have […]