The Art of Survival: Chicago Creatives Fight Fascism and De-Funding
This is the fourth and final article in our series, The Art of Survival. See links and info about the series at the end of this article. Sexpert Dan Savage […]
Interview: Patrick T. Reardon and the Poetry of Every Marred Thing
Writer Patrick T. Reardon has applied his chops to everything from journalism to regular book reviews for TCR. But his latest work returns to one of his favorite literary forms—poetry. […]
Commentary: Accompanying the Misunderstood, Vulnerable and Maligned, Pioneers of Latino Ministry, by Deborah E. Kanter
As a 13-year-old, I left my family’s home on Chicago’s West Side to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood at a high school seminary about 50 miles away in Momence, […]
Banned Books Week: Writers Recall the “Forbidden” Books of Their Youth
It’s Banned Books Week, and while it’s not a week to celebrate, per se, it’s one to faithfully observe. Those who would ban books offer different reasons for their desire […]
Words of Survival: Chicago Bookstores Respond to COVID and Book Bans
This is the third in our series of articles on The Art of Survival, in which we explore how small Chicago arts organizations are surviving post-COVID and weathering the anti-humanist and anti-diversity […]
Interview: Chapter and Multiverse: Christopher Hawkins’ I Contain Multitudes
When I last spoke with author Christopher Hawkins, he was writing about monsters and a deadly rain that threatened to tear a house and family apart. More recently, Hawkins wrote […]
Review: Crumbs from the Master’s Table, Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life, by Dan Nadel
Cartoonist Robert Crumb is, inarguably, a master of his craft. For 60 years he’s created a distinctive style and memorable characters, while inspiring generations of artists. He’s also a polarizing […]
Interview: Poet Temperance Aghamohammadi and Her Debut Collection, Battalion Shaped Girl
Last fall, I had the pleasure of organizing a poetry reading with local poets on celebrating transformation, the unknown, and the changing of the seasons. It was then when I […]
Review: The Fabric Closest to Our Skin, The Virtues of Underwear, by Nina Edwards
In Jane Russell’s first movie role in 1943, her bra was the star, even though it barely seemed to be there. The publicity posters for The Outlaw, directed by Howard […]
Review: Dissenters on a Sacred Mission, Making No Compromise, by Holly A. Baggett
Early in Making No Compromise, Holly A. Baggett asks how it was that two young Midwestern women from the late 19th-century American Midwest—uncloseted lesbians and lovers, at that—became the international […]
Review: Seeing Older Adults through a Literary Lens, Winter Dreams, by Barbara H. Rosenwein
Barbara H. Rosenwein’s Winter Dreams: A Historical Guide to Old Age is a deep dive into the feelings humanity has held towards older adults over the last two millennia—as seen through […]
The Journey Isn’t About the Destination for Lindsay Welbers’ Chicago Transit Hikes
I own a car (don’t tell anyone). I live a very car-free life and promote a car-free existence to the point that my children at the age of two were […]