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 […]
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 […]
T.J. Martinson’s debut novel, The Reign of the Kingfisher (Flatiron Books) came out March 5. Born in Kankakee, IL, and a current Bloomington, IN resident, he is currently pursuing a […]
Plenty of writers have mastered their craft, but few have fostered a genre. Howard Phillips Lovecraft—purveyor of pulp fictional cosmic terror—did both. Dying at age 46 on March 15, 1937, […]
What’s the status of art in state of the art video games? Do pixelated citizens have a sense of aesthetics? Will we find a Van Gogh or Basquiat skin among […]
Mary Gibbons, co-owner of Pilsen Community Books says her store had a bevy of books… Nay—a surfeit of books… Strike that—a profound profusion, if not potential plethora of books in storage, […]
I wish I could describe Edward McClelland in legendary terms—it would be so damned apropos. I’d tell you he’s as tall as a redwood, as strong as a herd […]
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 […]
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 […]
When former astronaut Captain Scott Kelly took his first flying test for the U.S. Navy, he nearly crashed when he landed. His instructor asked, “are you sure this is a […]
Two Countries: US Daughters & Sons of Immigrant Parents is a new anthology published by Red Hen Press. We sat down with the editor of the collection Tina Schumann to […]
CENSORED! We Read Banned Books, an ACLU benefit, will be an evening of readings by Chicago authors from their favorite banned books, sponsored by Third Coast Review and Kill Your Darlings Live Lit. Censored will […]