Interview: Feeling Beatific—Jerry Cimino of the Beat Museum/Beatmobile
Jerry and Estelle Cimino are on the road, spreading the Beat Gospel to the world. As founders of the Beat Museum in San Francisco, they’ve made a mission of keeping […]
Interview: Tim Samuelson and the Intangible of History
When Timothy Samuelson stood in the center of his windowless, crowded studio, surrounded by gorgeous artifacts of the past, I thought he might break into song. “Nothing in here doesn’t […]
Interview: Hearts Beat Still—Maggie Schmieder, Author of Hopeful Hearts in Highland Park
Hopeful Hearts in Highland Park is author Maggie Duplace Schmieder’s attempt to make sense out of something senseless. She and her family attended the Highland Park Independence Day parade this […]
Essay: Walking Graceland Cemetery with—and Without—Adam Selzer’s New Book
Near the end of my hourlong walk around Graceland Cemetery the other day, I went past a stone obelisk, maybe 30 feet tall, and noticed this on the side: SANDRA […]
Review: The Seed-Germ King: Louis Sullivan’s Idea, by Tim Samuelson and Chris Ware
Louis Sullivan’s Idea, a biography of the 19th century Chicago architect, by Chicago’s first cultural historian Timothy Samuelson, is, in the most literal sense of the word, a beautiful book. […]
Review: All Those People, All Those Lives, Where Are They Now?, Graceland Cemetery, by Adam Selzer
Chicago is young. Compared with the large cities of Africa, Asia, and Europe—hell, compared with the Native American metropolis that occupied the Cahokia Mounds—Chicago is a mere toddler of 189 […]
Review: Talkin’ about Early Bob Dylan, The Dylan Tapes
Bob Dylan is having a bit of a late-career cultural moment. His most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, was released in June 2019, and the featured single, “Murder Most […]
Review: Flight of the Rondone: High School Dropout vs. Big Pharma: The Fight to Save My Son’s Life, by Patrick Girondi
Flight of the Rondone: High School Dropout vs. Big Pharma: The Fight To Save My Son’s Life (the memoir so meandering they named it thrice), by Patrick Girondi, poses several […]
Review: Open Heart Chicago: An Anthology of Chicago Writing, Edited by Vincent Francone
One of the many gifts of Vincent Francone’s new anthology of Chicago stories, Open Heart Chicago, is learning what it’s like to wander around Marquette Park while tripping on acid. […]
Review: Days of Wine and Roses—My Amy: The Life We Shared by Tyler James
My Amy: The Life We Shared by Tyler James Chicago Review Press Authors who write about their lives with dead celebrities must sincerely and comprehensively answer a question that fantasy […]
Review: Eating Cheap Without Eating Poorly, The Poorcraft Cookbook
The Poorcraft Cookbook By Nero Villagallos O’Reilly Iron Circus Comics If there’s one thing old people know it’s that young people are dumb. Selective amnesia makes each generation’s youth-haters forget […]
Review: A Glimpse into a Very Different Culture, Rig Veda Americanus, edited by Daniel G. Brinton
Rig Veda Americanus: Sacred Songs of the Ancient Mexicans Edited with a paraphrase, notes and vocabulary by Daniel G. Brinton Amika Press If you pick up a copy of Daniel […]