Chicago history, Chicago history, Lit, Nonfiction

Review: Washington, Daley, and Three Other Mayors, Chicago’s Modern Mayors, edited by Dick Simpson and Betty O’Shaughnessy

Chicago’s Modern Mayors, edited by Dick Simpson and Betty O’Shaughnessy, covers a 40-year period during which Chicago, its people, and its region went through great changes under a succession of […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Fiction, Lit, Reviews

Review: Kells: A Novel of the Eighth Century, by Amy Crider

At an early point in the story, one of the central characters, Connachtach, is left to contemplate the question “What does God want of me?” It’s a deep question, and […]

Adam Prestigiacomo /
Chicago history, Events, Food, Lit, Live lit events, Nonfiction, Recipes

Review: Consuming My Religion: Holy Food, by Christina Ward

No matter how busy they were creating the universe, some gods always found time to lay down the law on what their worshippers should eat. Diets and deities have a […]

Dan Kelly /
Chicago history, Chicago history, Children's books, Essays, Event, Lit, Live lit events, Nonfiction, Poetry

Printers Row on Saturday: A Celebration of Community

Near the end of Saturday at this year’s Printers Row Lit Fest, an 80-year-old Italian painter from the North Shore told me she’s going to have a huge party if […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Fiction, Interviews, Lit, Previews

Interview: Kathleen Rooney on Silent Film Stars, Fairies, and Her New Book From Dust to Stardust

I first encountered Chicago author Kathleen Rooney years ago at The Neo-Futurists’ funky New Year’s Eve bash, where her collective Poems While You Wait was delightfully typing up custom poetry […]

Elizabeth Niarchos Neukirch /
Chicago history, Lit, Nonfiction

Review: Fighting for the Marginalized, Ed Marciniak’s City and Church: A Voice of Conscience, by Charles Shanabruch

In late 1972, Ed Marciniak, a perennial social critic and justice activist, became president of the Institute of Urban Life, a small program affiliated with Loyola University Chicago. He had just […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Events, Fiction, Interviews, Lit, Live lit events

Toya Wolfe’s Last Summer on State Street Wins $25,000 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award

Most readers are familiar with the more prestigious annual book prizes out there, among them the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the PEN America Literary Awards. A new […]

Elizabeth Niarchos Neukirch /
Comics and Graphic Novels, Lit

Review: Girl’s Night on Earth: Girl in the World, by Caroline Cash

Young adulthood is a creative propellant for comics. Halfway between childhood and middle age, it’s a period rich in discovery, risk, embarrassment, and bliss. All powered by infuriatingly perfect health, […]

Dan Kelly /
Chicago history, Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

Review: Gotta Get Organizized—Occupation: Organizer, by Clément Petitjean

Author Clément Petitjean asserts early on in his new book, Occupation: Organizer, that the role of a “community organizer” is multifaceted and warrants a comprehensive reassessment. While the general public […]

Adam Prestigiacomo /
Chicago history, Lit, Nonfiction

Review: Democracy from the Inside and Outside, Democracy’s Rebirth: The View from Chicago, by Dick Simpson

Dick Simpson is one of those rare political scientists who has also been a politician. He knows how the sausage is made, even if there is much he doesn’t like about […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Beyond, Event

Preview: The C2E2 2023 Choose Your Own Adventure

It’s Spring Break time, which means while some are heading to balmier locales for drinking contests and poolside tanning, there’s a different contingent of nerds and pop culture fans headed […]

Marielle Bokor /
Chicago history, Children's books, Essays, Fiction, Lists, Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

2022 in Review: A Lit Retrospective

What was 2022 like in the world of Chicago, Illinois, and Midwest letters? I’ve asked the Lit section writers to share their favorite reviews and stories of the past year. […]

Dan Kelly /