Spoon River America: Edgar Lee Masters and the Myth of the American Small Town By Jason Stacy University of Illinois Press It’s ironic that Spoon River Anthology—perhaps the most famous book about […]
Dark Black by Sam Weller Hat & Beard Press One of the opening paragraphs of Sam Weller’s short story “All the Summer Before Us” is this: “We were eighteen, me and Dave […]
Dr. Herbert West & Astounding Tales of Medical Malpractice By Bruce Brown and Thomas Boatwright Arcana Comics Howard Phillips Lovecraft was once a rare beast. Following a personal literary philosophy he called […]
Midwest Futures By Phil Christman Belt Publishing The Midwest is a deeply mysterious place to the coastal essayists, pundits, and politicians. Rarely visiting, save to write clunky closed factory and “Whither Main […]
Note: Jean K. Carney will discuss Blackbird Blues at the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore (5751 S Woodlawn Avenue) on Thursday, January 16, at 6 p.m. Blackbird Blues; by Jean K. Carney Bedazzled Ink Publishing […]
Saturday Night Sage by Noah C. Lekas Blind Owl Reviewed by Carr Harkrader In Noah Lekas’ new poetry collection, Saturday Night Sage, Buddha’s divine path is paved over with Wisconsin asphalt. Writing […]
The World of Juliette Kinzie: Chicago before the Fire Ann Durkin Keating University of Chicago Press, 280 pages, $27.50 When 27-year-old Juliette Kinzie settled with her husband John, the local Indian agent, […]
Chicago Treasure by Larry Broutman, Rich Green, and John Rabias Lake Claremont Press Is Chicago a fairy-tale city? Wait a minute. I’ve asked that before. But it’s a question worth revisiting, particularly […]
We’re slowly stumbling into another season; luckily this one precedes the glorious festival season. A duo of Chicago’s very own open the night with Claude and Sen Morimoto, each entertaining in their […]
Chicago has had its share of dynamic duos: Adler and Sullivan, Jordan and Pippen, Bozo and Cooky, Moo and Oink… Less dynamic and more demonic were Chicago killers Nathan Leopold and Richard […]
The National Veterans Art Museum presents Original Warrior, a powerful exhibition that displays the work of eleven Native American artists (eight who are military veterans) as they explore the complex issues between […]
One of my favorite games of all time is Castle Crashers. The satisfaction of beating the snot out of goons with over-the-top weapons and magic, and then using the experience and gold earned […]
