Howdy! Hope you visited your polling place or have plans to do so today. How lucky we are to live in a country where we have a vote–don’t let it go to waste.
This weekend I learned about two great literary things in Chicago.
The first is Open Books, which has West Loop and Pilsen locations. The organization collects and then re-sells used books in its bookstores to fund the various writing programs and workshops it hosts for Chicago youth.
Are you spring cleaning? Consider donating your books to Open Books. I’m sure the organization would also be open to donations of your money and/or your time.
The other literary thing I re-discovered this weekend was the vibrancy of young writers and their work. I attended one of the semi-final matches of Louder than a Bomb in which teen-aged poets perform slam poetry. It is a program sponsored by the Young Chicago Writers organization. The poems were all pretty serious and examined racism, sexism, gun violence, terrorism, absent fathers, rape, and gender issues. It heartened me to hear these young voices tackling such important subjects.
That’s all I have to share for now. Hope you are making big plans to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Peace, love, and solace
