Hey there. Hope all is well with you. Mark your calendar for Book Fort's winter Pop Up Book Fair presented by Curbside Splendor, which will be held Sunday, November 8th, from 1:00 to 6:00 pm at Empty Bottle (1035 N Western). This is a great event and always a lot of fun. You get to support Chicago's literary talents and enjoy a tasty beverage (I've heard the Bloody Marys are great). There may still be spaces available for exhibitors -- contact Catherine Eves (catherine … [Read more...]
Puckered and blurred
Sometimes I come across things that aren’t necessarily solace-y but I want to share anyway. They amuse me somehow. Such is the case with a definition I came across. It’s from the article “Why It Pays to Be a Jerk” written by Jerry Useem in the latest (vol. 315, no. 5) issue of The Atlantic. The lengthy article considers all the facets of success, jerkiness, and niceness. I was particularly happy to read a specific citation, which quotes Aaron James from his 2012 book, … [Read more...]
Literary wanderings
Here’s where my literary curiosity has taken me lately. First, I’ve been reading some of the Lord Peter Whimsey books Dorothy L. Sayers. They’re like delicious candy but then amongst the sweet something sour and bitter surfaces, and that is the racial and religious epithets used in those days (1920s and 1930s). In one way I think it’s great we don’t use those words any more, but then I remember the Redskins. The new U.S. Poet Laureate, Charles Wright did an interview … [Read more...]
Geniuses over Nameless Creek — more news about contributors
Reader Peter Christie sent me notice that T. C. Boyle was interviewed in the Small Talk column of Financial Times, a publication I do not usually read. Thanks Peter! The May Atlantic Monthly explores How Genius Works, and T. C. Boyle shares a page from his draft of The Tortilla Curtain. Dennis Saleh has ten pages of poetry in Little Star 2, and is in the Hotel Amerika "Aphorisms" issue. Other new work is forthcoming in Chautauqua, Illuminations, and Poem. Later this … [Read more...]