I’ve been working on a … play. Or an art installation. Or something perhaps uncategorizable. In any case, it’s been a lot of fun. Here’s a lovely, thoughtful review of our “silly, irony-soaked inversion of the traditional haunted house,” from Justin Hayford at the Chicago Reader. And here’s Third Coast Review critic Karin McKie on the … Continued
Belt’s latest is “Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology,” a lively grab bag of essays, fiction and poetry that reads at times like who’s who of contemporary Chicago writers/residents. … taking on topics as varied as reparations for police violence, the barflies of Pilsen and the “myth of toughness in Chicago sports.” What emerges is not … Continued
Many thanks to all who came out to the big Rust Belt Chicago launch party at Chicago’s Hideout! And if you couldn’t make it, no worries: in the coming weeks we have a flurry of additional events and media appearances. Read on for details, and be sure to check back for updates. August 19: Rust Belt Chicago editor Martha … Continued
Rust Belt Chicago, the anthology of essays, poetry, journalism, and short fiction that I’ve been working on for 18 months is now in the world and available for all your summer reading needs. If you’re in Chicago, come celebrate with us on Sunday, August 13 at the Hideout.
We’re bringing back A Memory Palace of Fear this fall — in bigger, better, and spookier form! — and more details on that will be available soon. But in the meantime, we’re dipping into the haunted well with a series of free workshops in West Side parks. I’ll be leading a guided storytelling process (ok, it’s … Continued
So, I’ve been reviewing books semiregularly for the Tribune for a few months now, and it’s nice to be back in a deadline-making, word-count-hitting groove. Thus far I’ve stuck mostly to the food beat, but with this latest I got to branch out into ecology — and I liked it. JB Mackinnon is a former … Continued
I’m on vacation but by the time a friend texted me this morning to see if I’d seen the news, I was already all over the latest devolution of the Charlie Trotter Story. You know the one I mean. The one in which he reportedly ordered some high school photography students to clean the toilets, … Continued
I’ve started reviewing books for the Tribune‘s (relatively) new lit supplement, Printers Row Journal. As a pretty package, Printer’s Row is only available to subscribers, but the reviews can be accessed through individual links – or at least that’s the impression I have. In any case! The first one, on Lucy Knisley‘s Relish, a sweet … Continued
Here’s a link to another recently published something: a review in Bookforum of James Ellroy’s new memoir, the Hilliker Curse. Subtitled “My Pursuit of Women,” it’s essentially that — a twisty travelogue through his romantic life. It’s not an easy ride, though there’s much to enjoy about it. And, interestingly, for all the torment love … Continued
“Some greenhouses grow vegetables. Some grow flowers. What grows at the two gleaming 2,500-square-foot greenhouses rising from a gray industrial district at South Canal Street and 14th Place is a bit more complex.” Really great story on the Greenhouses of Hope at PGM in this weekend’s Sunday Tribune Magazine. Though it does remind me how … Continued