By K. Flay

“Imagine you are really good at drawing and also really good at capturing the essence of things like unrealized dreams, debilitating self-consciousness, awkward sex, existential honeybees & missing limbs,” writes K. Flay on this YouTube upload.
“And then imagine you decided to make an unconventional graphic novel consisting of 14 separate narrative components, all of which told a different part of a big story.
“And then imagine you titled it Building Stories, partially because the stories center on a single building in Chicago, partially because the reader must literally build the story out of the different components.
“And then imagine your name was Chris Ware and that yours truly, Fristine Klaherty read it.”

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Posted on December 10, 2012

Freshly Toasted On December 9th

In conjunction with Chicago Writers House and The Chicagoan, Curbside Splendor Publishing presents:
A POP-UP BOOK FAIR!
Chicago’s finest independent publishers will be on hand hocking their goods. Quimby’s Bookstore will also stock a table with a selection of books/zines penned by Chicagoans. The bar will be open so grab a cocktail and listen to live music all afternoon as you ogle some books and satiate your bibliophiliac needs!

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Posted on December 6, 2012

Historic Leaps

Over the transom.
1. New Book Examines The History Of The Gay Press And Its Contribution To Gay Rights.
“As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals became more visible in the 1950s and 1960s, the mainstream media perpetuated the attitude that they were mentally ill and morally depraved queers, freaks, degenerates, perverts, misfits, and even threats to national security. In many cities, the police raided gay bars, harassing and arresting patrons.

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Posted on December 5, 2012

By Tuesday Funk

Come kick off the holiday season in style with your friends at Tuesday Funk, Chicago’s eclectic reading series where good writing and good beer mix!
We’re pleased to present the first in a series of readings featuring authors from the new 2nd Story essay anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck.
Julia Borcherts and [former Beachwood White Sox Report correspondent] Andrew Reilly will be on hand to read their contributions, and we’ll also have Maggie Kast, Stephen Markley, and Jodi Eichelberger with us. Throw in one of our patented Poems by Bill, not to mention your pick of cold beers from around the world, and you have the recipe for a fantastic hour or two of live literature.

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Posted on December 4, 2012