By Joy Heard
Drastically snatched from my reality, my golden ray of sunshine died. Father told me this was just the way the world worked.
Posted on March 28, 2013
Local Book Notes: Bullies And Book Bans
Plus: Zines And Scenes
Over the transom.
1. “Books about bullying, for youngsters and adults, are now so numerous they are a genre in themselves.”
Slow train coming . . . here’s a 1998 Steve Rhodes USA Weekend story about “bullyproofing” at a Colorado school.
Posted on March 27, 2013
Local Book Notes: The Boxcar Kid Of Oak Forest, Poetry As Comedy & Bridgeport Billy
Chicago Voices, Chicago Stories
Over the transom.
1. Oak Forest 9-Year-Old Wins Voice Part In Animated Film of The Boxcar Children.
Olivia Bell, a third-grader at Trinity Lutheran School in Tinley Park and resident of Oak Forest, will voice a small part in the upcoming animated adaptation of the classic book The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
The contest, run by the publisher of the series Albert Whitman & Company (Park Ridge, IL), took place in Fall 2012 to celebrate both the new film and the 70th Anniversary of the series.
The taping will take place on Thursday, March 21 in the Carol Stream studios of Oasis Audio, the publisher of the audio versions of many of the books in The Boxcar Children Mysteries books.
The director of the film, Mark Dippe, from Hammerhead Production, will direct Olivia in the role via phone.
Eh. Sounds a little gimmicky. But here’s the Wikpedia entry for The Boxcar Children.
Posted on March 20, 2013
Meet Poet Marie Ponsot
On Hallmark, Hip-Hop And Her Work
The Chicago-based Poetry Foundation announced Monday that it was awarding Marie Ponsot its 2013 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.
Here she is in action.
Posted on March 19, 2013
Zine-O-Rama
A Fest, A Snow Home And A Long-Arm Stapler
In two-and-a-half to three parts.
1. Chicago Zine Fest 2013.
Posted on March 18, 2013
Louder Than A Bomb 2013
By Bader TV
“Listen up! Teen poets from the Windy City grabbed the microphone and told the stories of their lives at the 13th annual Louder Than a Bomb – Return to the Craft (LTAB) Chicago Youth Poetry Festival at the Cadillac Palace Theater. Winners were selected from individual and team categories.
“LTAB, which is the world’s largest youth poetry festival, was founded in 2001 by Kevin Coval, and Anna West in collaboration with Young Chicago Authors. LTAB was created to give Chicago city youth a platform to share their stories.
“The festival has since become a ‘bridge’ for young people from diverse backgrounds to come together and find a common ground through their narratives.
“LTAB poets often incorporate themes of empathy, love, and forgiveness in their work to reconcile difficulties in their lives and relationships.
“LTAB is a friendly competition that emphasizes self-expression and community via poetry, oral storytelling, and hip-hop spoken word for young people from all neighborhoods, socio-economic statuses, race and culture to come together and understand one another.
“LTAB 2013 featured more than 900 students from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. For the high-school student slam segments – a tournament competition pitted teams in two preliminary matches before the winning teams went against each other in the semifinal and final rounds. One hundred and ten teams (110) contended for four spots in the final team round.”
Posted on March 15, 2013
Local Book Notes: Quarry Farm & The Graveyard Of Empires
Plus: The Soul Of Public Education And A Path To Library Amnesty
Over the transom.
1. “Larry Howe is counting the days until he returns to Quarry Farm,” writes the Star-Gazette of Elmira, New York.
“The American literature professor and Mark Twain scholar at Roosevelt University in Chicago stayed for five days in October at Twain’s summer residence, and he’s coming back for the month of July so he can research and finish his second book on Twain, tentatively titled Mark Twain in America’s Ownership Society.”
Posted on March 12, 2013
The Polaris Peacekeepers Of Chicago Book Project
By The 7th-Graders Of Polaris Charter Academy
“This is a video created for Indiegogo as a way to help fund our school’s 7th-grade project.
Posted on March 11, 2013
Local Book Notes: Shooting, Bullying & Spitballing
Plus: The Death Of Books And Journalese
Over the transom.
1. American Shooter.
“Arlington Heights author Gerry Souter will discuss his book American Shooter: A Personal History of Gun Culture in the United States, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, in a Society of Midland Authors program at the Harold Washington Library Center.
“In the book, Souter takes a personal look at gun ownership, handgun bans, shooting sports and the controversy over how to interpret the Second Amendment, writing from the point of view of a liberal gun owner and enthusiast.
Posted on March 6, 2013
The Chambers Report: Tony La Russa & The Art Of The Cliché
By Robert Chambers
Near the end of Bull Durham, the greatest sports movie ever made, career minor-league catcher Crash Davis (played convincingly by Kevin Costner) famously offers immature superstar-in-the-making pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (played convincingly by Tim Robbins) essential advice about handling media interviews:
Posted on March 1, 2013