Plus: Lindblom’s Plagiaree & Berwyn’s Mini Comic Con
“[Veronica Roth] penned her first bestselling novel Divergent while a senior at Northwestern University. It’s now premiering as an anticipated blockbuster of a film series, and she’s only 25.”
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From her Wikipedia entry:
“Roth was born in New York and was raised primarily in Barrington, Illinois. Her mother, Barbara Ross, is a painter who resides in Barrington. She is the youngest of three children. Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and her mother has since remarried to Frank Ross, a financial consultant for landscape companies. Her brother and sister live in the Chicago area.
“Her maternal grandparents were concentration camp survivors, whose religious convictions pushed mother Barbara Ross away from religion. Veronica Roth learned about the Christian religion by attending a Christian Bible study during her high school years, and has stayed with it.
“Roth graduated from Barrington High School. After attending a year of college at Carleton College, she transferred to Northwestern University for its creative writing program. She is married to photographer Nelson Fitch. They reside in the Chicago area.”
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Borelli/Trib: Veronica Roth: The Next Young Adult Superstar?
Killer Whale Fail
“A Chicago high school student whose commentary on killer whales was cribbed by state Sen. Greg Ball’s office in a piece of legislation will be coming to Albany for May 28’s Animal Awareness Day,” the Times Union in New York reports.
“The Times Union reported last month that Ball’s bill, which would outlaw the use of captive killer whales in sea parks in the state, included a ‘bill memo’ that borrowed text from two sources: Donald Rapier’s commentary on the topic, which ran on the Huffington Post, and a Los Angeles Times interview with the director of Blackfish, a documentary about a SeaWorld Orlando killer whale that killed one of its trainers.
Rapier is a junior at Lindblom Math and Science Academy.
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See also by Rapier: My Unfair Sense Of Academic Superiority.
Reel Artists
“Reel Art Collectibles, Chicagoland’s premier pop culture collectible store, and Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), are hosting an in-store appearance by some of Chicago’s internationally renown illustrators at Reel Art Collectibles in Berwyn,” a press release says.
“The artists will be at the store from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 22nd. All will have posters and examples of their work to buy and sign. They will be available to meet fans and available to sign books, comics, prints, posters and more.
LIST OF ATTENDING ARTISTS:
Gary Gianni – Gianni’s artwork has appeared in numerous magazines, children’s books, comic books and paperbacks. In 1997 he won The Eisner Award for Best Short Story, Heroes, in Batman: Black And White, for DC Comics. In 2004, he became the artist on the internationally syndicated comic strip Prince Valiant. 2013 saw the release of George R.R. Martin’s Songs of Ice and Fire Calendar 2014 (The book series that is the source of the HBO series Game of Thrones.)
Scott Gustafson – Over the nearly25 years that span his career, Gustafson has worked for many publishers including Celestial Seasonings, Playboy magazine, the Saturday Evening Post, The Bradford Exchange, Dreamworks and more. His book Classic Fairy Tales was awarded a Chesley award for best interior book illustrations from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.
Randy Broecker – Broecker’s acclaimed artwork has appeared in books published by many fantasy publishers. He is the author/compiler of the World Fantasy Award-nominated Fantasy of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History and co-author of Art of the Imagination: 20th Century Visions of Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy.
Hilary Barta – Barta has had a long comics career with more than 240 credits working as an inker at Marvel and DC Comics, as well as being a respected penciler and writer for a 1990s version of Plastic Man. He currently draws stories for Simpsons and SpongeBob Comics.
Doug Klauba – Klauba is an award-winning illustrator, noted for his new pulp cover art. His work is recognized for his dramatic use of lighting in a heroic-deco style influenced by pulp magazine art and retro movie poster illustration. Many have been included in the art annuals of Spectrum, the Society of Illustrators, and ImagineFX magazine.
Alex Wald – Wald is an artist whose resume includes an Eisner nomination for coloring Shaolin Cowboy, comic art for Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor and DC Comics’ “Big Book” series, English adaptations for Lone Wolf & Cub and Animaze Inc., color art for numerous publishers. He currently is art director for 1First Comics in Northbrook, Illinois.
Aaron Miller – Miller specializes in fantasy and science fiction art, and has done work for Wizards of the Coast, Fantasy Flight Games, and ImagineFX Magazine.
Rafael Nieves – Nieves began writing comics in 1987. His work for the Marvel comic book Bloodlines was nominated for two Eisner awards in 1993. Since then, he’s written a number of titles, including Hellstorm, Prince of Lies, The Phantom; Haunting Tales of Horrorbles and Bob Howard, Plumber of the Unknown, coming out this April from 1First Comics.
“Free tickets to C2E2 and all kinds of Free Stuff will be raffled.”
Sully & J.W.
“Chicago poets Dan ‘Sully’ Sullivan and J.W. Basilo will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, in a Society of Midland Authors event at the Cliff Dwellers Club,” the society says.
“A social hour with free appetizers and a cash bar begins at 6 p.m. No reservations are required for this free public event, held in celebration of National Poetry Month.
“Sullivan has appeared on HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, on National Public Radio and at the Green Mill Uptown Poetry Slam. He was the Chicago Mental Graffiti Poetry Slam Champion for 2003, 2004 and 2005, and a recipient of the 2003 Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Poetry Award.
“Sully is a member of the Speak’Easy Ensemble directed by Marc “So What!” Smith and makes up one half of the duo Death From Below. He is co-founder and sponsor of the Oak Park and River Forest High School’s Spoken Word Club. He recently released a poetry album and chapbook Because We Can’t Fight the Bulldozer Alone.
“Basilo is a writer, performer, humorist, musician and educator from Chicago whose work is equal parts poignant and perverse, hilarious and heart-wrenching.
“Basilo is a National and World Poetry Slam finalist, a PushCart Prize Nominee, one half of poetry-comedy duo Beard Fight (with Dan Sully), and an artist-in-residence at Real Talk Avenue.
“His work has appeared on NPR, CBS, WGN, in the Chicago Tribune, numerous literary journals and hundreds of theaters, dive bars, prisons, schools and comedy clubs.
“Basilo was recently named executive director of Chicago Slam Works, and is the co-host of the world-famous Uptown Poetry Slam at The Green Mill.”
Sandburg Saturday
“Carl Sandburg’s publication of ‘Chicago’ in Poetry magazine celebrates its 100th anniversary this March, and to celebrate, we’re welcoming library visitors to record the poem in our library’s listening booths and share their recordings with our SoundCloud community. On Saturday, the Poetry Foundation Library will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.”
Mother Dunbar
“On Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at at 3 p.m., a staged production of At Mother Dunbar’s Request, written by Paxton Williams, will feature over 30 Paul Laurence Dunbar poems as well as a number of Negro spirituals and works by Stephen Foster, Will Marion Cook, Frederic Chopin, Sir Edward Elgar and Robert Burns,” the Poetry Foundation says.
“This production shines a light on Dunbar’s humor, wit, and appreciation for the time in which he lived, and shows how relevant his works can be today, addressing as he did topics such as race relations, the criminal justice system, creativity and imagination, love, nature and religion.
Science At Schubas
“What if a microscope was a video camera? What would be the love stories, the dramas, the daily routines of the unseen?
“The Guild Literary Complex invites audiences to find out during Applied Words: Unseen Worlds on Wednesday, March 26, 7:30 p.m. at Schubas Tavern.
“Curator Stephanie Levi brings together four scientist-writers whose work delves into tiny universes: Jotham Austin II, Paul Gorski, Vojislav Pejovic, and Anne Yoder. This event is the second of a two-part Applied Words series that focuses on the intersections of technology, science, and literature.
“I am delighted to be curating this month’s Applied Words series,” states Levi, a cellular and molecular biologist, and founder of Science is Sexy. “The theme of Unseen Worlds stemmed from my experience as a microscopist. I was captivated by the images I saw, as well as the idea that there were worlds beyond what our naked eye is capable of visualizing. I’ve often thought about the secret lives of the objects and living things at the microscopic level.”
“Unseen Worlds will include a microscopy station where the audience can have a look into the microbial wilderness. The event is free, and open to all audiences ages 21 and older.”
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Comments welcome.
Posted on March 14, 2014