Plus: The Beauty And Decay Of Pilsen
Over the transom and through the news.
1. LTAB15.
“Chance the Rapper, a Chicago native and an alumnus of Young Chicago Authors’ workshops and performer at 2012’s festival, will appear during half-time of the Team Finals at the Arie Crown on March 28.”
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March 1st benefit celebrating LTAB’s 15th anniversary:
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Previously:
* Louder Than A Bomb 2014.
* Louder Than A Bomb 2013.
* Louder Than A Bomb 2012 – Response To Chicago’s Cultural Plan.
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2. Poetry Out Loud 2015.
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3. A Pilsen voice.
“Alexai Galaviz-Budziszewski, a native of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, will read from his debut story collection, Painted Cities, at 5 p.m. Monday, March 23 in Room 700 of Roosevelt University’s Gage Building, 18 S. Michigan Ave.
“Published in 2014, Painted Cities captures Galviz-Budziszewski’s recollections of life growing up in Pilsen, including memories of gangs, violence, poverty and intense family relationships.
“A resident of Berwyn and a counselor to high school students in Chicago’s western suburbs, Galaviz-Budziszewski has been called ‘a young writer with genuine voice’ by well-known Chicago writer Stuart Dybek and the Chicago Reader has described his work as ‘a moving, nuanced portrayal of how a neighborhood shapes people.’
“Free and open to the public, the reading is part of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program’s Spring Reading Series and is co-sponsored by Roosevelt’s literary magazine, Oyez Review, and the University’s Department of Literature and Languages.
“A reception for Galaviz-Budziszewski will be held immediately preceding the reading at 4:30 p.m.”
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4. Society of Midland Authors Turns 100.
The press release:
The Society of Midland Authors will mark its 100th birthday at an awards banquet on May 1 and a free public literary celebration on May 2 in Chicago.
MAY 1 AWARDS BANQUET
On Friday, May 1, the Society of Midland Authors will celebrate its annual awards banquet – honoring the best 2014 books by Midwestern authors – at the Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan Ave., 22nd floor, with a 6 p.m. cocktail hour and a 7 p.m. dinner, followed by the awards presentation.
Tickets to the awards banquet are $75 can be purchased with a check or through PayPal at www.midlandauthors.com.
MAY 2 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
On Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Society of Midland Authors celebrates its centennial with a day of literary speakers and panel discussions at University Center, 525 S. State St.. Members of the Society will be selling their books throughout the day. Admission is free. The public is welcome. The schedule of speakers includes:
10 a.m.: Introductory ceremonies
10:15 a.m.: Carla Knorowski, CEO of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, presents the new book Gettysburg Replies: The World Responds to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, together with essayists who contributed to the book.
11 a.m.: Rick Kogan, longtime Chicago Tribune journalist.
11:30 a.m.: Haki Madhubuti, poet and publisher of Third World Press.
1 p.m.: Harry Mark Petrakis, author of Pericles on 31st Street.
1:15 p.m.: Edward Burke, author, alderman of Chicago’s 14th Ward and chairman of the Committee on Finance.
2 p.m.: A conversation between Steve Bogira (Chicago Reader reporter and author of Courtroom 302) and Jonathan Eig (The Birth of the Pill, Get Capone).
2:30 p.m.: Martin Marty, noted University of Chicago scholar on the history of religion.
3 p.m.: A conversation between children’s authors Blue Balliett (Chasing Vermeer) and Ilene Cooper (Jack: The Early Years of John F. Kennedy)
3:30 p.m.: Uptown Poetry Slam founder Marc Kelly Smith.
4 p.m.: A panel discussion with novelists Christine Sneed (Little Known Facts), Carol Anshaw (Aquamarine) and Rosellen Brown (Before and After).
The day will also include short tributes to noteworthy authors from the Society’s history.
ABOUT THE SOCIETY OF MIDLAND AUTHORS
The Society of Midland Authors was founded on April 24, 1915, by a group of authors including Harriet Monroe, Vachel Lindsay, Edna Ferber, Clarence Darrow, Hamlin Garland, George Ade, William Allen White and James Whitcomb Riley. Their goals included creating “a closer association among the writers of the Middle West” and “the stimulation of creative literary effort.”
A century later, the nonprofit group includes about 300 authors from 12 Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Noteworthy Society members over the past 100 years include Jane Addams, Edgar Lee Masters, John T. McCutcheon, Ring Lardner, Sherwood Anderson, Nelson Algren, Gwendolyn Brooks, Willard Motley, Studs Terkel, Carl Sandburg and Leon Forrest.
The Society has given out annual awards since 1957. The juried competition is open to authors who live in, were born in, or have strong ties to the region. Notable winners have included Saul Bellow, Kurt Vonnegut, Studs Terkel, Gwendolyn Brooks, Mike Royko, Jane Smiley, Dempsey Travis, Leon Forrest, William Maxwell, Louise Erdrich, Scott Turow, Alex Kotlowitz, Aleksandar Hemon, Stuart Dybek, Harry Mark Petrakis and Roger Ebert.
The Society of Midland Authors sponsors literary events, which are free and open to the public, at venues such as the Chicago Public Library’s Harold Washington Library Center and the Cliff Dwellers Club.
A Chicago City Council resolution has proclaimed April 24 to May 2 “Society of Midland Authors Centennial Days in Chicago.”
To learn more about the group visit midlandauthors.com.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on March 20, 2015