Chicago -
By Rhyme Catchers
This is an experiment.
This year, for the first time ever, Catcher in the Rhyme (the University of Chicago’s Spoken Word student group) and the Reva and David Logan Center For the Arts are pleased to announce the first annual Chicago Grand Slam (CGS): A day-long poetry festival to be held on Sunday April 13, 2014, at the Logan Center on the University of Chicago campus.
Posted on February 7, 2014
Plus: The Staple Singers And Big Bill Broonzy
1. A New Staple Singers Biography Doesn’t Quite Take You There.
“Tribune critic Greg Kot follows the march toward freedom for a family of protest-music royalty – but gets lost along the way,” Aimie Levitt writes for the Reader.
2. George Pataki’s Daughter Now A Chicagoan, Author.
“Allison Pataki, daughter of the long-time New York governor, now is a Chicago resident and author,” Shia Kapos reports for Crain’s.
“Her historical novel, The Traitor’s Wife, is set in her home state and centers on the story of Benedict Arnold and his wife, a socialite who married the Revolutionary War hero and then persuaded him to team up with her former British lover to take control of West Point. Of course the ruse was discovered, but who knew Arnold had a wife?”
Posted on February 4, 2014
By Savannah Wood
“Black Ink Book Exchange is a pop-up library open for the exchange of books primarily by black authors, and about black culture. The project aims to create a space around books as a cultural currency, and consists of creative workshops, a reading lounge and book barter. The project will begin at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park this spring, and with support, will continue through the end of the summer in other South Side locations.
“This project will rely on your book donations. While the emphasis of the collection is on books by and about people of the African Diaspora, I am most interested in ‘good’ books – books that have shaped the way you see yourself and the world, or books that you always recommend to friends. I am willing to pick books up in the Chicago area. If you would like to donate to this exchange, please e-mail us at BlackInkBE@gmail.com.”
Posted on January 29, 2014
Plus: Rebuilding CPS Libraries
“It was 100 years ago when the passenger pigeon became extinct. WBBM’s Steve Miller spoke with a Chicago author who chronicled the disappearance of the species,” the station reports.
“It’s rare when we know when the last of a species died,” said Joel Greenberg.
“Joel Greenberg is the author of A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction.”
Click through for the interview.
Posted on January 23, 2014
Plus: Agate Eats Hot Doug’s, Hoosier Mama Pies & The Chicago Diner
1. Agate Eats.
The personalities behind three popular Chicago restaurants are coming together for a panel discussion on entrepreneurship, culinary innovation, and what it takes to be a successful start-up.
Join Doug Sohn of Hot Doug’s, Paula Haney of The Hoosier Mama Pie Company, and Kat Barry of the Chicago Diner as they sit down for a conversation with WBEZ’s Peter Sagal at the Harold Washington Library on January 15 at 6 pm.
In a city of standout restaurants, Hot Doug’s, Hoosier Mama, and the Chicago Diner have all earned devoted followings. Fans come from near and far seeking the unique blend of high-class craft with traditional American foods, be it gourmet sausages, artisanal pies, or meat-free diner fare. From finding the perfect market niche to day-to-day business practices, the resourceful entrepreneurs behind these eateries have innovated ways to keep growing their enthusiastic fan bases, locally and beyond.
The evening will include entertaining stories from the restaurants’ histories, a Q&A with the audience, as well as a book signing for each of their newly published books. This is a unique event bringing together leaders from three of Chicago’s favorite restaurants to discuss their stories and success.
Free, with books available for purchase.
Posted on January 8, 2014
Successor To Brooks, Sandburg
“A decade ago this month, Kevin Stein was chosen for a daunting task: following two Pulitzer Prize winners, Gwendolyn Brooks and Carl Sandburg, as the poet laureate of Illinois,” Caryn Rousseau reports for AP.
“Ten years later the Bradley University professor has put his own signature on a position that is unpaid but considered crucial to widening appreciation for the art form. He has created a state poetry website and donates money out of his own pocket to buy poetry books for libraries across the state.”
Posted on December 26, 2013
Narrated By Jon Langford
Now Biram, now Andre, now Hancock and Robbie; oh Cory, on Loveless, on JC and Bobby – Bare Jr. he meant.
Posted on December 18, 2013
Plus: LGBT Library Reopens & EFF’s List
“A few months ago, our Books Department was contacted by the Cook County Sheriff’s office,” Open Books says in its latest update.
“We were told that as part of their new Literacy and Education Initiative, the Department of Corrections wanted to create libraries throughout the 11 facilities of the county jail system, but they were having trouble acquiring enough books that were content-appropriate and in good condition.
“The largest single site pre-trial detention center in the U.S., the Cook County Department of Corrections houses about 9,000 inmates daily and admits approximately 100,000 people each year.
“The Sheriff’s office estimates that 65% of the inmates are functionally illiterate, which means they read at about a 7th-grade level or below.
“Up until now, inmates interested in reading had to rely on gifts of books from employees or families as there was no library within the system, aside from the legally-required law libraries.
“And that lack of access to books contributed to an ongoing problem: penal institution records show that the chance of inmates returning to prison drops to 16% if they receive literacy help, down from 70% if they do not.
Posted on December 17, 2013
Ben Affleck Aboard
“The most checked-out book from the Chicago Public Library this year was the thriller Gone Girl by Ukrainian Village-based author Gillian Flynn,” Kyla Gardner reports for DNAinfo Chicago.
Let’s take a look.
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“Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn, takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. As the Washington Post proclaimed, her work ‘draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.’ Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit with deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.”
Posted on December 16, 2013
Plus: Giving The Gifts Of Literacy, Life & Comics
1. Tolton Transforming Lives.
“At age 57, Tina Wellington is starting over,” Robert McCoppin writes for the Tribune.
“Growing up on Chicago’s West Side, Wellington only reached a fifth-grade reading level. In years past she got caught up in alcohol, drugs, prostitution and jail. Now she’s trying to turn her life around, hoping to work in child development and eventually run her own restaurant, with help from the Tolton Adult & Family Literacy Center.
“I’ve got a second chance,” she said. “It’s like being a child in an adult’s body. I’m excited to get to school.”
“As part of De La Salle Institute, a Catholic high school on the South Side, the Tolton Center specializes in turn-around stories like Wellington, people who have taken a wrong turn and are now trying to make up for it.”
Click through for the rest.
Posted on December 5, 2013
