Posts Categorized: Chi Lit

Studs Terkel Festival: Anthology of Chicago & 1,001 Chicago Afternoons Unite!

Posted by & filed under Chi Lit, News.

Lets Get Working_title illustration_by Illustrated Press

I’m teaming up with the wonderful Paul Dailing of 1,001 Chicago Afternoons, in a reprise of last year’s Chi Lit event, to curate a reading of neighborhood poetry and stories for UChicago’s Studs Terkel Let’s Get Working festival. We’ll have Kush Thompson, Malcolm London, Jim Padar, Lily Be, and Kimberly Dixon-Mays reading pieces about Austin, the Near West Side, Humboldt Park, and Hyde Park. It’s going to slay, in the parlance. Mark it down: Saturday, May 10th at 2 pm, in UChicago’s Logan Center (915 E. 60th Street). And check out the other events of the festival: it’s packed full of 3 days awesomeness.

Below is a post I wrote for the festival blog explaining the origins and philosophy behind the Anthology of Chicago project. Enjoy.

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Chi Lit Wrap-up

Posted by & filed under Chi Lit, News, Press.

On August 13th, we packed Cole’s for Chi Lit: Tales of the Neighborhoods. With a raffle that included a first edition of Nelson Algren’s “The Neon Wilderness” and a bottle of Jeppson’s Malort [that went to a first-time Malort drinker, no less], we raised $628 for youth literacy programs at Open Books!

1,001 Chicago Afternoons gave a characteristically wonderful summary of the event.

Rachel Hoffman took some great photos of the first half.

Sei Jin Lee generously recorded all of the performers [go to sidebar/search “Chi Lit” to find all the videos].

The Chicago Reader wrote a nice article before the event. We also received press coverage from Gapers Block and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Anthology of Chicago is accepting submissions until September 30th for Bronzeville and Logan Square. If you’d like to stay apprised of more events like Chi Lit, or be notified of new neighborhoods opening for submission, you can: follow us @AnthologyofChi, like us on Facebook, and get on our mailing list.

Chi Lit: Tales of the Neighborhoods reading

Posted by & filed under Chi Lit, News.

 

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Exciting news: Anthology of Chicago is co-hosting an 8/13 reading titled “Chi Lit: Tales of the Neighborhoods” with 1,001 Chicago Afternoons, another fantastic local lit project. Read on:

At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, writers, poets, storytellers, historians, and journalists from across Chicago will gather at Cole’s Bar, 2338 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Logan Square for a reading themed around Chicago’s heart and soul: its neighborhoods.

From Hyde Park poems to wild-but-true stories of Rogers Park, Chi Lit will tell the story of the city through its component parts. The event will benefit Open Books’ youth literacy programs.

Scheduled readers include:

  • -Bill Savage, writer and Chicago literary scholar, on Rogers Park
  • -Dmitry Samarov, author of “Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab,” on Beverly
  • -Shannon Cason, storyteller with The Moth and NPR’s Snap Judgment, on Bronzeville
  • -Kimberly Dixon-Mays, poet and audience strategist, on Hyde Park
  • -Paul Durica, founder of Pocket Guide to Hell tours and reenactments, on Pilsen
  • -Robert Loerzel, author of “Alchemy of Bones,” on Lakeview
  • -Sarah Gonzalez, co-founder of Brown and Proud Press, Xicana poet, and educator, on Pilsen
  • -Molly Meacham, Chicago Public Schools teacher, on Roscoe Village
  • -Melanie LaForce, sporadic writer of Internet essays, on Logan Square

Hosted by Rachel Hyman of Anthology of Chicago and Paul Dailing of 1,001 Chicago Afternoons.

The event is free, with a portion of the bar and a proceeds from a raffle going to Open Books. Visit tinyurl.com/ChiReading for more information.