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Willard Motley’s Knock on Any Door

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

by Dmitry Samarov Willard Motley (June 14, 1909–March 4, 1965) used to be read by many. He grew up in a middle-class African-American household in the then primarily-white neighborhood of Englewood in Chicago. The prominent painter Archibald Motley was his uncle, cousin, or brother (according…

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A Look Ahead A Look Ahead

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: April

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

by Allison Manley Were you at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference last month? I wasn’t! Although I’m jealous of everyone who enjoyed their time in LA, I attended some interesting lit events in Chicago in March. William Brashler stopped by the Music Box…

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Writuals Writuals

Maggie Andersen

Friday, March 28, 2025

By Jasminum McMullen Writuals explores how our city’s rich literary heritage, cultural diversity, and iconic spaces inspire routines that fuel local authors’ work.   Maggie Andersen has published in the Coal Hill Review, CutBank, Grain, Southern California Review, Knee-Jerk,…

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Sip With Scribes

Friday, February 28, 2025

by Ugochi Nwaogwugwu Colvin House's chandelier. (Photo by Don Seeley). Imagine stepping into a 16-room art deco mansion and being greeted by a hostess who hands you a glass of sweet spirits. She then leads you into a room where history lives, leaping off the pages of works inspired by a…

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A Look Ahead A Look Ahead

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: March

Thursday, February 27, 2025

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: March by Allison Manley February was busy, both for me as well as the broader lit community in Chicago. We saw not one, not two, but THREE Chicagoans whose short story collections were longlisted for the Story Prize (Amina Gautier for The Best That You Can Do, Abby Geni…

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Donna Seaman’s River of Books Recounts a Lifelong Journey to Understanding the World

Thursday, February 27, 2025

by Michael Antman Why live in only one world — a difficult and disappointing one at that — when we can live in two, especially when that parallel world is better, or more illuminating, or at least more transfixing, than our dull quotidian existence? That’s the question posed by the…

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Writuals Writuals

K E Garland

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

By Jasminum McMullen Writuals explores how our city’s rich literary heritage, cultural diversity, and iconic spaces inspire routines that fuel local authors’ work.   K E Garland is an award-winning creative nonfiction writer and blogger. She writes to demarginalize women's…

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A Raisin in the Sun Revival at Court Theatre Gets Standing Ovation

Friday, February 21, 2025

Theatre Review by Jasminum McMullen All Photos Credit: Michael Brosilow It was a brisk Saturday evening in Chiberia when I arrived at Court Theatre to see Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, a play my English teachers brought into my life over the years that still sticks with me because…

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Division Street Revisited Podcast Launches at Winter Garden

Friday, January 31, 2025

by Donald G. Evans When you observe the Harold Washington Library’s monstrous dome from street level, or even above, it strikes you, in the context of all those green Great Horned Owls, as a bit odd. Standing in the Winter Garden, where the dome serves as a glass ceiling, you understand. The…

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A Look Ahead A Look Ahead

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: February

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

by Allison Manley I’m writing this post in January on one of those days when it’s colder in Chicago than in Antarctica. But the frost hasn’t deterred me, or our local lit lovers, from enjoying the events our city has to offer. In January, I stopped by the Feminists Creatives…

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