by Donald G. Evans Robert Loerzel’s ascent to the ranks of Chicago’s best historians and journalists, especially regarding the Uptown neighborhood, happened for the usual, easily understandable, reason: cheap rent. He was born in Alaska, then moved to Illinois when he was nine. He…

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by Michael Antman Cyrus Colter was a Chicago novelist and short story writer, now grievously overlooked, who had something vital in common with fellow writers T.S. Eliot, Franz Kafka, Wallace Stevens and Anton Chekhov. All abjured academia and the publishing racket, making their livelihoods in…

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by Kayleigh McNamara   "There between the curtains was the October night, calm and lovely, with a star or two caught in the yellowing trees.”  —Virginia Woolf   The air is growing crisp and, in the words of Nelson Algren, “Chicago is an October sort of city.”…

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by Donald G. Evans Krystle Ratticus paints and writes and, like most serious artists, makes her living in other ways. She works at a record store now, but has spent lots of time as a short order cook, a barista, and a server. She worked for a long time in retail at American Science & Surplus…

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By Analise Budziak In 1981, author John R. Powers recounted a childhood memory to Chicago Tribune reporter Clifford Terry: “When I was in third grade, a nun walked up behind me and caught me making a sarcastic remark to a fellow student. She slapped me on the back of the head and said,…

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by Kayleigh McNamara   "It was a lovely afternoon—such an afternoon as only September can produce when summer has stolen back for one more day of dream and glamour.”   —L. M. Montgomery    As we enjoy these last few golden drops of summer, don’t…

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By Kayleigh McNamara   "August rain: the best of summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”  —Sylvia Plath   August rain indeed. If you’re looking to hide indoors from all these summer storms, read on to learn about some of Chicago’s…

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by John Lillig Chicago author Nelson Algren (1909-1981) is usually associated with the north side neighborhoods of Bucktown and Wicker Park, where he lived during the mid-20th Century (first at 1523 W. Wabansia and later at 1958 W. Evergreen) and where much of his fiction is set.  However,…

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by Sharon Woodhouse The data is damning, the history is inspiring, and the conversation is overdue. The time to build an economically vibrant literary eco-system is now. Carl Sandburg called Chicago “Hog Butcher to the World” and we swaggered to match, didn’t blush. He carved out…

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