Cyrus Colter’s The Beach Umbrella

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

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…

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: October

Sunday, October 4, 2026

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.”…

A Conversation with Krystle Ratticus and Dmitry Samarov

Thursday, September 10, 2026

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…

The Last Catholic in America (and Subsequent Sequels)

Thursday, September 3, 2026

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,…

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: September

Sunday, August 30, 2026

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…

A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: August

Saturday, August 1, 2026

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…

Nelson Algren’s South Side Roots

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

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,…

Big Shoulders, Small Paychecks. Let’s Fix That.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

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…

Stanley Elkin [May 11, 1930-May 31, 1995]

Saturday, July 25, 2026

By Barry Pearce Stanley Elkin was a stylist of the highest rank, dazzling readers with highwire prose that kept them on the edge of their seats, white-knuckling books whose turns of phrase inspired thrills, chills, and deep unease. “Darkly comic” might be the most common label applied to…

Ronald L. Fair (1932–2018)

Friday, July 24, 2026

by Robert Loerzel “I can’t breathe” became a slogan for the Black Lives Matter movement, as protesters repeated the final words of Eric Garner, an African American killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by a New York City police officer. Half a century earlier, Chicago…