Black Lives, Redlines and Shared Tales

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

By Randall Albers Recent events have rendered our nation’s history of racism highly visible—once again. Of course, for those families losing loved ones in Chicago and elsewhere, and for those who daily walk the streets fearing violence, the pain of racism is and always has been a…

You Should Really Buy Joe Meno’s New Book

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

By Donald G. Evans Joe Meno quietly, relentless produces literature of dazzling variety and ferocity. Big, important novels. Serial comic strips. Anthologies. Pop culture explorations. Experimental stories. Plays. Even a musical. He often—I’m not kidding, often—gets compared…

Inside For Indies

Thursday, May 28, 2020

By Donald G. Evans When you hear the phrase, “How the sausage is made,” it’s usually in the vicinity of another phrase: “You don’t want to know.” The insinuation is that it’s messy, unsanitary, and the organs that get ground together would appall us. With…

#GlobalGwen

Friday, May 1, 2020

By Donald G. Evans Literary prizes mean something only when they come from a place of absolute integrity. The Pulitzer Prize started to mean something 70 years ago today when Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black author to capture the prize. This was 1950 and the collection was Annie Allen. It…

Our Independent Bookstores Are in Trouble

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

By Donald G. Evans It’s HARD to make a living selling books. The behemoth companies like Amazon do what they do based on volume, millions and millions and millions of little profits that add up to a lot. It’s a nameless, faceless, bottom-line approach that results, for us, in cheaper…

Tribute to Herman “Hache” (H.G.) Carrillo

Friday, April 24, 2020

by Anne Calcagno Herman “Hache” (H.G.) Carrillo lived and worked throughout the eighties and nineties in Chicago. His multiply-awarded, thematically ambitious and linguistically inventive novel Loosing My Espanish, published in 2004 (Pantheon Books), is pinioned in a Chicago…

Frank London Brown, Jeannette Howard Foster, Gene Wolfe, and Carlos Cortez To Be Inducted into CLHOF

Thursday, April 16, 2020

by Donald G. Evans The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s 2019 class is now official, and Gene Wolfe, Frank London Brown, Carlos Cortez, and Jeannette Howard Foster have been selected to join the ranks of our city’s finest writers. This will be the 10th CLHOF class. The induction ceremony…

Supporting Independent Bookstores in Chicago

Thursday, April 2, 2020

By Allison Manley The Chicago literary community thrives on its independent bookstores. At independent bookstores, you can attend readings and events featuring Chicago authors as well as authors from around the world. You can meet other book lovers and make lifelong friends. You can discover…

What Do You Mean There’s Nothing to Do?

Monday, March 23, 2020

By Donald G. Evans Chicago’s literary community stands as one of the most productive and supportive in the entire world, and they prove it each and every day, including and maybe most importantly during times of crisis. Here is quick rundown of a few initiatives I’ve stumbled…

Program Set for CLHOF’s 5th Annual Induction Ceremony

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Scholars, Artists and Family to be Present What: CLHOF's 5th Annual Induction Ceremony When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014, 7–9 p.m. Where: Roosevelt University's Ganz Hall, 430 S. Michigan Ave., 7th Floor How: Register to Ensure Your Seating PROGRAM Rick Kogan — Opening Remarks Herbert…