by Richae Mastrolonardo  When I log on to Zoom, it’s a Saturday morning, and I’m instantly greeted by enthusiastic questions from Mark Fishbein: “Tell me about you, what are you studying?” In an online world, it can feel hard to forge any kind of real connection, but…

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by Donald G. Evans Director Rana Segal’s documentary The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells will be screened on Sunday, October 27 as part of the 60th Chicago International Film Festival. The 66-minute film will be shown at the Chicago History Museum, starting at…

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by Rosellen Brown It isn’t easy to make a mark in the world by being a good guy, a friend, an acute observer more kind than critical. Those qualities don’t sound dramatic enough to constitute a career but Alex K, soft-spoken and content to stay out of the limelight, has brought us a…

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by Miles Harvey What Alex Kotlowitz remembers about his first apartment in Chicago is lugging dozens of cinderblocks up three flights of stairs to build makeshift bookshelves for his growing library. He remembers the downstairs neighbor who ran an informal bike-repair shop out of his first-floor…

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by Michael Antman “Where are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom and Charley, The weak of will, the strong of arm, the clown, the boozer, the fighter? All, all are sleeping on the hill. “One passed in a fever, One was burned in a mine, One was killed in a brawl,  One died in a jail,  One…

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By Robert Chiarito Mike Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago, writer and actor Mitchell Bisschop’s nostalgic love letter to Mike Royko, opened this weekend and provided a feast for those who grew up reading and loving the legendary columnist. For others who are not familiar with Royko, it may…

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by Barbara Egel                               I couldn’t stop writing.                  I wrote myself angled and tress-topped            …

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by Donald G. Evans Chicago means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It’s personal, how you think about it. We mentally form a composite sketch that includes iconic buildings, beloved restaurants and bars, L stops, historical events, places where we grew up or grew old,…

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by Dmitry Samarov In 2021 I wrote about a bookstore coming to Bridgeport; in 2024, I personally move a majority of its 60,000 titles next door to a new location. It’s been a voyage of discovery, as ad-copy might put it. Artwork by Dmitry Samarov.  I stop by the window and watch the…

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