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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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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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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By Jasminum McMullen From shaping young minds as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools to authoring 12 books across seven genres and founding Pretty Nerd Publishing, Dr. Ariel Sylvester is a creative force who seamlessly blends education, artistry, and entrepreneurship. In this interview, she…

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by Michael Antman The Chicago Writers Association (CWA) Book of the Year awards ceremony, held on January 18 at the Warwick Allerton Hotel’s Tip Top Tap Ballroom, honored a highly eclectic group of books, ranging widely in subject matter and setting from a remote farm in rural Illinois to the…

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by Allison Manley One of my personal goals for 2025 is to attend more lit events. I usually only attend a handful a year, but that’s not for lack of opportunity. Each month in Chicago, there are dozens of events, including author events and book launches, literary lectures, live lit and…

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by Randall Albers “An honest woman is a provocation to the meanness of the world.”—Dorothy Allison, “Spirit Healing,” Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fuller Award Tribute to Sandra Cisneros Gut punch. Word came in a text from writer and longtime friend Megan Stielstra.…

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by Donald G. Evans A year is a super long time that is gone in a snap. You do, do, do, do some more…and then it’s done. Before we move on, we want to reflect on what 2024 meant to the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame and those we serve. This past year was our 15th as an organization,…

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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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