South Side Literary Bus Tour

Registration is now open for this day-long adventure through Chicago's South Side literary history. On this five-hour tour of Chicago, we’ll visit sites associated with events like The Great Chicago Fire and the Leopold & Loeb Murder Trial; places like “Millionaires Row” and Camp Douglas; institutions like the old The Defender building and Third World Press; important authors ranging from Lorraine Hansberry to James T. Farrell; monuments to the likes of Gwendolyn Brooks and Ida B. Wells; and murals depicting Sandra Cisneros and Carlos Cortéz. Along the way, and at each proper stop, we will explore the Chicago literature associated with the sites. We’ll move through a variety of South Side neighborhoods, including Little Italy, Pilsen, Little Village, Bridgeport, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, Kenwood, Chatham, Back of the Yards, and Bronzeville. There will be time to eat lunch at Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap, an old watering hole frequented by Saul Bellow, Phillip Roth, and The Compass Players, among others. A reading list will be provided well in advance, for those who want to explore this literature more deeply. The tour will begin and end at the Douglass Park tennis courts near 15th Place and California. Ample free, public parking is available right near the bus. Cost for the entire day, including snacks on the bus, is $60. If you want to sign up directly (and avoid Eventbrite add-on fees), just email Don Evans to reserve your place on the bus.