Margaret Anderson's apartment - 837 W. Ainslie, Uptown A little while back we profiled Margaret Anderson's influential literary magazine, The Little Review. What I didn't realize was just how close the apartment she started it in is to where we live, so we headed over the other day to check it out. The apartment building... Continue Reading →
Chicago Publishers: Featherproof Books One of the aspects of Chicago's literary world that we haven't delved into yet is publishers. What better way than to highlight local independent Featherproof Books? Started in March 2005 by Jonathan Messinger and Zach Dodson, Featherproof's website states that they publish "strange and beautiful fiction and nonfiction and post-, trans-,... Continue Reading →
Carl Sandburg's home - 4646 N. Hermitage, Ravenswood Other than neighborhood walks and short drives we haven't left the house for weeks. What better time to visit some Chicago literary landmarks? Yesterday we took a drive to Carl Sandburg's charming home in Ravenswood. Originally from Galesburg, Illinois, Sandburg moved to the second story apartment in... Continue Reading →
Growing up a fairly privileged kid in the Western Suburbs, it wasn't until my sophomore year of high school that it became very clear my experience was not the norm. In grade school my teachers were always talking about how bad off people had it in other countries (the common refrain was, "Eat your food,... Continue Reading →
Being one of the great cities of the world, many novels have been set in Chicago. This is the third of a series looking at how the city has been portrayed/described in novels. Published in 1932, Young Lonigan is the first book of a trilogy by James T. Farrell, charting the life of William "Studs"... Continue Reading →
CHICAGO REVIEW Since we're still unable to go out and about in the city, I thought we'd look at some local publications, beginning with Chicago Review. Started by two grad students at the The University of Chicago in 1946, the magazine has been publishing contemporary poetry, fiction, and criticism ever since, releasing its latest issue... Continue Reading →
Like most kids of the last 40 or so years, I loved Shel Silverstein's poems. His books were a must buy through that glorious institution, the Scholastic Book Fair. The poems were hilarious, the artwork great, and the hardcover books themselves were beautiful. I regularly read all the classics - The Giving Tree, Where the... Continue Reading →
Little Free Library - N. Maplewood Ave & W. Arthur Ave Anyone else getting to know their neighborhood better these days? We've been in West Ridge about 10 months now and I thought we knew all the nearby streets but yesterday we stumbled onto a Little Free Library that was totally new to us -... Continue Reading →
Hi all! Seeing as how we're unable to visit bookstores, libraries, and the like, we thought we'd look at other aspects of Chicago literature, starting with The Little Review. Running from 1914 to 1929, Margaret Anderson began The Little Review from her house at 837 W. Ainslie Street in Uptown, with the magazine's offices at... Continue Reading →
