Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Danielle Dutton and Kate Zambreno @ Women & Children First



Danielle Dutton and Kate Zambreno
Weds. September 24th
7:30
Women & Children First
5233 N. Clark St.

Join us as we welcome two authors whose latest releases cleverly and inventively ponder the banality of contemporary American life. Featured in Harper’s magazine and The Bomb, Danielle Dutton’s S P R A W L is an engaging, absurdly comic evocation of the sprawl of the American landscape and the American mind, through the mercurial inner life of one suburban woman. The winner of Chiasmus Press’s “Undoing the Novel – First Book Contest,” Kate Zambreno’s O Fallen Angel is a triptych of modern-day America set in a vapid Midwestern suburbia.

Monday, August 30, 2010

tonight! Lisa Hemminger!

Looseleaf Lounge
Monday August 30th
7:30pm - 9:00pm
2915 N. Broadway

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Series A


September 1, 7:00-8:00 p.m.


A reading series dedicated to showcasing experimental writing. Featured at this outing are poets Jen Tynes and Seth Young.


Hyde Park Art Center
5020 S. Cornell Ave.
Hyde Park

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Rec Room Series

wednesday, september 1, 2010
black rock bar
3614 n. damen
chicago, il
8:00 pm


Writing Movement Desensitization and Reproduction
curated by Luis Humberto Valadez


This month at the Reconstruction Room we draw a parallel between the process of writing through traumatic history/herstory and the form of psychotherapy know as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reproduction (EMDR). According to the theory posed by Francine Shapiro Ph.D, when a traumatic or distressing experience occurs it may overwhelm usual ways of coping and the memory of the event is inadequately processed. This memory is stored in an isolated memory network that, when accessed, may cause the individual to experience once more aspects of the original (traumatic) event. Many of us have seen our writing as a method of grounding ourselves firmly enough that we may gaze upon the treachery of past traumas with insight and, daresay, some form of resolution; of equal import, we find ourselves scrutinizing these events without the severe reaction(s) that proliferate without the foundation the practice of our discipline provides. In much the same way EMDR forges associations between our distressing memories and semantic memory indices thought to be independent of context and personal relevance, the writers featured this evening forge an association between history/herstory, ink and page, writer/reader and reader/listener that, beyond resolution, also promotes, at the very least, a modicum of detachment from these traumas.

Readers/performers include David Trinidad, LeAnne Ray, Adrienne Dodt, Miki Howald, Erin Hellweg, Jamie Kazay, Jason McDaniel, Erin Teegarden, and Allison Gruber.

Monday, August 23, 2010


Haki Madhubuti and Kevin Coval
When: Thu., Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Phone: (708) 386-9800
Price: $5


Join us for an evening with Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti as he reads from Liberation Narratives: New and Collected Poems, 1966-2009 and engages in conversation with Kevin Coval. As a poet, publisher, editor and educator, Madhubuti has been a pivotal figure in the development of a strong Black literary tradition. Over the years, he has published more than 28 books including YellowBlack and Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous? Madhubuti will read from Liberation Narratives and sign books. Co-sponsored by The Book Table, The Friends of the Oak Park Public Library, Midwest Media and Unity Temple Restoration Foundation.

Unity Temple
Oak Park/River Forest
875 Lake Street

Hot Sticky Poetry & More

Summer begins its home stretch as Gerber/Hart presents Hot Sticky Poetry & More on Wednesday, August 25 at 7 pm. Come hear late summer words of longing and desire. Readers include Chelsey Clammer, Dede DeLynn, Jolie Du Pre, LeVan D. Hawkins, Gregg Shapiro, and Avery R. Young.

Gerber/Hart Library
Edgewater 1127 W. Granville Ave.

Live History: A Celebration of Kent Foreman


Tuesday, Aug 24
5 pm to 7 pm

Jazz Showcase
806 S. Plymouth Ct.

The Guild Complex is honored to host a celebration of Kent Foreman whose career has spanned five decades and whom the Chicago Tribune has called the "elder statesman of spoken word."

Free admission.

The evening will also feature performances by friends

Roger Bonair-Agard

Reggie Gibson

Marty McConnell

Each one invited by Kent as some of Chicago's strongest poets.

Kent has performed with noted artists such as Amiri Baraka, Maya Angelou, Max Roach, Allen Ginsberg, his mentor Oscar Brown, Jr.; he has influenced and mentored many more. Kent has won the Chicago Historical Society's esteemed Carl Sandburg Award, has been to the finals of the national poetry slam three times and appeared on Def Poetry Jam.

Free admission.

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Myopic Poetry Series

Tuesday, Aug 17
7:00
Myopic Bookstore
1564 N. Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd Floor

Nico Vassilakis, Crag Hill, and James Yeary

James YEARY is a poet and visual/performance artist living in Portland, Oregon. He is a member of the Spare Room collective for whom he recently organized a festival of poetry for multiple voices. He is publisher of the chapbook series c_L books and is co-author (with Nate Orton) of the zine series my day. His work has appeared in ditch, Peaches & Bats, and SHIFTER.

Crag HILL until recently edited SCORE, one of only two journals dedicated exclusively to concrete/visual poetry. In the last three decades his work has appeared in over 100 journals and anthologies, including several available on-line. with Nico Vassilakis, he is editing the first major anthology of visual poetry, The Last Vispo anthology, due out this fall. His creative and critical works in progress can be found at http://www.facebook.com/l/1d0cbOFjBXDUlZfdgHbbZJJ6JVg;scorecard.typepad.com.

Nico VASSILAKIS is a multimedia artist, poet and writer. He was a curator for the Subtext Reading Series in Seattle. His visual poetry videos have been shown at festivals and exhibitions of innovative language arts. Vassilakis’ writings have appeared in numerous magazines, including: Ribot, Caliban, Aufgabe, Chain, Talisman, Central Park and Golden Handcuffs Review. His latest publications are TEXT LOSES TIME, a Vispo essay staReduction from BookThug, Disparate Magnets and Protracted Type, a collection of visual poetry, and recently, West of Dodge. Along with Crag Hill, Nico is currently editing The Last Vispo Anthology with 130 contributors from 25 countries

Contact curator Larry Sawyer for booking information and requests.

E-mail: larrysawyerpoet@yahoo.com

http://www.facebook.com/l/42915;www.myopicbookstore.com/poetry.html

Myopic Books — 18 years of innovative poetry in Chicago

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE MYOPIC POETRY SERIES

Sunday, August 15, 2010

W4tb presents: The Extra Monday Show


Featuring Charlie Newman
Buddha 309
Nina Corwin
Wayne Allen Jones
Jenene Ravesloot
Bob Rashkow
Tom Roby

Friday, August 13, 2010

Packingtown Review Fundraiser: Prose and Poetry Karaoke


Packingtown Review Fundraiser: Prose and Poetry Karaoke
Fri., Aug. 20, 7 p.m.


Packingtown Review, the literary journal produced by graduate students in the UIC English department, will be hosting a fundraiser at Jak's Tap on Friday, August 20th. Featured events include a “Prose and Poetry Karaoke Contest,” readings by local writers, a prize drawing, and more! Bring your poem or short prose piece to be read by a randomly selected reader; a panel of judges will evaluate each entry. Prizes will be awarded to the winners! $10 suggested donation. $5 to participate in karaoke. All proceeds go toward the publication of the third volume of Packingtown Review. For more information, email editors@packingtownreview.com $10 Suggested Donation. $5 Poetry Contest


Jak's Tap
901 W. Jackson St.
West Loop

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Danny's Reading Series


Danny's Tavern Reading Series
Wed., Aug. 18, 7 p.m.
Danny's
1951 W. Dickens Ave.



The featured readers are poets Caroline Pickard, Patrick Culliton, and Devin King.


21+.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Orange Alert Reading Series



Sun., Aug. 15, 6 p.m.

Natalie Edwards, Jill Summers, Caroline Picard, and Mary Hamilton read at a release party for Hamilton's new story collection, We Know What We Are. 21+.

the Whistler
2421 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Logan Square
773-227-3530

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Slaviero and Darling at Quimby's



Sat., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.
Quimby's
1854 W. North Ave.
Wicker Park/Bucktown

When asked about her influences, Susan Slaviero points to three enduring sources: popular culture, feminist theory, and a fascination with the lyric tradition. Not a likely combination for a poet, but one that has brought forth Cyborgia (Mayapple Press), a stunning debut collection that explores the intersection of female identity, technology, and the body. Filled zombies, robots, “nickel marionettes,” and “electric women,” Slaviero’s book presents physical reality alongside the artificial and constructed, skillfully blurring the boundaries between the two.



“Melding the language of sci-fi and sensuality, Cyborgia wallows delightfully in its rhythm and vocabulary, yet remains sharp and meticulous, slicing through the barriers of mechanism and the female body, of systems and viscera, where the women are filled with milk and smoke, rainwater and wristwatches, fractals and fish”—Kristy Bowen

Also reading is Kristina Marie Darling, a St. Louis author whose first book of poems, Night Songs, was just released by Gold Wake Press. Kristina is the author of several chapbooks, which include Fevers and Clocks (March Street Press) and The Traffic in Women (Dancing Girl Press). Awards include residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, VCCA, and Ragdale.

Monday, August 9, 2010

CHICAGO TRANSLATION: Lit, Music, and Dance Party


August 13
10:00pm-2am
The Hideout
1354 W. Wabansia
$10


CHICAGO TRANSLATION: Lit, Music, and Dance Party


REQUITED JOURNAL, ANOTHER CHICAGO MAGAZINE & ARTIFICE MAGAZINE invite you to celebrate a translation of Chicago through literature--with music and video by MAGICAL BEAUTIFUL and a dance party with DJ, Kevin Smith!

...Chicago's literary reconstruction begins at 10pm, music at 11 and dancing into the night.

Join us as artists combine sound, syntax, and image to reinterpret Chicago and create contemporary meaning to familiar city-spaces.

Featuring Writers: JAMES TADD ADCOX, KATHLEEN ROONEY, KRISTIN ORSER, and NELL TAYLOR

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Sunday @ Quimbys



Jon Cotner and Andy Fitch read from Ten Walks/Two Talks
Sunday Aug 8
Quimby's Bookstore
1854 W North Ave
3:00 pm


Ten Walks/Two Talks combines a series of sixty-minute, sixty-sentence walks around Manhattan with a pair of roving dialogues—one of which takes place during a late-night “philosophical” ramble through Central Park. Mapping 21st-centure New York, Cotner and Fitch update the meandering and meditative form of Basho’s travel diaries to construct a descriptive/dialogic fugue.


“Barbed with genius.” -Wayne Koestenbaum

“Poetry in motion.” -Lynne Tillman

“Magic… A new way of moving through our worlds.” -The Boston Phoenix

[Five-Star Review] “Fantastic… A deceptively simple book, Ten Walks/Two Talks demands little but offers much. Cotner and Fitch invite us to experience our city with fresh pleasure and renewed awe.” -Time Out New York

“I hate exercise, and I hate conversation, but I love Ten Walks/Two Talks.” -HTMLGIANT

“This is a gift, a beautiful book, and nothing in it is forgettable.” -Bookslut

Also joining the bill are Chicago authors Joel Craig, who will read from his book Shine Tomorrow (Lost Horse), and Jessica Savits, who will read from her book Hunting is Painting (&Now Books).

For more info: http://www.uglyducklingpresse.org/catalog/browse/item/?pubID=63

W4tB presents Open Mic at the Bus Stop:R. Jerome Gibbons

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Molly Malone's, August 9th



Monday, August 9th
7:00 -- open mic sign-up begins
7:30 -- open mic (5 minutes per reader)
9:00 -- featured reader

Molly Malone's Irish Pub
7652 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL
708-366-8073

Hosts Nina Corwin and Al DeGenova invite you to the Molly Malone's Open Mic and Reading Series. Be part of one of the longest running and most highly respected open mics in the Chicago area.

featuring poet and editor Susan Slaviero

Susan Slaviero's first full length book of poetry, CYBORGIA, has just been released on Mayapple Press. She is also the author of two poetry chapbooks: An Introduction to the Archetypes (Shadowbox Press, 2008) and Apocrypha (Dancing Girl Press, 2009). Her work has appeared in journals Fourteen Hills, Flyway, Caffeine Destiny, wicked alice, Mythic Delirium, Goblin Fruit, Eclectica, RHINO and others. Susan is also on the editorial staff of blossombones.

$5 if you can, $3 if you can't

Poetry/fiction at Molly's is the second Monday of every month.

Feel free to forward this notice to your writing pals...we love new faces with new voices.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Carlos Cortez's 87th Birthday


Carlos Cortez's 87th Birthday
When: Fri., Aug. 13, 6:30 p.m.

A celebration of the life of the late poet, printmaker, and artist, featuring readings from poems, speakers, and sales of copies of his rare art books and poetry.

Free Carlos & Dominguez Fine Arts
Pilsen/Little Village
1538 W. Cullerton St.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Rec Room Series

Gently Stalking Janice-Katie

wednesday, august 4, 2010
black rock bar
3614 n. damen
chicago, il
8:00 pm

Gently Stalking Janice-Katie

curated by Kathryn Regina


“I am Mrs. Beck,” said the older woman uncertainly, throat moving. She stared at Janice-Katie. “And you are…?”

Janice-Katie laughed, as if carefree. She said, “I am Janice-Depressive, you know, like ‘manic-depressive’?”

Mrs. Beck frowned.

--excerpt from “And You Are?” by Stacey Levine


Stout women with a hatred of twilight are difficult to trail. But a character as curious as Janice-Katie is worth an ardent shadowing. In her book of short stories The Girl with Brown Fur, Stacey Levine reveals a glimpse of this moonfaced outer space hater: Her face is so wide because of her stomach medicine. As a child she believed that the sun is the size of a person’s hand. Spring is the time she feels most alone, and she carries herself as if in need of coddling. Don’t you love her? Don’t you want to discretely follow her vehicle, keeping at least two cars between you? So do we. That’s why our group of gumshoe writers, artists and musicians have been gently stalking her en masse. And my god, have we got stories to tell. Come to this Reconstruction Room to learn all about the previously undiscovered life of one of fiction’s most beguiling characters: Janice-Katie.

With performances by:

Jason Bredle

Jac Jemc

Lindsay Hunter

Sarah Eaton

Megan Martin

Stacey Waite

Melissa Walker

Zach Dodson

Greg Lytle

Bianca Stone

Series A

Weds, August 4th
7pm


A reading series dedicated to showcasing experimental writing. Featured at this outing are poets Nate Pritts (Honorary Astronaut) and Nick Demske.


Hyde Park Art Center
5020 S. Cornell Ave.
Hyde Park

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Aug 6: Dear Fisherman

DEAR FISHERMAN
a solo exhibit by Rachel Slotnick
with writing and music

Friday, August 6th
7pm - midnight
opening reception

at Happy Dog Gallery
1542 N Milwaukee Ave, Floor 2
http://www.happydoggallery.tumblr.com

7:30pm Group Reading:
Abra Aducci

Mike Balatico
Adam Bienvenue
Daniel Godston
Jennifer Goldstick
Lisa Janssen
Jennifer Karmin
Julie Karnes
Gregory Kiewiet
Heather McShane
Heather Palmer
John Rich

Followed by music selections
from DJ The Single Helix

ABRA ADDUCCI is currently pursuing her MFA in writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

MIKE BALATICO is from Tenessee.

DANIEL GODSTON teaches and lives in Chicago. His writings have appeared in Chase Park, After Hours, BlazeVOX, Versal, Beard of Bees, Drunken Boat, 580 Split, Kyoto Journal, Eratica, The Smoking Poet, Horse Less Review, Moria, Apparatus Magazine, EOAGH, Requited Journal, Sentinel Poetry, and other print publications and online journals. His poem “Mask to Skin to Blood to Heart to Bone and Back” was nominated by the editors of 580 Split for the Pushcart Prize. He also composes and performs music, and he works with the Borderbend Arts Collective to organize the annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival.

JENNIFER GOLDSTICK likes storytelling. This includes, but is not limited to: writing, reading, drawing, diagramming and telling stories. As a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis’s Visual Communication program, she generally focuses on visual storytelling, but is constantly seeking new ways to convey any kind of emotional truth. Jennifer’s mini-comic “Roots of a Tragedy,” a narrative which explores a series of student deaths in her hometown, is being self-published and will hit small, alternative comic bookstore shelves within the coming months. Her drawings and comics have been published in Spires Intercollegiate Arts & Literary Magazine and Key Magazine in Chicago.

LISA JANSSEN is a writer and archivist. Her work has appeared most recently in WSQ – Women's Studies Quarterly, MAKE, and the chapbook Riffing on Bird and Other Sad Songs (dusi/e-chap kollektiv). She currently co-edits the literary journal MoonLit.

JENNIFER KARMIN has published, performed, exhibited, taught, and experimented with language across the U.S., Japan, and Kenya. She is the author of the text-sound epic Aaaaaaaaaaalice (Flim Forum Press, 2010) and the chapbook Evacuated: Disembodying Katrina (Dusie Kollektiv, 2009). Walking Poem, a collaborative street project, is featured online at How2. In Chicago, Jennifer teaches creative writing to immigrants at Truman College and works as a Poet-in-Residence for the public schools. http://aaaaaaaaaaalice.blogspot.com

JULIE KARNES received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. Her work won an honorable mention in The Atlantic's 2009 Student Writing Contest. She is currently working on a collection of short stories.

GREGORY KIEWIET's book of poetry, In the Company of Words, was published in 2007 by Past Tents Press. Other work has appeared in The Columbia Poetry Review, Marks: An On-line Journal of the Arts, Dispatch Detroit, Box, Woodward Magazine, Graffiti Rag, and others. He received an M. A. in English (Creative Writing) from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) in 2001 and is completing an MFA in Writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Greg teaches at Wright College.

HEATHER MCSHANE's writings can be found at the2ndhand, fictionatwork, The Green Lantern Press blog, Pistil magazine, and Chicago Public Radio’s Vocalo.

HEATHER PALMER holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has current or forthcoming work in Willows Wept Review, Lamination Colony, Radioactive Moat, Omphalos 8, elimae, Storyglossia, Everyday Genius, Spork Magazine and more. Her book works include Charlie’s Train (the2ndhand) and the forthcoming novel Complements: of Us (Spork Press). She writes and works in Chicago, but hails from Pennsylvania. http://fictionsandthelike.blogspot.com

ARMANDO PEREZ aka DJ THE SINGLE HELIX
The Single Helix is an experimental/ambient singer-songwriter and DJ currently living in Chicago. Recording songs with a computer, various keyboards, and a guitar, T.S.H. (Armando Perez) has leaked several mix tapes of art-rock and released an instrumental electronica album called "Journal of an Emotional Robot" on the Sonic Octopus imprint. He performs solo, or with a full band.

JOHN RICH is a performance artist, writer, and arts administrator. He co-founded the collaborative theater company Attention Deficit Drama (1997-2003), and currently performs with Every house has a door. He earned a BFA in painting from Grand Valley State University (1997), and is completing an MFA in Writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2010). He served as performance curator for the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts and Columbia College Chicago (TICTOC), and has been the company manager for Goat Island Performance Group since 2006. He is at work on his first novel and a collaborative book-length correspondence project.

RACHEL SLOTNICK, originally from Los Altos, California, is a painter and writer. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in May 2010. During her time at SAIC, she traveled to Kenya on the Summer Literary Seminars Tuition Fellowship. She was also a finalist in the Fred Hillbruner Artist Book Fellowship. Her work is on display at the Joan Flasch Artist Book Collection at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, at Café Bacci (Chicago, IL), at Horse Works inc (Morton Grove, IL), at Blue Horse Saddlery (Los Altos, CA), Art & Frames Unlimited (Mountain View, CA), Studio Trilogy Gallery (San Francisco, CA), The Tack Rack (Lexington, KY), and in Horses in Art Magazine. http://www.rachelslotnick.com