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Your Guide to the Pitchfork Book Fort (7/13-7/15)
There is quite the lineup this week so prepare for some picking-and-choosing:
Ongoing
Verse, Stripped: A Poetry Comics Exhibition @ Poetry Foundation (61 W. Superior)
Verse, Stripped presents the work of graphic poets Sommer Browning, Bianca Stone, Gary Sullivan, and Paul K. Tunis in a poetry comics exhibition—combining “two seemingly disparate art forms to create something wholly unique.” The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. until September 4th and is free of charge.
Relevant Links:
Exhibit info
Monday, July 9th
Janine MacLachlan: Farmers’ Markets of the Heartland @ Harold Washington Library
(400 S. State)
As a part of CPL’s "You Are What You Read: Summer Reads for Adults" program, Janine MacLachlan will be discussing her book at 6 p.m. in the lower level Reception Hall of Harold Washington Library Center. In the book, the author acts as a tour guide of seasonal markets and farm stands throughout the Midwest.
Relevant Links:
Event info & about the book
You Are What You Read: Summer Reads for Adults
Tuesday, July 10th
Safe Smiles Open Mic @ Trace
(3714 N. Clark St.)
PolyRhythmic hosts this 21+ weekly open mic every Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. (signup at 10 p.m. for 4-minute spots). The PolyRhythmic event (PolyRhythmic being Billy Tuggle, Zeeshan Shah, Drew Perfilio, Bill Herbst, and Elizabeth Harper) welcomes all poetry and prose, comedy, music, and performance art. Safe Smiles attracts some of Chicago's strongest twenty-something poets and acoustic musicians. There is a $3 cover.
Relevant Links:
Chicago Poetry Calendar event info
Poetry Center event info
Trace
This Much is True @ Hopleaf
(5148 N. Clark St.)
This month's edition of "Chicago's most intimate storytelling night" is free, as always, and will begin at 7:30pm. However, admission is limited so you may want to arrive around 6:45 when doors open. Don't worry, the wide selection of craft beers should keep you occupied until featured readers take the stage. This week’s guests include Alison Cuddy of WBEZ, the energetic Mike Speller, founder of the Chicago Writers Conference Mare Swallow, and Eric Warner.
Relevant Links:
This Much is True (event info & guest profiles)
About This Much is True
Hopleaf Bar
Alison Cuddy
Mike Speller
Mare Swallow
Eric Warner
Doppelgangers: Jac Jemc & Patrick Somerville @ Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap
(1172 E. 55th)
At 7 p.m., Patrick Somerville (#17 on New City’s “Lit 50”) and Jac Jemc will read from their newest releases. Somerville has been dubbed one of “the new darlings of the Chicago literary scene,” having published three lauded books in three years and even talking of writing a screenplay for Steve Carell’s Carousel Productions. For this event, the author will read from his June release, This Bright River. Jac Jemc, poetry editor of decomP and author of the chapbook, These Strangers She’d Invited In, will present her latest novel from Dzanc Books, My Only Wife. It tells the story of a man whose wife has mysteriously disappeared and must overcome his own emotions to find her. Books will be available for sale, and for every book purchase is a free beer!
Relevant Links:
Event info
This Bright River on GoodReads (4 stars & 37 ratings)
New City’s “Lit 50”
Somerville responds to error-ridden NY Times review
Jac Jemc
My Only Wife on GoodReads (4 stars & 39 ratings)
Wednesday, July 11th
Nothin’ Less Open Mic @ Nothin’ Less Coffee House
(2642 N. Milwaukee Ave.)
Nothin’ Less is a new Logan Square “coffee house, performance space, and gallery.” Every Wednesday from 8:30 to 10 p.m., the café opens its doors to host Jose Isael (aka IasEL), resident poet Luis Tubens, and any poet or acoustic musician with an urge to take the stage.
Relevant Links:
Logan Square event page
Nothin’ Less Café
In-One-Ear Poetry Open Mic @ Heartland Café
(7000 N. Glenwood)
In-One-Ear Poetry Night is an 18+ weekly open mic featuring hosted by local poet, Pete Wolf. “Performances can be poetry, spoken word, narrative, music, anecdotal, performance art, visual, or whatever else fits into a 5-minute time slot.” Michael O’toole started the show in 1989 (making it the second longest running Chicago open mic of its kind) and was later “bequested” to Wolf who moved the event from the No Exit Café to the Heartland Café and more than doubled the average audience attendance which now ranges between 40 and 60 people, according to Heartland Café. Signup begins at 9 p.m.; performers take the stage at 9:30 p.m. There is a $3 cover. This week’s featured performer is performance poet Tatyana Brown who has received international acclaim for her slam abilities.
Relevant Links:
Facebook event page
The Heartland Café event info (click “Open Mic”)
Tatyana Brown
Elizabeth’s Crazy Little Thing @ Phyllis’ Musical Inn
(1800 W. Division)
The second Wednesday of the month at 10 p.m., Elizabeth Harper and Rich Experience host an open mic variety night for poets, musicians, comedians, performers, “and whatever you can come up with.” Harper welcomes “the cerebral, the obscene, the grotesque, the random, the perverted, the odd, the comforting, and the disconcerting.” This month’s feature is G.P.A. (Greatest Poet Alive), author of The Confessional Heart of A Man and The Book of 24 Orgasms. The theme for the evening is “The Art of Storytelling.”
Relevant Links:
Facebook event page
Facebook group page
The Confessional Heart of A Man on Amazon (4 stars & 11 reviews)
Thelma T. Reyna: The Heavens Weep for Us @ Women & Children First
(5233 N. Clark)
Reyna will present her award-winning short story collection, The Heavens Weep for Us and Other Stories, at 7:30 p.m.
Relevant Links:
Event info
The Heavens Weep for Us on Amazon (4 stars & 6 reviews)
About the author
Reading Under the Influence @ Sheffield’s
(3258 N. Sheffield Ave.)
This month’s edition of RUI has moved up a week due to 4th of July celebrations. Featured readers include Michael Czyzniejewski (Chicago Stories: 40 Dramatic Fictions) and Lauryn Allison Lewis (solo/down)—both Curbside Splendor affiliates. Other presenters are Columbia College Fiction Writing professor Chris DeGuire, local author Patrick Andrews, and RUI co-founder Joe Tower back from L.A. This months theme: “Prodigal Son.” Features will read short original work as well as short-short excerpts of published work related to the theme. Readers can be found in the back room (off the courtyard patio) at 7 p.m. There is a $3 cover.
Relevant Links:
Event info
Michael Czyzniejewski
Chicago Stories on GoodReads (4 ½ stars & 28 ratings)
Lauryn Allison Lewis
Solo/down on GoodReads (5 stars & 8 ratings)
RUI experience (Gapers Block)
Tim Seeley & Mike Norton @ Challengers Comics
(1845 N. Western)
Author Tim Seeley and illustrator Mike Norton will be at Challengers Comics all day (11 a.m. – 7 p.m.) signing copies of their first “rural noir” issue of their Revival.
Relevant Links:
Facebook event page
Interview with the creators
Sheila Kohler: The Bay of Foxes @ The Book Cellar
(4736 N. Lincoln)
At 7 p.m., Kohler will discuss her novel—the story of an Ethiopian refugee traveling through Paris. The “sexy, sinister plot that is in part an homage to Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels [excels] with exotic European locations, a pitch-perfect plot, and a brilliant ending.”
Relevant Links:
Event info
The Bay of Foxes on GoodReads
About the author
Thursday, July 12th
Chicago Center for Literature and Photography Reading @ Women & Children First
(5233 N. Clark)
Lauryn Allison Lewis, Sally Weigel, Katherine Scott Nelson, and Amy Guth will be reading as authors published through the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography (CCLaP). Curbside Splendor editor, Lauryn Allison Lewis will read from her latest novella, solo/down. Weigel—“called the love child of Joe Meno and Joan Didion”—will be presenting her short story collection, Get Up Tim. Katherine Scott Nelson will be reading her 2012 Lamda Literary Award double-nominee novella, Have You Seen Me. Amy Guth of the Chicago Tribune will discuss her upcoming debut novel. The event starts at 7 p.m.
Relevant Links:
Event info
CCLaP
Lauryn Allison Lewis
Solo/down on GoodReads (5 stars & 8 ratings)
Sally Weigel Wordpress
Get Up Tim on Amazon
K. Scott Nelson
Have You Seen Me on GoodReads (4 stars & 9 ratings)
Amy Guth Wordpress
Stacey Ballis Book Launch With Eleanor Brown @ The Book Cellar
(4736 N. Lincoln)
At 7 p.m., Stacey Ballis celebrates the release of her book, Off the Menu—a foodie novel with recipes and a detailed account of a busy executive culinary assistant to a celebrity chef who must reprioritize her time when love comes into play. Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters, will be joining for the launch.
Relevant Links:
Event info
Off the Menu on GoodReads
About the author
Eleanor Brown
Your guide to the Pitchfork Book Fort (7/13-7/15)
Follow @ChiLitScene for regular event updates. Comment below or email ChiLitScene@gmail.com with any opinions or suggestions. Thanks for reading!



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