Here’s an awkward secret: I began writing criticism only five years ago. Only five years prior, after a significant life change, I fully committed to … Read More
Where are your roots? How does language—that which you speak and that which speaks through you, if not literally then ancestrally—shift your identity and place … Read More
Sigrid Nunez’s ninth novel, The Vulnerables, uses the 2020 pandemic as an inciting incident for an examination of the uncertainties and vulnerabilities that we experience … Read More
Mary Jo Bang’s acclaimed translation of Dante Alighieri’s Inferno starts with this unforgettable verse: “Stopped mid-motion in the middle / Of what we call our … Read More
Chicago is home to an always generative arts and culture scene and is an exceptionally rich poetry town, inspiring and supporting a noteworthy group of … Read More
Chicago’s inaugural Poet Laureate avery r. young is as remarkable, and multitudinous, and mesmerizing, as the city itself. His poetry is equally generative and multifaceted, … Read More
Annelyse Gelman’s curiosity and passion for language, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and experimentation imbue all her projects. Two of them—her new full-length poem, Vexations, and website Midst—also … Read More
Full disclosure first: I worked with Jen St. Jude at Chicago Review of Books for a number of years. Like many of the creative professionals … Read More