Water Scarcity and the Climate Crisis in “Stillicide” – Chicago Review of Books

Water Scarcity and the Climate Crisis in “Stillicide” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Burning Worlds is Amy Brady’s monthly column dedicated to examining how contemporary literature interrogates issues of climate change, in partnership with Yale Climate Connections. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter to get “Burning Worlds” and other writing about art and climate change delivered straight to your inbox. Welsh writer Cynan Jones has long depicted the fraught relationship between humanity … Read more

Love and the Unknown in “To Be a Man” – Chicago Review of Books

Love and the Unknown in “To Be a Man” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] In the title story of Nicole Krauss’s fifth book and first collection of stories, To Be a Man, the narrative bends and breaks. Written in three sections with subsections, the narration shifts from first person to third, and then back to first. It’s only twenty-five pages. And it is as brilliant in execution as … Read more

Announcing the Winner of the 2020 Adam Morgan Literary Citizen Award – Chicago Review of Books

Announcing the Winner of the 2020 Adam Morgan Literary Citizen Award – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] For five years in a row the Chicago Review of Books has presented annual awards to the best works of poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and essay or short-story by Chicago-based writers. Last year we announced the first ever Adam Morgan Literary Citizen Award. Named for the site’s founding editor, the Morgan award is given to … Read more

The Tension at the Heart of Pop in “Warhol’s Mother’s Pantry” – Chicago Review of Books

The Tension at the Heart of Pop in “Warhol’s Mother’s Pantry” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] “Acountryisclosingitsborder… (This is not today.)” “Pandemic/persecution/(The country has no conscience)… (This is not today).” In the first pages of M.I. Devine’s debut collection of experimental essays, Warhol’s Mother’s Pantry: Art, America, and the Mom in Pop, he calls back to the political turmoil of the early 1920s, when a pandemic raged and the U.S. … Read more

Working Within Limits in “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” – Chicago Review of Books

Working Within Limits in “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Regret and its effects are no strangers to books. Countless literary works, both fictional and not, explore our innate longing to return to the past, to experience a moment once again, and perhaps find some solace for our aching souls. Yet only time travel fiction allows its characters an opportunity to truly return to … Read more

A Hungry, Hopeful Mind in “The Power of Adrienne Rich” – Chicago Review of Books

A Hungry, Hopeful Mind in “The Power of Adrienne Rich” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Adrienne Rich continues to be widely taught in classrooms and read for her unparalleled ability to master language, syntax, and substance. Through her writing, the iconic feminist poet and essayist explored questions of identity, privilege, and the complex ways in which oppressions intertwine that still resonate today.  Author Hilary Holladay has crafted the first … Read more

Modern Chills and Thrills in “The Nesting” – Chicago Review of Books

Modern Chills and Thrills in “The Nesting” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] C.J. Cooke’s new novel, The Nesting, ticks all the boxes of a satisfying thriller, but it’s more than just a safe bet for a good read on a dark and stormy night. Cooke’s thought-provoking depiction of the sinister side of motherhood and Mother Nature adds depth to the book’s fast-paced, gripping plot and amplifies … Read more

Accessible Space in “What Kind of Woman” – Chicago Review of Books

Accessible Space in “What Kind of Woman” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] “You can be a mother and a poet.” So writes Kate Baer in “Moon Song,” part of her first poetry collection, What Kind of Woman. She effortlessly spans parenting, friendship, love, and how women perceive and are perceived, with stunning imagery. Poems like “Female Candidate” hit home, upending the current moment to examine it. … Read more

“The Office Of Historical Corrections” is a Necessary Critique of the Current Moment – Chicago Review of Books

“The Office Of Historical Corrections” is a Necessary Critique of the Current Moment – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Danielle Evans’s second story collection, The Office Of Historical Corrections, draws on the current zeitgeist with provocative narratives examining race, female friendship, and privilege. The collection concludes with a novella by the same name dealing with both our present obsession with truth and the historical legacy of racism. Women carry this collection, and the … Read more

A Love Letter to Capitalism in “Singular Sensation” – Chicago Review of Books

A Love Letter to Capitalism in “Singular Sensation” – Chicago Review of Books

[ad_1] Michael Riedel writes his sequel to Razzle Dazzle kicking off where he ended with his well-received history of Broadway. Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway carries on in a similar way as this first book. Both books mention, and seem to be influenced by, William Goldman’s The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway (1969). … Read more