writers Archives - Chicago Reader

Five dancers in red cloaks crouch in a semi-circle, their hands raised in fists before them.

Hot weather, hot shows

by Kerry Reid, Irene Hsiao and Deanna Isaacs June 22, 2022July 8, 2022

Summer is officially here, in case the sweat and lightning bugs weren’t enough of a clue. In addition to the shows and artists we profiled in our summer arts preview issue this week, we’ve got just a few suggestions for other offerings in theater, dance, and opera that look promising—whether you’re looking for a nice […]

Arts & Culture

On winter and the built environment

by Taylor Moore January 24, 2022January 24, 2022

Winter is inevitable, but it still feels like an unwelcome surprise each year. To architecture journalist Anjulie Rao, it’s a season of reevaluation, reflection, and transformation. Fascinated by what winter represents, Rao has started a small publication on the topic—a “grand experiment” whose biweekly publishing schedule will follow the length of the season, December 21, […]

Man seated on floor in aisle of library, reading a book

Lit Feature

Let’s get lit

by Salem Collo-Julin January 19, 2022January 18, 2022

Here are some book-related, word-inspired, and otherwise literary Chicago events to help kick off 2022. Each event is open to the public, but registration or tickets might be required (and you’ll want to support the writers by buying their books!). Wed 1/19, 6:30 PM: City Lit Books co-presents its regular Poetry Salon in an online […]

the cover of "The Apology," a novel by Christian TeBordo, photo of female statue figure that is sitting on a stump (French artist Claude-Marie Ferrier's "A Bather")

Arts & Culture

Why does he keep apologizing?

by Dmitry Samarov September 30, 2021September 30, 2021

Is satire allowed anymore? We’re living through a period which largely demands literality from art. We want to know where the author stands. Unambiguously, with no shade or contradiction. Satire, on the other hand, lives in the gray and attempts to get at larger truths. Christian TeBordo’s new novel is set unreservedly outside the bipolarity […]

A woman wearing a hat sits cross-legged on a couch while reading a book.

Arts & Culture

Lit this month

by Salem Collo-Julin September 9, 2021September 9, 2021

September brings us a bevy of book-related, word-inspired, and otherwise literary events. Here’s a few to pencil into your calendar. The Paper Machete has returned to its performance home in Uptown at the Green Mill, to the delight of fans. The organizers describe it as a “weekly live magazine,” and while comedians are regularly featured, […]