Category: Event

  • Martha Bayne Discusses The Soup & Bread Cookbook 2/9

    Everybody loves soup. But why?

     

    Sure, it’s nutritious, affordable, and infinitely variable. Soup can be a rustic meal in a bowl or a dainty palate cleanser. It can showcase the pure flavors of fresh spring peas or provide a last-ditch use for tired celery and the stalest bread. From borscht to pozole to udon, it’s the hallmark of home cooking across cultures. It soothes the sick, it nourishes the poor–and it can trick children into eating their veggies. And, alone among foods, a pot of soup can be a powerful tool to both draw people together and help them to reach out to others.

     

    The Soup & Bread Cookbook, inspired by author Martha Bayne’s Soup & Bread series at Chicago’s Hideout, aims to explore this social role of soup, in the midst of a collection of terrific, affordable recipes from food activists, chefs, and others, providing a quirky exploration of the cultural history of soup–and its natural ally, bread–as a tool for both building community and fostering social justice.

     

    The social functions of soup don’t stop at the soup kitchen door. Everyone’s familiar with the “stone soup” fable — the tale of a hungry town that feeds itself when every citizen contributes something to the pot. But have you heard about Re-Thinking Soup, a weekly free soup lunch started in Chicago by Sam Kass, the Obamas’ personal chef? Or about Empty Bowl, a nationwide grassroots effort to raise money for hunger relief by partnering with local arts groups?

     

    Soup has a powerful effect on how people gather, eat, and share. A few years ago in Seattle, Knox Gardner had a brainstorm. Eating your way through a pot of soup day after day can get boring–why not get together and swap some with friends? The idea took off like chicken and noodles, and now neighbors across the country are getting together regularly for home-based “soup swaps,” with a date at the end of January annually designated (by soupswap.com) as National Soup Swap Day.

     

    In Chicago, the arts collective InCUBATE uses soup as a microfunding tool. Each month since the Sunday Soup project launched in 2007, the group hosts a casual soup dinner for members and likeminded friends; the proceeds to go fund a different art project each month. And of course, soup can be a political statement: The radical volunteers of Food Not Bombs have been providing free vegetarian soup to the hungry as a protest against war and social injustice since 1980.

     

    These are just a few examples of the stories Bayne wraps around a collection of delicious, accessible and tested soup recipes, the diversity of which epitomizes the wide-ranging potential of soup as a community building tool. “Celebrity” chef contributors share the pages with food activists, farmers, writers, soup geeks, and regular folks involved in grassroots food projects around the country.

    For more info: soupandbread.net

    One of the top ten essential cookbooks for fall 2011.
    -Time Out Chicago

    Beautifully written, generous and honest, the book looks at community building through lenses as various and diverse as the country has to offer. Bayne finds people of many kinds – immigrants, nuns, urban farmers, artists and activists – each using soup to bring people together and knit up what has become unraveled.

    -Eiren Caffall, Tikkun Daily

  • Zine Challenge Reading Here on 1/28

    Readers From Our First Quimby’s 24-Hour Zine Challenge Show Off What They Made 1/28

    The folks who participated in our first 24-Hour Zine Challenge Jan 14th & 15th will show off what they made. Please note that spaces for the 14th and 15th are full, but we do encourage you to come in and hang out with us until we close a little later than we normally do on Saturdays. On the night of Sat, Jan 14th we’ll be open to midnight!

    What was that challenge again? Here’s what we announced to get people to participate:

    Perhaps you were not able to participate in the 2011 Revenge of Print Challenge by getting your zine or comic out. Or perhaps you need some encouragement. Do you work well under deadlines? Perhaps you’re addicted to the adrenal rush of zine crafting? Well, you’re in luck. The 24-Hour Zine Challenge is for you. Starting Sat, 1/14 at 7pm and going until 7pm on Sun 1/15 here at Quimby’s, we invite you to come in and make your zine within 24 hours. And we’ll let you crash at our pad. By “pad” we mean on our floor. We provide: paper, minimal scanner use, zine supplies such as a long arm stapler, some food, power strips, temporary free wifi. You provide: sleeping gear, ideas, stamina, your computer or typewriter (if that’s your thing).

    We’re inviting folks who signed up for the zine challenge to show off what they made as this event.

    Sat, Jan 28th, 7pm

  • Poetry by Mitchell L.H. Douglas, Jessica Farquhar, Laura A. Lionello, Al Maginnes, and Brett Eugene Ralph 3/3

    Escaping the comfortable confines of the Associated Writing Programs’ annual meeting, five American poets go rogue to read their work in the more sharply stimulating environs of Quimby’s.  Collectively, these writers represent a truly American mosaic of sensibility and sentiment perfectly suited to the tough streets of Chicago.

    Mitchell L. H. Douglas is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. His poems have appeared in Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, Ninth Letter and the anthologies The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South and Zoland Poetry No. 2 among others. A Cave Canem fellow and cofounder of the Affrilachian Poets, his debut collection, Cooling Board: A Long-Playing Poem (Red Hen Press, 2009) was nominated for a 2010 NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Literary Work-Poetry category and a 2010 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. His second poetry collection \blak\ \al-f? bet\, winner of the 2011 Lexi Rudnitsky/Editor’s Choice Award, is forthcoming from Persea Books.

    Jessica Farquhar is the Assistant Director of Creative Writing at Purdue, where she teaches and learns. Recently, her poems have appeared in The Lumberyard, New Madrid, and ABZ.

    Laura A. Lionello was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from DePaul University. From 1999 to 2005, she lived in various cities in Colorado and California, working, not working, writing poetry, and talking about writing more poetry. While in Santa Monica, she co-hosted the weekly open mic Really Big Show (2003-2005). She and her co-host published two anthologies to feature works by the talented artists in the area. Laura’s poetry has appeared in numerous publications, both in print and online. Her poem “All Empty” earned first prize for poetry in the Tallahassee Writers Association 2008 Penumbra Poetry & Haiku contest. Her first collection of poems, Panic Kit, was published by Weak Creature Press in 2011. Laura lives in Chicago with her husband, Wayne.

    Al Maginnes is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Ghost Alphabet (White Pine Press 2008) which won the 2007 White Pine Poetry Prize, Dry Glass Blues (Pudding House Press 2007), a single long poem published as a chapbook, and Film History (Word Tech Editions 2005). A former recipient of a fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council, his poems appear widely. He lives with his family in Raleigh, North Carolina and teaches composition, literature and creative writing at Wake Technical Community College.

    Brett Eugene Ralph spent the better part of his youth in Louisville, Kentucky, playing football and singing in punk rock bands. His work has appeared in publications such as Field, Conduit, Willow Springs, and The American Poetry Review, and his poems have been anthologized in The McSweeney’s Book of Poets Picking Poets and The Stiffest of the Corpse: An Exquisite Corpse Reader. Black Sabbatical, his first full-length collection, was published in 2009 by Sarabande Books. The debut album by Brett Eugene Ralph’s Kentucky Chrome Revue, a revolving country rock ensemble, is available from Noise Pollution.  Filmmaker Harmony Korine calls Ralph “a true beast of a man with insight and beauty to spare” while musician Will Oldham has described Ralph’s work as “sustaining, inspiring, even rescuing.”

    Saturday, March 3, 7:00 p.m.

  • Joyland Magazine and Dzanc Books present The Fiction Feed: AWP Edition 3/1

    Joyland Magazine and Dzanc Books present
    The Fiction Feed: AWP Edition

    Joyland Magazine and Dzanc Books are two innovative publishers pushing fiction with great writing and new means of print and digital distribution. Join us for an evening with four writers, hailing from Chicago, New York and Vancouver. Hosted by Joyland co-founder Brian Joseph Davis and Dzanc co-publisher Dan Wickett.

    READERS

    Eugene Cross has published work in Narrative Magazine, American Short Fiction, Story Quarterly and Callaloo, among other journals. He is the recipient of scholarships from the Chautauqua Writers’ Festival and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. He currently lives in Chicago. Fires of Our Choosing (Dzanc) is his first book.

    Kevin Chong is the author of four books, including his acclaimed debut Baroque-a-Nova (Penguin) and the travelogue Neil Young Nation (Douglas & McIntyre). His new novel from Arsenal Pulp is titled Beauty Plus Pity. He lives in Vancouver and is a section editor for Joyland.

    Jeff Parker is the author of the novel Ovenman (Tin House) and the story collection The Taste of Penny (Dzanc). He co-edited the anthologies Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States and Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia. His nonfiction book Igor in Crisis: A Russian Journal is forthcoming from HarperCollins.

    Megan Stielstra is a writer, storyteller and the literary director for 2nd Story, Chicago’s urban storytelling series. She has performed for the Goodman Theatre, the Chicago Poetry Center and National Public Radio. She teaches in the Fiction Writing Department at Columbia College. Her debut collection of stories, Everyone Remain Calm, is now available from Joyland/ECW Press.

    For more info: joylandmagazine.com and dzancbooks.org

    Thursday, March 1, 7PM

  • Advance pre-print event: Graham Rae Reads Soundproof Future Scotland 2/17

    SOUNDPROOF FUTURE SCOTLAND is a linguistically deranged trip into a dead-end, techno-punk future that lies firmly within our sight.

    Scotsman Graham Rae’s new book Soundproof Future Scotland (Creation Books) is a sort-of futuristic meditation on his old home country. Welcome to the end of the known world. Set in the 22nd century in an independent Scotland, it details the lives and loves and hates of Johnny Certex and Ratsoup. These young cyberdrunk boyz spend their weekend boozing, band practice, drinking, digigames, hacktivism, skarboarding, chopping maul madness. The the book follows them as they drink and play digigames and ponder their small-town world (the center of Satellite Town, the rubbish dump where they live) before they start their crappy jobs as holographic refuse collectors. They plan to go to see their all-time fave band live, Empty Vessels, as the inescapable gravitational pull of Wavesound drags them closer to The Best Gig Ever.

    Soundproof Future Scotland is more Charles Bukowski than William Gibson; a raw, lyrical, hilarious, thought-provoking trawl through the underbelly of a Scotland that may yet come to be.

    This book is not in print yet, so Quimby’s will have vouchers valid for digital download  that will be on sale at the event.

    SOUNDPROOF FUTURE SCOTLAND has already drawn significant praise:

    “New writers, like yourself, will always keep appearing, thank God, + shock + delight a new generation of readers.” -JG Ballard

    “If Henry Miller decided to rip off both William Gibson and William Burroughs, it might read like this gritty sexplosive novel set in the 22nd century.” -Richard Kern

    “Aside from creative heckling, the highest praise one could pay Scottish ex-pat Graham Rae on the occasion of his rip-roaring novel Soundproof Future Scotland is to say that the writing crackles with the wit, (unintentional) wisdom, and sheer, unadulterated energy of great rock ‘n’ roll. Irvine Welsh, move over, and Lester Bangs, I think you’d be proud.” -Jim DeRogatis

    “Graham Rae makes heterosex sound quite appealing. Which is of course the test of any great fiction writer.” -Mark Simpson

    Graham Rae’s work has been featured in Realitystudio.org, Filmthreat.com, American Cinematographer, Cinefantastique, and 3ammagazine.com. His work has also appeared in the Deep Red Horror Handbook, and the anthology Please: Fiction Inspired by The Smiths. He has also appeared on BBC Radio Scotland as a film critic.

    Fri, Feb 17th, 7pm

    For more info: www.creationbooks.com

  • Caseen Gaines Presents Inside Pee-Wee's Playhouse 2/24

    Calling all Pee-wee Herman fans! Caseen Gaines, author of the one-and-only book about the entire Pee-wee Herman phenomenon, will be at Quimby’s Bookstore to discuss and sign copies of his brand-new book, Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse!

    Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse is the first and only behind-the-scenes look behind the hit Emmy Award-winning TV show starring the pop culture icon Pee-wee Herman, complete with over 250 rare and never-before-published full color photos, marking the show’s 25th anniversary last fall. Gaines’ book is based on interviews with over a hundred cast members, writers, producers, network executives, crew members, puppeteers, and animators who contributed to the program TV Guide recently referred to as one of the “top ten cult classics of all time.”

    “Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse is a must for any Pee-wee fan. Gaines unearths a significant moment in pop culture with the care of an archaeologist, and the vibrant humor of Pee-wee himself.” — John Ortved, author of The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History

    “With his inspired, lunatic Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Paul Reubens showed a generation of television viewers that it’s okay to be different. Caseen Gaines has crafted a meticulously researched look at the origin, production, and legacy of this landmark series that is every bit as educational and entertaining as the show it chronicles.” — Jeremy Kinser, Senior Editor, The Advocate

    “Though brutally honest in recounting crew conflicts and the fickle world of show business, Gaines demonstrates the enchantment and broad appeal of the Playhouse, as well as the spontaneity of a show where ‘anything could happen.’” — Publishers Weekly

    For more info: insidetheplayhouse.com     facebook.com/caseengaines

    Feb 24th, 7pm

     

  • Quimby’s Presents Our First 24-Hour Zine Challenge Jan 14th-Jan 15th

     

    Perhaps you were not able to participate in the 2011 Revenge of Print Challenge by getting your zine or comic out. Or perhaps you need some encouragement. Do you work well under deadlines? Perhaps you’re addicted to the adrenal rush of zine crafting?

    Well, you’re in luck.

    The 24-Hour Zine Challenge is for you. Starting Sat, 1/14 at 7pm and going until 7pm on Sun 1/15 here at Quimby’s, we invite you to come in and make your zine within 24 hours. And we’ll let you crash at our pad. By “pad” we mean on our floor.

    We’ll provide: paper, minimal scanner use, zine supplies such as a long arm stapler, some food, power strips, temporary free wifi.

    You provide: sleeping gear, ideas, stamina, your computer or typewriter (if that’s your thing)

    AND THEN! Want to read from your zine here at one of our events? On Sat, Jan 28th we’ll be having the ZINES MADE AT THE QUIMBY’S 24 HOUR ZINE CHALLENGE EVENT.

    Please RSVP to info(at)quimbys(dot)com for the 24 Hour Zine Challenge by Wed, Jan 11th.  because there is limited space available. Only RSVP’d zinesters will be allowed in the store between midnight and 6am. Visitors are welcome at all other times. The store will be open until midnight (usually we close at 10pm on Saturday nights).

    Get your New Year’s zine resolution resolved before the first month of 2012 is over.

     Sat, Jan 14th 7pm to Sun, Jan 15th 7pm

  • Craig Thompson Celebrates Habibi 11/17

    Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi (Pantheon Books) tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, circumstance, and love. We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world fueled by fear and greed.  At once contemporary and timeless, Habibi gives us a love story of astounding resonance; a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and the magic of storytelling.

    “Habibi is a remarkable feat of research, care, and black ink, and a reminder that all “People of the book,” despite the division of their individual traditions, share a mosaic of stories.”—Zadie Smith, Harper’s Magazine

    “A fantastical love story of a harem girl and the slave boy she rescues, inspired by the Arabian Nights, ancient calligraphy, and modern environmental catastrophe.”—Dan Kois, New York Magazine

    Craig Thompson is the award-winning author of the graphic novels Blankets  and Good-bye, Chunky Rice.

    For more info:
    http://www.facebook.com/CraigThompsonAuthor
    www.pantheonbooks.com

     

     

     

     

    Click here to download a copy of the press release for this event.

  • David David Katzman reads from A Greater Monster With Illustrator Caitlin McKay 11/10

    David David Katzman’s second novel, A Greater Monster (Bedhead Books), is a groundbreaking multimedia work that includes 65 pages of illustrations, numerous graphic design elements, visual text poetry, and links to two websites, one of which features original music composed to mirror events in a scene of the book and another featuring an animated sequence.

    This story itself is a psychedelic fairytale for the modern age, influenced by Alice in Wonderland, Williams S. Burroughs, and graphic novelist Grant Morrison. This darkly poetic tale takes you on a trip into a twisted alternate reality that reflects civilization like a funhouse mirror. A Greater Monster breathes new life into the possibilities of fiction.

    “Brilliant, insane, and utterly unique…”—Jen Knox, author of To Begin Again (2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award winner)

    “I can’t express how brilliant my favorite scenes in A Greater Monster are. In this extraordinary work, Katzman pushes language to do things, which are truly astounding.”—Carra Stratton, Editor, Starcherone Press

    “This is bizarro fiction at its most intense. It contains scenes and unique designs that seem engineered by some Mad Hatter and Chuck Palahniuk cross-breed.”—Lavinia Ludlow, author of alt.punk

    David David Katzman’s first novel, Death by Zamboni follows anti-hero Satan Donut through a world of mimes, TV stars, zombies, blockheads, mad scientists, riot grrls, and werewolves. It continues to be an acclaimed cult success. Katzman ‘s work has been published in Bridge Literary Magazine and Tailspins. He has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from University of Wisconsin-Madison and has performed as an actor and improviser throughout Chicago.
    Also in attendance will be the book's illustrator Caitlin McKay, who contributed over 60 pages of sequential illustrations to the book!

    For more info:
    daviddavid.net
    goodreads.com/daviddavid

    Thurs, November 10th, 7pm

    Click here to download the press release for this event.

  • Logan Square Literary Review Reads: Halloween Edition

    Kick-off your Halloween weekend with the Logan Square Literary Review Reads: Halloween Edition! Grab your pumpkin beers and trick-or-treat bags and prepare yourself for the spooky, scary and creepy as read by: Lara Levitan, Michael McCauley, Alicia Hilton and others!

    The Logan Square Literary Review is a not-for-profit quarterly journal based in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, IL. This publication aims to facilitate expression and add to the thriving community of arts and ideas in Logan Square. The Logan Square Literary Review is dependent upon submissions from the public. This event is to celebrate issue VIII Fall 2011.

    Long live 60647!