Quimby’s Bookstore · 1854 W. North Ave · Chicago, IL 60622 · 773-342-0910

Category: readings

  • Matthew Gavin Frank Reads From Pot Farm 9/7

    In Matthew Gavin Frank’s new book Pot Farm (The University of Nebraska Press), he talks about his work on a medical marijuana farm in Northern California. Through firsthand observations and experiences (some influenced by the farm’s cash crop), interviews, and research, Pot Farm exposes a thriving but unsung faction of contemporary American culture.

    ” Investigative research coupled with personal reflections on a controversial arena of American farm production.” —Kirkus Reviews

    “Pot Farm is the curious and compelling tale of a hazy season spent harvesting medical marijuana. The cast of characters rivals those found in the finest comic fiction, except these folks are real, and really peculiar. Pot Farm is smart, sly, revelatory, often laugh-out-loud funny, and entirely legal. —Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic and Desire

    “Sex, politics, intrigue, crime, adventure, life and death—it’s all here, in a strangely compelling hybrid of action flick meets postmodern philosophical meditation meets Cheech and Chong. This compulsively readable exposé from a self-proclaimed ‘unreliable narrator’ has it all, including a cast of outcast characters who simply jump off the page.”—Gina Frangello, author of Slut Lullabies

    Matthew Gavin Frank is the author of Pot Farm, Barolo, Warranty in Zulu, The Morrow Plots (forthcoming from Black Lawrence Press/Dzanc Books), Sagittarius Agitprop and more. Recent work appears in The New Republic, The Huffington Post, The Iowa Review, The Best Food Writing, The Best Travel Writing, Creative Nonfiction, Gastronomica, and others. He currently teaches Creative Writing in the MFA Program at Northern Michigan University, where he is the Nonfiction Editor of Passages North.  This winter, he prepared his first batch of whitefish-thimbleberry ice cream.

    For more info: matthewgfrank.com

    Fri, Sept 7th, 7:00 pm

  • David Rees Reads From How to Sharpen Pencils 8/15

    In David Rees’s new book How to Sharpen Pencils (Melville House), the creator of Get Your War On and founder of ArtisanalPencilSharpening.com shares the secrets of his craft, empowering the layman to discover the pleasures (and perils) of sharpening pencils. Over the course of 18 chapters, Rees explains the difference between sharpening techniques, including:

    – Using a Pocketknife

    – Using a Single-Burr Handcrank Sharpener

    – Sharpening Pencils for Children

    – and many more!

    “How to Sharpen Pencils is very funny—it’s the work, let’s not forget, of the guy responsible for Get Your War On—but it’s no April Fools’ joke, and it’s no bathroom book. It’s a literary oddity that, even as it gleefully pursues the comic possibilities of its premise, subtly gestures towards its own secluded seriousness. And, for what it’s worth, it also marks the standard to which all future pencil-sharpening textbooks must now aspire.”

    – Mark O’Connell, NewYorker.com

    “I trust my bespoke pencils only to David Rees.”

    – Liz Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

    “You may think that sharpening a pencil is easy, but David Rees makes it look hard, and that makes all the difference.”

    – John Hodgman, Areas of My Expertise

    The work of David Rees has been featured in such places as: Rolling Stone, GQ, Punk Planet, and The Nation. His work has also been in such anthologies as Ultimate Blogs: Masterworks from the Wild Web and The McSweeney’s Book of Politics & Musicals. He has been featured on podcasts and radio shows such as Bullseye with Jesse Thorn and The Best Show on WFMU.

    For more info: artisanalpencilsharpening.com

    Wed, Aug 15th, 7pm

  • "Bad Zine, Everyone's Fault" Zine Tour Kick Off Reading 7/20

    A night of zine readings by four zinesters setting off on their East Coast tour.

    Readings by:

    Jen Twigg writes zines about playing music as a lady-identified punx, the dubious crossroads of football and feminism, and living in two places at once. She is writing a grad thesis about Star Trek and is an organizer of the Chicago Zine Fest.

    Heather C writes Dig Deep, a zine about public libraries, street harassment, & the rad ways she’s working to create a full life. She also runs Stranger Danger, a zine distro that specializes in feminist, queer, & trans zines.

    Xavi M. writes about identity and unripened fruit in a collection of poetry called Explorers Are We.

    Leslie Perrine writes and illustrates short fiction and mini-comics mostly about talking animals.  She lives in Chicago with her cat Bum and is an organizer for the Chicago Zine Fest.

    “This is going to be a night to remember!” Johnny Misfit, founder of Two Cookie Minimum reading series.

    Check out work:

    leslieperrine.blogspot.com

    jtwiggjtwigg.tumblr.com

    strangerdangerzines.com

    www.chicagozinefest.org

    Fri, July 20th, 7pm

  • Marc Arcuri, Dan Gleason, Gregory Jacobsen, Mike McPadden & Gabriel Wallace Read 7/28

    Back and sexier than ever! The great Marc Arcuri, stylist to the stylites, keyboardist for Santana, lover of Pantera and lead singer/drummer of the English Softhearts plans to orate nonsensically at the top of his lungs! Dan Gleason, that fat sad sac ejaculator of short stories, shall read b. s. from his latest greatest hits book, ‘Dear Sweetness,’ and also some of his more recent vapid creations! Gregory Jacobsen, greaser/guido/hairball, possessor of large hands, painter, and lead singer of the Lovely Little Girls will lick your body up and down with his sensual verbosity! Mike McPadden, author of, ‘If You Like Metallica…,’ ‘Heavy Metal Movies: The 666 Most Headbanging Films from Anvil to Zardoz,’ and head writer at Mr. Skin will provide a delightful pause from that life you are leading, void of meaning, with his angelic wordplay! And Gabriel Wallace, poet/genius/renegade, dead-ringer for Taylor Negron – a. k. a. the Pizza Guy from Fast Times – author of The Great Sheboygan Panty Raid of 18977, Quack With Me (folderol) and The Waukegan Pepsodent Conundrum will mesmerize your loins with his erotic mysticism!

    The work of Marc Arcuri has been featured at Buddy Gallery, the Co-Prosperity Sphere, New Capital, the Double Door, the Burlington and at Bitchpork. Dan’s work has been on display at the Hyde Park Art Center, Antena Gallery, the Block Museum of Art, Roots & Culture and at Salon Tress. Gregory Jacobsen shows his artwork at Chicago’s ZG Gallery and Berlin’s Bongout. He’s also had stuff in Hi-Fructose and New American Paintings. Mike McPadden’s stuffs can be found in Happyland, Hustler, and Mr. Skin. He has also served as screenwriter of a number of films. Gabriel Wallace’s work has been witnessed at the Hideout, Bottom Lounge, innumerable places in the great NYC and Columbia, Missouri, and also at the magical QUIMBY’S BOOKSTORE!

    Marc: http://lit.newcity.com/2008/08/21/reading-series-orphan-schlitz-iii/

    Greg: http://gregoryjacobsen.com/

    Mike: http://mcbeardo.com/

    Dan: https://www.quimbys.com/store/1696

    Gabe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2h6ZKQrjk4

    Saturday, July 28, 7pm

  • All The Writers I Know Presents: No Pleasure Is A Guilty Pleasure Queer Literary Showcase 6/22

    Quimby’s will be hosting the next installment of All The Writers I Know on June 22nd, titled, “No Pleasure Is A Guilty Pleasure.” Readers Patrick Gill, Rosy Phinick, Mar Curran, ellie june navidson, and Jamie Royce, among others, will be reading pieces about the pleasures people find and create in life.

    All The Writers I Know is the brainchild of Gill and Phinick, who realizing their social circles contained many talented writers who had no queer-focused space to read their work, started hosting the showcase in Gill’s livingroom. As it has moved outside his home to Southside Hub of Production in Hyde Park and now Quimby’s, Gill has sought to retain the intimacy among the readers and audience the showcase was first known for. With a growing fan base and audience, audiences will recognize recurring performers such as Gill, Phinick, and Curran, while hearing new talented writers such as navidson.

    Maintaining a queer-focused space in which pleasure could be openly celebrated and embraced is important for Gill and Phinick, as well as their writers, who feel that fostering queer voices in safe spaces allows for open dialogue about pleasure and its importance in their lives.

    “Queer people are often alienated from society and culture. It’s important to celebrate ourselves and the pleasure we derive from our experience to reject dominant narratives on the value of queer folks and, more importantly, to acknowledge the real beauty in our lives,” said navidson.

    Readers will also have zines of their work available for purchase.

    For more info:

    allthewritersiknow.tumblr.com

    stuffqueerpeopleneedtoknow.wordpress.com

    Fri, June 22nd, 7pm

  • George R.R. Washington Presents A Game of Groans 3/27

    A GAME OF GROANS
    A Sonnet of Slush and Soot By George R.R. Washington

    It’s the story fans of George R.R. Martin’s series A Song of Fire and Ice know and love—well, sort of. In the wayward world of GEORGE R.R. WASHINGTON’s A GAME OF GROANS:  A Sonnet of Slush and Soot (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Griffin; 1-250-01126-4; March 27, 2012; Trade Paperback Original; $9.99) seasons can last decades. And trouble is brewing. The warmth is returning, and in the thawing tundra of the North of Summerseve, something wicked is coming. A GAME OF GROANS  is the story of the Barkers of Summerseve, headed by Lord Headcase Barker and Lady Gateway Bully Barker, and their children including Allbran, Bobb, Malia, Sasha, and of course, bastard Juan Nieve (all followed by their pet direpandas, natch).

    The Barkers are a family unit as hard and unforgiving as the pronunciation of “Daenerys Targaryen” and nothing will be the same after a visit from King Bobbert Baronme and the royal family. Swooping from this land of sweater weather to a balmy kingdom of equestrian delights and outdoor fornication, here is an epic of novella proportions. Amid plots and counterplots, wizards and warriors, poor reception and no wireless, the future of the Barkers, their BFFs, and their enemies dangles in the balance, as each strives to star in that funniest of concepts: a parody of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones

    GEORGE R.R. WASHINGTON is the author of many novels. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Outer Limits, Teen Wolf, and many other films and pilots that are currently stored in the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. He lives with the lovely Natalie in Chicago, Illinois.

    Tues, March 27th, 7pm

  • 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.

  • Kevin Coval Performs Poetry From L-Vis Lives!: Racemusic Poems

    Spoken-word poet Kevin Coval, co-founder and Artistic Director of Louder Than a Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival, will perform at Quimby’s in support of his third collection of poetry L-vis Lives! Racemusic Poems (Haymarket Books, September).

    Coval, who has been hailed as “a new glowing voice in the world of literature” by Studs Terkel, explores the dynamic intersection of race and culture in America today with “L-vis,” an imagined persona and pastiche of artists who have used and misused Black music. In Coval’s poetic novella, L-vis’s story is equal parts autobiography and forgotten and re-imagined history. We see shades of Elvis Presley, the Beastie Boys, and Eminem, and meet some of history’s more obscure “whiteboy” heroes and antiheroes. A free audio preview of L-vis Lives!, with poems read by Coval and beats by Coolout Chris, can be heard here: http://bit.ly/oXSIxZ
    “This book is bold, brave and morally messy – twelve rounds of knock-down, drag-out shadowboxing against a shapeshifter. The dark humor, intellectual fervor, and emotional rigor Coval brings to bear animates these pieces, turns caricatures to characters…”
    —Adam Mansbach, author, Go the F**k to Sleep

    For performance, interview, and review requests, contact: Jon Kurinsky, Haymarket Books, jon@haymarketbooks.org

    Wed, Oct 12th, 7pm

    from hero to most
    i am a hero
    to most. the great hope
    of something other.
    a complex back-story.
    something other than
    the business of my father.
    bland’s antonym.
    jim crow’s black sheep.
    the forgotten son
    left to rise in the darkness
    among the dis
    carded in the wild
    of working class, single
    mother hoods.

  • Todd Dills and Friends Celebrate All Hands On: THE2NDHAND After 10 on 10/3

    THE2NDHAND’s founding editor, Todd Dills, joins contributors to launch the mag’s 10th-anniversary anthology: All Hands On: THE2NDHAND After 10

    THE2NDHAND began its life as an 11-by-17-inch block of black text on white paper peppered variously with photo-illustrations, comics, line drawings and distributed in storefronts first in Chicago, then in an ever-growing list of cities around the U.S. New writing, simply, has been its focus since editor and publisher Todd Dills (author of the novel Sons of the Rapture) founded it in 2000—a small format its physicality, but a loud mouth and a big heart its most important parts.

    “And without Quimby’s, where we began hosting readings shortly after we launched,” says Dills, “we would never have built the community of writers and readers we now enjoy.”

    After a successful Kickstarter campaign raised funds to print the book, All Hands On: THE2NDHAND after 10 arrived in August to lay down the best of the mag’s 10+ years of publishing writing by the budding insurgents of the American lit landscape—and others, no doubt. True to form, the book begins with a section of new, as-yet unpublished work, and follows with sections devoted to some of its best repeat writers, including those on the program for this event.

    Joining Nashville, Tenn.-based Dills at this event them are Time Out Chicago books editor and Featherproof Books publisher Jonathan Messinger (Hiding Out) and longtime THE2NDHAND contributors and Chicago residents Kate Duva and Jill Summers. For more about the book, as well as the writers, visit the2ndhand.com/THE2NDHANDTXT/books

  • Quimby's in Time Out Chicago!

    Two events we’re involved with are in this week’s Critics’ picks in Time Out Chicago! We’ll be selling Anders Nilson’s Big Questions anthology off-site at his release event at Lula Café on Tues, Aug 30th 7pm, and Carrie McGath reads from So Sorry to See You Go here at Quimby’s on Sat, Aug 27th, 7pm.

    Thanks to Carrie McGath for pointing this out to us!