Category: Store Events

Wednesday Aug 30th 7PMCarolyn S. Aguila author ofFlirting with Rhyme and Reason
 
Join Carolyn S. Aguila, Chicago Poet and author of the new book Flirting with Rhyme and Reason, for a signing and reading at Quimbys.
 
A native Chicagoan, Carolyn Aguila has worked with several arts organizations, including the Gwendolyn Brooks Literary Estate, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Poetry Slam. Her poetry is published in the Oyez Review (Roosevelt University, Chicago) and is featured on the spoken word CD, She Laughs. Aguila is also the co-author of Threads of Ireland: A Chicago Neighborhood Tour, commissioned by the City of Chicago Office of Tourism.
 
She has performed her poetry at the prestigious Chicago Cultural Center, Harold Washington Library, the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival, the Seattle Poetry Festival, the Guinness Fleadh, and as a recurring ensemble member of the poetry showcase, Urban Voices. She has also featured at numerous venues including The Green Mill, Pops for Champagne, and Caf? Aloha, as well as several Chicago-area university campuses and radio stations.
 
Several years ago, Aguila managed the permission copyrights for the late Illinois Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize recipient, Gwendolyn Brooks. Her own agency, CSA2 Enterprises, represented a variety of performing artists, writers and media professionals. During her tenure with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Aguila demonstrated her creativity as an arts administrator. She produced children?s programs, reading series and lectures, dance and music performances, film festivals and other multi-disciplinary events.
 
Aguila still resides in Chicago and is active in the city?s arts community as a panelist and board/committee member.
 

Orphan Schlitz Reading SeriesOrReady Set RelapseFriday, Aug 25th, 8:00 PMFREE
 
with
 
Marc Arcuri: poet, musician (SAFety Pin), ex-fashion editor (Lumpen), Scuzzduck
 
David Tortuga: professional mover, writer, father
 
Al Burian: musician (Milemarker, Challenger), writer, zine maker (Burn Collector)
 
Dan Gleason: poet, zine maker( ), author( )
 
Meg McCarville: youth outreach specialist, rapper (?Lil Princess)
 
This event is only to promote ultimate coolness

Melissa Fraterrigo and Gina Frangello
readThursday, August 17th, 7:30 PMfree
 
Melissa Fraterrigo’s collection of short stories, THE LONGEST PREGNANCY, won the First Tartt Fiction Award in a national competition sponsored by Livingston Press. Her stories have been nominated for the Fountain Award from the Speculative Literature Foundation and for a Pushcart Award. She was awarded the Charles B. Wood Award for Distinguished Writing from The Carolina Quarterly in 2001 and in 2000, won the Sam Adams/Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Contest. A graduate of Bowling Green State University?s MFA program in creative writing, she now lives and writes in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
 
Gina Frangello is the Executive Editor of the award-winning literary magazine OTHER VOICES and its new fiction imprint OV Books. Frangello’s highly-acclaimed first novel, MY SISTER’S CONTINENT was released in January, 2006 by Chiasmus Press. Her short fiction has been published in many literary journals, including Swink, StoryQuarterly, two girls review, Blithe House Quarterly, and Fish Stories. She guest-edited the anthology Falling Backwards: Stories of Fathers and Daughters (Hourglass Books) and has been a freelance journalist for the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Reader. A graduate of the Program for Writers at the University of Illinois-Chicago, she has taught literature and creative writing at several Chicago universities and is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council literary award and individual fellowship. She lives with her husband and children.
 
More info at:
www.ginafrangello.com
www.melissafraterrigo.com

Overrated EventHenry Owings Editor of ChukletThursday, August 10th, 7:00 PMFREE
 
Join Henry Owings as he celebrates the release of The Overrated book at Quimby?s. Expect surprises, hijinx and maybe an exclusive top-secret Chunklet film screening.
 
The Overrated book is brought to you by the staff of Chunklet Magazine, a paragon of satire for the holy cows of underground music and culture. Since the early 90s, the magazine has mercilessly lampooned the music industry, and is one of the most loved reads for the hippest bands and music aficionados. In recent issues, the magazine has an official guide of what music not to buy and made extensive charts of a Pay Not To Play system, offering bands large amounts of money to breakup, and Adopt a Gutter Punk program to make the world smell just a tiny bit better. The magazine has a highly graphicstyle and combines the work of political cartoonist Ted Rall with many talented, young artists from the Cartoon network. The musings of David Cross (Mr. Show, Arrested Development), Sarah Silverman (Saturday Night Live, School of Rock, Crank Yankers, Jesus Is Magic), Patton Oswalt (King of Queens, Comedians of Comedy), Janeane Garofalo (Saturday Night Live, Air America Radio) Brian Posehn (Mr. Show, Just Shoot Me,), and Zach Galifianakis (Late Night With Zach, Bubble Boy).

Arthur Poletti author ofGod Does Not Eat MeatSaturday, August 5th, 7:00 PMFREE
 
God Does Not Eat Meat by Arthur Poletti is the fictional story of Bradford Knox. In his senior year at the University of California in the year 2065 which is 57 years after the revolutionary Animal Welfare Act of 2008 which removed all meat from the food chain in the United States.
 
One of the last requirements for graduation is to produce a philosophy thesis proving that the world is better off today (in 2065) because of man?s wisdom. The thesis will be presented to his classmates over several days of one-hour speeches. Bradford decides to provide a comprehensive presentation that will explain how much better off the world is today simply because of kindness to animals. Bradford has enormous compassion for animals and is well educated regarding current conditions of animal welfare. However he knows very little about the cruelty that was perpetrated against animals before 2008. Encouraged by his brilliant and beautiful wife to be, Alyssa, Brad decides to observe films depicting the horrors of the worst kind of animal cruelty.
 
Each night Brad begrudgingly views outrageous and gut wrenching films that vividly and explicitly show the grotesque massacre of large numbers of precious animals in slaughterhouses and in laboratories. Most evenings end with Brad dozing off into a fantasy dream world of horror. He always seems to find himself in a pastoral setting driving down a country road on a beautiful day. Then the scene suddenly changes to frightening mind flashes of animals being tortured and killed. Brads nightmares are far too real and begin to tear him apart emotionally. During his conscious hours in the present, Brad tries to think of ways he can stop the carnage he sees in his dreams.
 
God Does Not Eat Meat is a thought-provoking and controversial story cuts between a violent and bloody present world in which millions of animals are slaughtered daily, to a future America where all meat has been removed from the food chain. The unlikely hero goes against the status quo with unyielding determination to set an example of the power of kindness for the benefit of his family and friends. This story can seriously change your life! Arthur Poletti will be on hand to read and discuss his book.
 

Dancing Girl Press presents an evening of readingsSaturday, July 29th, 7:00 PMFREE
 
Sarah Gardner?s chapbook, How to Study Birds, was released in June from Dancing Girl Press. Her poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in The North American Review, The Cortland Review, Runes Review of Poetry, Calyx, Cranky Literary Journal, and Heliotrope She lives in Texas, where she teaches creative writing to disadvantaged youth through Houston’s Writers in the Schools.
 
Lina Ramona Vitkauska?s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Aufgabe, Skanky Possum, The Prague Literary Review, The Chicago Review, 5_Trope, Gargoyle, and others. She is co-editor of Milk Magazine (w/ Larry Sawyer) and author of three chapbooks: Failed Star Spawns Planet/Star (Dancing Girl Press, 2006), Shooting Dead Films with Poets (Fractal Edge Press, 2004) and The Meanest Man Contest (mother’s milk press, 2000).
 
Kristy Bowen is the author of several handmade and limited edition chapbooks, including the most recent, archer avenue. Her work has appeared in Another Chicago Magazine, Slipstream, Cranky, Swink, and Rhino. Her first full-length collection, the fever almanac, is due out in November from Ghost Road Press. She is the editor of the electronic poetry zine wicked alice, and runs dancing girl press, dedicated to publishing work by women authors.

Perpetual Motion Roadshow #35Featuring Hadassah Hill, Cort Bulloch, Jesse Dangerously, and Brandon WetherbeeSaturday, July 15th, 7:00 PMFREE
…Perpetual Motion Roadshow #35…featuring: expat femme wordsmith HADASSAH HILL from New York City! sorry-ass folk singer CORT BULLOCH from Calgary! secret rap legend JESSE DANGEROUSLY from Halifax! and local opener foul-mouthed friend BRANDON WETHERBEE from Chicago!
 
Hadassah M. Hill (aka. Axon Panter) is a New York/Toronto-based performance artist and writer. Her work has appeared in Geeks, Misfits and Outlaws (2004) and Without A Net (2003). She toured Ontario and Quebec in 2004/05 with the performance troupe Trash and Ready and has performed at Ladyfest, Cheap Queers, Hysteria, and Mayworks. Her recordings include Bombshell Lexicon (2005) and Bad Girls Belief System (2005). In August, she’s heading to Femme 2006 in San Francisco. Hadassah’s also a textile artist who works in reconstructing/recycling vintage clothing and embroidery, and is Associate Art Director with $pread Magazine. She loves anything on two wheels, and rhinestones.
www.hadassahsbizzare.com
 
Cort Bulloch is a roots songwriter raised in southern Alberta. From being a jug hound in the oil patch to selling beads in Peru, Cort has roamed from Tuktoyuktuk to Buenos Aires in search of what he found to be his passion at the ripe age of 23: songwriting! The balance between melody, poetry and up-tempo pieces has him compared to such artists as Arlo Guthrie and Tracy Chapman. His nomadic, tossed salad past, along with his charming stage presence makes for a combination in which you will rarely find in folk songwriters. www.cortmusic.com
 
Jesse Dangerously is both a fan and a star in Halifax?s hip-hop scene and keeps the city in raps Friday nights as host of CKDU?s The Pavement. He was voted Best MC in this year’s Best of Music poll in Coast magazine. A prolific performer/producer, he has four solo releases and many collaborative credits. He’s brainy and bratty. Fast-talking and sing-songing. Self-aggrandizing and self-deprecating. He has performed at Toronto?s Wavelength and Montreal’s Under Pressure Graffiti Festival. By the time you read this, he’ll have played the North By Northeast festival in Toronto. And probably have been smooched a lot. www.dangerously.ca

Mark Siegel, Editorial Director of First Second BooksSaturday July 8th 7:00PM
 
Mark Siegel, Editorial Director of First Second Books (and a creator in his own right?he?s won the Bluebonnet Award for his illustrations on Lisa Wheeler?s Sea Dogs, and To Dance, a graphic novel composed by Mark and his wife, will be published by Simon & Schuster in the fall), has created an interactive multi-media presentation about graphic novels. Joann Sfar, Eddie Campbell, Jessica Abel, Matt Madden? all have upcoming projects with First Second Books.
 
Celebrating the launch of First Second Books, Mark?s presentation will be FUN and informative. Come join the party! With:
 
Book trailers?Grady Klein, the creator of The Lost Colony, has created a trailer for his graphic novel. Grady is both a comic artist and an animator, which lead him to the creation of a trailer for his graphic novel.
 
Comics-related music–one of Mark?s areas of interest is the interplay of the worlds of music and art/literature. He expresses this interest through the graphic novels he publishes, like Klezmer, a graphic novel by Joann Sfar about the origin of klezmer music in Eastern Europe.
 
?Lecture?? Mark is an excellent public speaker, and he?s very passionate on the topic of graphic novels. In this audience-guided lecture, Mark will speak about the position of graphic novels in society, literature, and art today. He?ll discuss the ?explosion? of graphic novels and upcoming media on the horizon.
 
Comics Jam?great art and great writing in graphic novels today has inspired people everywhere to attempt their own comic art. First Second encourages comics creation with a few simple exercises designed to help people understand the basics of the underlying structure of comics.
 

June 30th at Quimby\’s there is a reading. It involves
Dan Gleason, it involves the incredibly
talented Daniel Knox, it involves the superlative
Gregory Jacobsen. Here\’s the press stuffs for it:
 
Colonic Irrigation Jones, Diptheria Jackson & Rene
Standblatz present:
 
\”A One Time Promotional Event! Expect No Frills! The
Magical Misery Tour! Oslo! Budapest! And now
Chicagolicousness! Must move mega-units! Automatic
Audience Electrolysis! We Won\’t Be Undersold! Funk
Flotilla/Tampax Torpedo!\”
 
(Dan Gleason reads from \’It Ain\’t Extra, It\’s Sextra\’
and his new zine \’*@^>&/^-AC/DC/%!#

Karen Lee Boren reads from Girls in Peril
Wednesday, June 28th, 7:00 PM
 
A beautiful coming of age story, Girls in Peril, is the premier novella published by Tin House Books, and has already been nominated for the 2006 Discover Great New Writers Award.
 
About the book:
During a single summer in the 1970s, five 12-year-old girls idle away their time: jumping rope, playing four square, torturing the neighborhood Avon lady, sneaking out for late night swims in the lake. They find peril lies in places they never would have thought to look: in uncomprehending parents who steal their time and freedom (and, in one bizarre case, a thumb); in the pull of an uncertain world beyond their all-important friendships; and in their own burgeoning sexuality. Gradually the girls reassuring group identity splinters as they mature and violence close to home threatens to split them apart for good.
 
Girls in Peril is a novella about the special bonds between young women on the verge of adulthood. In this sparkling debut, issues of sexuality, identity, and class are woven into a magical and unforgettable coming of age story.
 
About the author: Karen Lee Boren teaches literature and creative writing at Rhode Island College. Her fiction has appeared in the Florida Review, Night Train, Karamu, Hawai?i Pacific Review and Dominion Review.