Category: Store Events

Friday, April 15th, 6:00 PM
Sarah Vowell book event for Assassination Vacation
sponsored by Quimby’s and the Chicago Public Library.
FREE
PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS NOT AT QUIMBYS!
Head Down to the
Harold Washington Library
400 S. State Street
Chicago IL 60605
 
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other?a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways in which they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage.
 
From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present for the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley); and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue?it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and?the author?s favorite?historical tourism. Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican party became the Republican party, there are all kinds of lighter diversions along the way into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth century biblical sex cult.
 
SARAH VOWELL is the author of The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Take the Cannoli, and Radio On. She is a contributing editor for public radio’s This American Life. She is also a McSweeney’s person, and the voice of teenage superhero Violet Parr in Pixar Animation Studios’ The Incredibles. She lives in New York City.

Yama Moonbow reads from
Accessing the Eye of Wisdom
Tuesday, April 19th, 7PM
FREE
 
Yama Moonbow is the author of Accessing the Eye of Wisdom, A practical guide to Ultimate Reality will be on hand for a booking signing and discussion. He is a Tattoo Artist who attained enlightenment in May 1998, with his book he hopes to offer a unique perspective on the subject.
 
This book is not a summation of knowledge comprehended from thousands of books or decades of monastic and ascetic living. It has been written from that place of intuition and inspiration, which exists inside of each of us that, can only be experienced directly. The mission statement of this book is to assist one in having that experience.
 
Where many books are open ended and leave room for a sequel, this one does not. It is broken down into three parts beginning with the end, then the means of getting there and then the various truths that may be seen after attainment. If life were so simple this book would not be necessary. Although the book is relatively short in page numbers, every word is powerful and the reader will not go away hungry after digesting the contents held within the cover.
 
From the Author
In May 1998, this direct experience was attained. At that time I did not realize that I had stepped through the mystical door that leads to Universal Love, Knowledge, Truth, Understanding and Ultimately Wisdom. Though I have had many successes in life, I can only say that this has been the greatest One. It is my intention to revise that statement and say; “the greatest success I have had is to help others attain Ultimate Reality”.
 
The reason I do not sport my photo on this book is because it is not about me but about you and the experience. This experience is available to everyone regardless of sex, race, nationality, religion, education, etc. Therefore my personal race, nationality, religion, education and so forth are irrelevant.
 
I can only hope that those who seek will find the answers contained within these pages.

Ben Pleasants reads fromVisceral BukowskiSaturday May 7th, 7PM
FREE
 
Ben Pleasants is the author of VISCERAL BUKOWSKI: Inside the Sniper Landscape of LA Writers. VISCERAL BUKOWSKI is a memoir of a 20-year friendship with deep insights into the personal life of Charles Bukowski and the city of Los Angeles. Here are clear chapters on childhood friends, Bukowski?s flirtation with Nazism, how Pleasants and Bukowski together rediscover John Fante, adventures in Hollywood, the women, the jobs, the booze and the writing; the way it really happened without the fiction. Pleasants is also a playwright with five plays produced including “The Hemingway/Dos Passos Wars,” and “Contenious Minds: The Mary McCarthy/ Lillian Hellman Affair.” for a better look at his life and work see “How to Write A Short Story\” or “When Bukowski Was a Nazi” at Hollywood Investigator.com.
 
Ben Pleasants will be reading from the book and discuss the fact that he was Bukowski’s friend for twenty years and the direct link between John Fante and Charles Bukowski. This will be a reading and book signing.

Saturday, April 16th, 7:30PMAline Kominsky-Crumb, wife of the cartoonist R. Crumb,and Peter Poplaski, author of The R. Crumb Handbook!
 
The R. Crumb Handbook (MQ Publications) is a brand new take on the life,
trials and ideas of one of the most influential cartoonists of the last
forty years. Wry, self-deprecating, and candid, this is an exceptionally
revealing and unexpectedly moving visual biography. Written with his close
friend and fellow cartoonist Peter Poplaski, the new book allows ample room
for the ?father of underground comics? to express his ideas and opinions on
a variety of subjects: fame and celebrity, art and commercialism, sex and
drugs, age and death. At over 400 pages, this hardcover book features over
300 never seen before illustrations from his sketchbooks, 80 personal
photos, interviews, and a special CD of twenty songs of R.Crumb?s original
music. Not to mention it\’s practically a steal at $25.00. The books at the
event will contain a signed bookplate from Robert (who will not be there),
and Pete and Aline will sign the book too.
 
This event will also be a part
of the R. Crumb National Lookalike Contest where the winner will go on a
date with Aline Kominsky-Crumb. However, at Quimby?s, the winner will win a
signed copy of the R. Crumb Handbook! Also, word has leaked out that Peter
may dress up as Zorro, so if nothing else gets you here, we don?t see why
that wouldn?t do the trick.

Leslie Stella reads & signsUnimaginable SummerSaturday, May 21st, 7:00 PM
 
Leslie Stella?s third novel, UNIMAGINABLE ZERO SUMMER is a fun and humorous tale of seven thirty-somethings in Chicago who gather together for a round of cocktails, dinner parties, and karaoke over the summer before their fifteen-year high school reunion. As they rehash old times, they uncover the slippery foundations on which they?ve based friendships and marriages, and analyze the shaky criteria for what constitutes as happiness and fulfillment. Stella?s latest work is full of wit, sarcasm, obscure music references, and the charming but eccentric group of characters that she is best known for creating.
 
Verity Presti, on the cusp of thirty-four, is dealing with some issues. She divides her time between an adorably neurotic boyfriend who lives with his parents; her divorced father, who lives alone and is enmeshed in a weird suburban dating scene; and her dead-end job as a bookstore clerk at Barnes & Noble. Verity?s hapless boyfriend, the unfortunately named Charlie Brown?like his namesake, all-around lovable loser? is a victim of the dot-com bust and has recently discovered his true calling as an urban shaman, a modern-day medicine man capable of predicting baseball scores and channeling lost pets. Verity and Charlie are simultaneously on the verge of marriage and a breakup, precipitated by the modern requirement to build a career, save money, have children, settle down, and live free, all at once. Amidst all the turmoil, Verity still sees a happy future for herself, even if no one else does.
 
Craig and Carolyn, the sickeningly perfect high-school sweethearts are now married with the perfect house and kids, although their relationship may be far from the image they project. Stan, once the object of Verity?s affections and desires, is now married to Laurel, a struggling poet who falls under the spell of Charlie Brown. And then there?s Will, a rage-a-holic Karaoke Jockey who still carries a torch for Verity. As the reunion draws closer, the group of seven takes stock of their lives and embarks on a roller-coaster journey to summer?s end, battling the memories of fifteen years of freak-outs and failure. Stella?s quick wit is sure to make you laugh until you cry, and vice versa. UNIMAGINABLE ZERO SUMMER is a quirky, modern comedy about the insecurities, foibles, and uncertainties we all have, and hope nobody else will notice.
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
LESLIE STELLA is a founding editor of Lumpen magazine and the author of two novels, Fat Bald Jeff (Grove, 2001) and The Easy Hour (TRP, 2003). Her work has been published in The Mississippi Review, The Adirondack Review, Bust, and Easy Listener, and anthologized in The Book of Zines (Henry Holt, 1997). She was nominated for a 2004 Pushcart Prize in short fiction.

Musichaikupod: a Companion
Release Event
Thursday, March 17th, 7:00 PM
FREE
 
JEFF WINKOWSKI is a Poet, Record Producer, Publisher, Founder of Imperfect Music and Literature. Former singer of Blackwall Hitch, melotrome player for the Violent Femnes.
 
Jeff Winkowski is also co-author of Musichaikupod: a Companion will read some of his haiku forms of record reviews and play each record that inspired the review. He doesn?t tear records apart. He will play a record and then read a corresponding poem. Funny? Yep, sometimes. But he is totally serious about this. He will also lecture on the history and significance of the haiku. This, however, will not be done in 5-7-5. The original design of the haiku was meditation. Meditation on a piece of music helps you to describe the sound in essence. This lost art, as it were, is based on the presupposition of essence to existence.
 
Musichaikupod: a Companion was printed in a limited edition of 200 with block-print covers on different record jackets. It will be available to purchase at the event.
 
Check out www.imperfectmusic.com

The Banana King #2 Release Party
Saturday, April 9th, 8PM
FREE
 
The Banana King celebrates its second issue with readings by contributors Jeb Gleason-Allured, Taryn Rejholec, Emerson Dameron and A.B. Drea. Also featured will be a read-through of Joe Meno\’s one-act play \”Don the Army Blue,\” the script of which has been published in TBK #2.
About the performers:
 
A.B. Drea is editor of The Banana King.
Joe Meno is the author of Hairstyles Of the Damned.
Jeb Gleason-Allured is editor of The2ndHand.com.
Taryn Rejholec is a freelance writer and grad student in Columbia College\’s fiction department.
Emerson Dameron is the publisher of Wherewithal.
 
More info is at:
http://thebananaking.org
http://the2ndhand.com
http://punkplanet.com

Ayun Halliday reads from Job Hopper
 
Saturday, April 16th, 4PM
 
FREE
 
If it’s true that the average worker will hold an average of seven jobs over the course of a lifetime, Ayun Halliday is anything but average. In her brief thirty-something years, Halliday has managed to rack up an impressive array of short lived stints in the paid job market, including life guard, library attendant, costume designer, actress, waitress, artist’s model, professional temp, rental stylist, substitute teacher, party counselor, massage therapist, costumed mascot, and mime, to name a few. In this uproarious collection of essays Job Hopper, Halliday displays a work ethic all employers can admire: wearing a leg brace to work after calling in “sick,” quitting the same day she starts by claiming her step-brother had been in a bike accident, and faking “vocal nodes” to avoid telemarketing calls. Along the way, she befriends colleagues and bosses who ignore her falling asleep, stealing food and clothing, and feigning skills she does not possess, and gains the respect of her customers for sheer honesty, which includes detailing her feminine hygiene problems and setting male clients straight on her brand of massage: “I’m sorry, I cannot facilitate a sexual release for you!”
 
Ayun Halliday was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1988, she joined The Neo-Futurists, a Chicago theatre company notable for presenting 30 original plays in the course of 60 minutes and ordering pizza for the audience whenever the show sold out. There she meet her future husband and ended up moving to New York City. She is the author of the books the Big Rumpus and No Touch Monkey! along with the zine East Village Inky.
 
Ayun Halliday will be reading and signing her new book at the event.

Tuesday, March 29th, 7PM
An Evening of Reading, co-sponsored by Watchword Press and the Independent Press Association, hosts readings by local authors Mirela Ramona Ciupag, Gene Tanta, Simone Muench, Pennie Brinson and Patricia Guy.
 
Chicago? In an effort to extend literary communities across state borders, and to bring independent publishing into the spotlight, Oakland based literary magazine Watchword is making the rounds, and will be hosting an event co-sponsored with the Independent Press Association this month at Quimby?s Books with two extraordinary local magazines, Poetry Magazine and the Journal of Ordinary Thought. Local writers Pennie Brinson, Mirela Ramona Ciupag, Patricia Guy, Simone Muench and Gene Tanta will be presented by their editors at 7PM on Tuesday, March 29th at Quimby?s in Chicago.
 
Watchword, the literary magazine published bi-annually by Watchword Press, has been presenting and disseminating new writing and modern translations to a wide audience since its founding in 2000
 
The Independent Press Association of Chicago is a group of community, ethnic, and other independent publications dedicated to helping each other accomplish our goals, strengthen our communities, and advance social justice. The steering committee and advisory council of IPA-Chicago include The Chicago Reporter, In These Times, The North Lawndale Community News, PISTIL Magazine, Residents’ Journal, Punk Planet, and the Journal of Ordinary Thought. The organization?s program for 2005 includes workshops, networking, and publishing a directory of the Chicago area?s community, ethnic, and independent press.
 
Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, POETRY Magazine is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Harriet Monroe?s ?Open Door? policy, set forth in Volume I of the magazine, remains the most succinct statement of POETRY?s mission: to print the best poetry written today, in whatever style, genre, or approach. The magazine established its reputation early by publishing the first important poems of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, H. D., William Carlos Williams, Carl Sandburg, and other now-classic authors. In succeeding decades it has presented?often for the first time?works by virtually every significant poet of the 20th century.
 
The Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT), published quarterly by the Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA), features writing by adults participating in community-based writing workshops in Chicago. JOT publishes reflections people make on their personal histories and everyday experiences. It is founded on the proposition that Every Person Is a Philosopher and expressing one?s thoughts fosters creativity and change. The Journal of Ordinary Thought is a vehicle for reflection, communication, and change.
 
Reading at this event will be:
 
Pennie Brinson (JOT) has been attending the Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT) workshops at the Mabel Manning Branch Library since the spring of 1999. Brinson has been writing poetry and short stories since she was a child. She is currently working on a novel to be titled, Rosa Lee, and her fourth chapbook of prose titled Gloria, and Other Women. She is a recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award, and also freelances for Residents? Journal. Her first love is reading and writing poetry. Brinson has an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts.
 
Mirela Ramona Ciupag (WATCHWORD) holds a BA in Philosophy from University Alexandru I. Cuza, Iasi, Romania. She was a philosophy teacher and a theater director when in 1999 she came to America as an ArtsLink program fellow in Poetry and as a guest of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. More recently, she won Curator?s Choice award at Chicago’s 2002 Around the Coyote Arts Festival. Her poems as well as her translations were published in Iasi, Romania Outpost, in San Francisco Watchword, and in Chicago Another Chicago Magazine and Court Green.
 
Patricia Guy (JOT) Tricia is a woman in her forties who has experienced her share of grief and heartache?Patricia Guy started with Journal of Ordinary Thought (JOT) in 1996, at the first meeting at the Hall Branch Library at 48th and Michigan. Since then, Guy has appeared in many issues of JOT. She co-led a group at the Fisk Elementary School (with parents) and moved from the Hall Branch Library writing group to start her own at the King Branch Library. Guy now leads the West Englewood Branch Library writing workshop. ?Tricia is a fresh thought. She knows that the first answer is not always the best?
 
Simone Muench (POETRY) is poetry editor of ACM. She was raised in Benson, Louisiana and Combs, Arkansas before moving to Colorado to receive her BA and MA from the University of Colorado. Her poems have been published, or are forthcoming, in Paris Review, Indiana Review, Notre Dame Review, Poetry, Bellingham Review and Pool. One of her poems will appear in Iowa Press’s upcoming Red, White, and Blues: Poets on the Promise of America edited by Ryan G. Van Cleave and Virgil Suarez. She is a recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, the 49th Parallel Award for Poetry, the Charles Goodnow Award, the AWP Intro Journals Project Award and the Poetry Center’s 9th Annual Juried Reading Award. Her book The Air Lost in Breathing received the Marianne Moore Prize for Poetry and was published by Helicon Nine in 2000. New Michigan Press released her chapbook Notebook. Knife. Mentholatum in 2003. She was one of the Fine Lines Poetry Contest winners co-sponsored by Olay and the Poetry Society of America, and judged by Sonia Sanchez, Sapphire, Lee Ann Brown, Marilyn Chin, Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez and Jill Bialosky. Recently, her manuscript Drowning by the Light of Oranges, aka Lampblack and Ash, won the Kathryn A. Morton Prize for Poetry from Sarabande Books. It will appear sometime in 2005.
 
Gene Tanta (Eugen Tinta) (WATCHWORD) was born in Timisoara, Romania, 1974 and arrived with his family in Chicago in 1984. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and translates contemporary Romanian poetry. His poems, visual works, and translation have been published and exhibited nationally and internationally: Epoch, Ploughshares, Circumference Magazine, Exquisite Corpse, Watchword, Columbia Poetry Review. Two collaborative poems with Reginald Shepherd are forthcoming in Indiana Review.
 
Watchword Press: www.watchwordpress.org
Poetry Magazine: www.poetrymagazine.org
Journal of Ordinary Thought: www.jot.org
IPA Chicago: www.indypress.org

Akashic Books & Punk Planet Books presentan evening of readings withLauren Sanders author of WITH OR WITHOUT YOU andBee Lavender author of LESSONS IN TAXIDERMYTuesday, April 12th, 7PMFREE
With or Without You combines the aching adolescent heart of The Catcher in the Rye with the dark suburban soul of The Great Gatsby–set against the starstruck voyeurism of American Idol. This book asks the quintessentially American question: Is life worth living if you can’t be famous?
 
LAUREN SANDERS’s highly acclaimed debut novel, Kamikaze Lust, won a 2000 Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in many publications, including the American Book Review, Poets & Writers, and Time Out New York. She lives in Brooklyn.
 
Lessons in Taxidermy is the autobiographical tale of growing up destitute and sick in the Pacific Northwest. After surviving a rare genetic disorder and childhood cancer, Lavender retells the events of her tumultuous life–battling her illnesses, learning to fight, young motherhood–in fearless, unapologetic prose and gut-wrenching, yet darkly comic, detail.
 
Bee Lavender is the 33-year-old coeditor of two books, Breeder: Real Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers and Mamaphonic. She is also the publisher of the online edition of Hip Mamamagazine. She also created and publishes Girl-Mom, an advocacy website for teen parents, and Yo Mama Says, a news and commentary website for activists.
 
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU by Lauren Sanders
“I hate the term poetic, but Lauren Sanders’s writing has such a slick mean surface and her subject is such a truly bad girl, a murderer. I mean, so that poetic suits With or Without You just fine. It’s a hot poetic book I wouldn’t kick out of bed.”
–Eileen Myles, author of Chelsea Girls
 
LESSONS IN TAXIDERMY by Bee Lavender
“Bee Lavender is a fantastic writer. Her work is deep and personal and I don’t think there are any places she’s scared to go.”
–Michelle Tea, author of Rent Girl
 
Both authors will be reading and signing their new books at the event.