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AYUN HALLIDAY event for Dirty Sugar CookiesWednesday, September 20th, 7:00 PMFREE
 
AYUN HALLIDAY is the author of THE BIG RUMPUS: A MOTHER?S TALE FROM THE TRENCHES, NO TOUCH MONKEY! AND OTHER TRAVEL LESSONS LEARNED TOO LATE, JOB HOPPER: THE CHECKERED CAREER OF A DOWN-MARKET DILETTANTE, DIRTY SUGAR COOKIES: CULINARY OBSERVATIONS, QUESTIONABLE TASTE and the creator and sole staff member of the award-winning quarterly zine THE EAST VILLAGE INKY. Halliday is BUST magazine?s Mother Superior columnist and has contributed to NPR. Her work has also appeared in PENTHOUSE, BITCH, UTNE, and HipMama and more anthologies than you can shake a stick at without dangling a participle. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the playwright Greg Kotis and their well-documented children.
 
About Dirty Sugar Cookies:
 
How does a picky eater morph into a low-budget epicure whose digestive indiscretions are a matter of public record? Just how far can a pregnant woman stray from the Best Odds Diet until a food-borne bacterial infection lands her in the hospital? Can a serial monogamist really keep track of every post-coital breakfast she’s ever enjoyed?
 
An omnivorous, rollicking chronicle of culinary awakening, Dirty Sugar Cookies is an oil-splattered, accidentally-dropped-on-the-floor, self-mocking love letter to everything Ayun Halliday has ever eaten ? and a few of the things she wishes she hadn’t.
 
This is a Reading/Signing for new book, Dirty Sugar Cookies
 
For more info: www.ayunhalliday.com
 

Tuesday Sept 19th 7PMFree
 
Arkansas author Danen Jobe will be reading from and signing copies of his new book, Niagra Blues: Slingerland. The short novel is a fictional history of legendary ?outsider? musician Jandek, imagining the performer as a young man in the Ozark Mountains developing his unique musical ideas against a backdrop of cultural change and family turmoil. It is published by Single Cell Press, and is projected to be the first in a series tracing an imagined life for the performer.
 
Not intended to be taken as the ?real? story of Jandek, this book offers a unique approach to the artist based principally on gleanings from his music, and the project has been written with the consent and cooperation of Corwood Industries, the sole publisher of Jandek?s catalog since 1978. It is also a story of the people who came from rural Arkansas and the folk and blues music that formed a soundtrack to their lives. Among the other characters represented in the book are legendary blues Founder Son House and the celebrated southern poet Frank Stanford.
 
National Book Award winner Ellen Gilchrist, who mentored Jobe at the acclaimed Writing Program at the University of Arkansas, calls Jobe ?the most curious and inventive student I ever had.? Jobe teaches English and Literature at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith, and lives with his wife and two children in the country outside Fayetteville.
 
Jandek is a notoriously reclusive musician who has released forty-six albums between 1978 and 2006. Granting only one interview in 1985, the Houston-based performer has maintained an anonymous identity and did not perform live until October, 2004. He has previously been the subject of a documentary, Jandek On Corwood, released in 2003. The artist approved of that project as well, though he did not contribute directly to it.
 
Jobe?s reading is designed to coincide with Jandek?s appearance in Chicago on September 20th at the Empty Bottle, located at 1035 N Western Ave. Tickets to Jandek?s show are $15 and can be purchased at the Empty Bottle, or on the net at www.ticketweb.com. Jobe?s reading is free to the public.

Saturday, September 16th, 7:00 PM FREE
 
Perpetual Motion Roadshow #36…featuring: troubled troubadour TROY CURTIS from San Jose, zinestress extraordinaire CHINA MARTENS from Baltimore, faithful urban scribe ERIC LAB RAT from Chicago, and local opener brainiac girl genius KATE SANDLER from Chicago!
 
Troy Curtis has settled in San Jose, California after years as a rambling poet and musician. Born in the small blue-collar town of Rockville, Connecticut, Troy’s desire to perform stems from his parents’ sacrifice of their artistic dreams. With a voice that perilously floats, Troy’s titanic lyrics sink into one’s heart like stolen treasure. Recorded in an abandoned church, Troy’s first album Songs for Girls Who Don’t Deserve Them is presented live and unedited. The album was created to replace mixed tapes and CDs as the preeminent way to express loss at the unfortunate endings to romantic relationships. www.myspace.com/troycurtis
 
China Martens is the editor of The Future Generation: A Zine for Subculture Parents, Kids, Friends & Others, and is expecting her first book out this winter ? an anthology of the last 16 years of The Future Generation — with Atomic Book Company. She also writes a column for Slug and Lettuce and puts out numerous other one-shot zines and chapbooks like Dustbunny, SuperMarket SuperModel, and the Baltimore City Paper “Best Zine” award-winning I was… a Student Nurse!
 
Eric Lab Rat traverses his native Chicago on a blue Schwinn tricycle, meeting interesting people and collecting curios from dumpsters. He splits time between stints as a DJ, math tutor, and landscaper. On Tuesdays, he hosts a soul show on WLUW; on Fridays he throws down on the legendary freeform station WZRD. His set may include letters written to concepts, God, and government; poems about ghosts; and songs about celebrity vaginas. His work can be found under a variety of aliases in Gapers Block, the Banana King, and The 2nd Hand. A couple of times a month, he unloads on reverendlabrat.blogspot.com.

Josh Karp author ofA Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy ForeverTuesday Sept. 12th 7PMfree
 
Join Josh Karp as he reads and signs his new book “A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever” a history/bio of the rise and fall of NL and its founder Doug Kenney – the golden boy of 1970s counterculture comedy – who wrote Animal House and Caddyshack before falling mysteriously to his death at the age of 33 in 1980. It’s published by Chicago Review Press.
 
The ultimate biography of National Lampoon and its cofounder Doug Kenney, this book offers the first complete history of the immensely popular magazine and its brilliant and eccentric characters. With wonderful stories of the comedy scene in New York City in the 1970s and National Lampoon?s place at the center of it, this chronicle shares how the magazine spawned a popular radio show and two long-running theatrical productions that helped launch the careers of John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner and went on to inspire Saturday Night Live. More than 130 interviews were conducted with people connected to Kenney and the magazine, including Chevy Chase, John Hughes, P. J. O?Rourke, Tony Hendra, Sean Kelly, Chris Miller, and Bruce McCall. These interviews and behind-the-scenes stories about the making of both Animal House and Caddyshack help to capture the nostalgia, humor, and popular culture that National Lampoon inspires.
 
Josh Karp is an Evanston-based writer -his work has appeared in the Atlantic, Premiere, Salon, LA Times Sunday Magazine, TimeOut New York, the Sun-Times, Chicago Magazine and numerous other publications.
 
Check out www.dougkenney.com
 

Fractal Edge Press presents a night of readings withFrancesco Levato,Lauren Levato andCharlie NewmanSaturday, September 9th, 8:00 PMFREE
 
Bios:
Francesco Levato is the author of Marginal State (Fractal Edge Press 2006), a collection of poetry. He is the founder of the Street Level Series, a reading series of poetry that engages social issues, and is the founding editor of the literary journal Ink & Ashes :: a journal of the senses. Some of his work has appeared in Witness: Anthology of Poetry (Serengeti Press); Out of Line; Poets Against the War; Voices in Wartime; Snow Monkey; Poems Niederngasse; and After Hours. His awards include a poetry fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center.
 
Writer, artist, and feminist activist Lauren Levato is literary editor for Ink & Ashes :: a journal of the senses, arts editor for PISTIL, and director of the 2006 Chicago Art Open. Her writing has appeared in After Hours, The Pedestal Magazine, Poetry Midwest, and Wicked Alice. She holds degrees in professional writing and women\\\’s studies from Purdue University and studied political journalism at Georgetown University. Her awards include a poetry fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center.
 
Charlie Newman was born in Newark, NJ in 1943. He started writing poetry in 1956. His 5th book and 3rd CD, deadmachinecity, was released by Fractal Edge Press in 2005. He?s performed at The U.N. Dialogue Through Poetry; Insomniacathon (2001, 2003, 2004); The New York Underground Music & Poetry Festival; The London International Poetry & Song Festival; ChicagoPoetry.com Poets Against The War; ChicagoPoetry.com Earth Day Event; ChicagoPoetry.com Chicago Poetry Fest (2003 & 2004); and ChicagoPoetry.com Caf? Cram 1, 2, 3 & 4. He hosts Tuesday night open mics at The Caf?, and 1st Friday poetry shows at DvA Gallery. He was named 1 of Top 15 in The Chicago Poetry Scene by Third Coast Press.
 
www.francescolevato.com
www.laurenlevato.com
www.fractaledgepress.com/CharlieNewmandeadmach.htm
www.fractaledgepress.com
 

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.