Blog

Charles Blackstone reads from
THE WEEK YOU WEREN’T HERE
Saturday April 30th, 7PM
FREE
 
With a Proustian knack for recalling the smallest detail–from a superficial conversation to the exquisite pain of the perfect kiss–Hunter Flanagan deftly navigates past and present, simultaneously analyzing, deconstructing and torturing himself with memories of every girl he’s lost or loved. For Hunter, writing is easy; it’s love that comes hard. Even as he prepares to leave family, friends and Chicago–the city that made him–he never gives up on his pursuit of love and meaning. The Week You Weren’t Here is a poignant and wry portrait of a young writer closing in on the last of his undergraduate days. Charles Blackstone’s prose is a seamless match for Hunter’s fragmented stream-of-consciousness. From encounters with the persistent “stalker” Kate, to the elusive Dewey, and the surprisingly independent sorority girl, Lila, Hunter exemplifies our longing for the defining moment–as fragile and quixotic a dream as life itself.
 
Charles Blackstone lives in Chicago and teaches the subtleties of limited omniscience in short and long form prose at the University of Chicago’s Graham School of General Studies. Blackstone’s short fiction has appeared in BlazeVox 2K4, Rio, Wazee Journal (featured fiction selection), M.A.G, Whet Magazine (a serialized story), and others. He has a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado, where, in 2001, he received the Barker Award. Currently, he is completing another novel and a collection of stories.

Do You Want To Be Famous?
Speed Zine? with HOTCAKES
Saturday, March 5th, 7PM
FREE
 
Don?t miss this opportunity to meet the secret, underground, shadow society, the Hermeneutic Organization Toward Celebritification, Advancement and Knowledge of Everyday Subjects (HOTCAKES), in a rare, overground, indoor public appearance! HOTCAKES invites you to an evening of Speed Zining? wherein participants will, in one night, spend five minutes at each member\’s station, becoming part of zine and audio project history (!) in as many as SIX different amazing published projects, to be presented at a later date.
 
Here?s your chance to double your fifteen minutes of fame! You will receive five minutes of individual attention from each of the six members of HOTCAKES, whose secret code names may or may not be:
 
?Dr. Christa (Killer) Donner,? editor of Ladyfriend and Free Advice zines, who will record your counsel on a variety of topics.
 
?Professor Anne E. (Evil) Moore,? authoress, who will demand explicit details on your musical identity.
 
?Countess Ruth (The Knife) Oppenheim-Rothschild,? expert, who will collect your sex dreams.
 
?Becca (Knuckles) Taylor, CPA,? creator of the comic Wonderful Year, who will steal your soul.
 
?St. Liz (T-Bone) Mason,? creator of Caboose zine, who will collect photos of you wearing the clothes you wear when you do your laundry (provided you wear or bring them with you).
 
?Julie (The Shark) Atomic, Esq.,? audio documentarian, who will record your musings on a wide variety of Very Important topics.
 
Q: What is Speed Zining??
A: Speed Zining? is based on the scientific strategies of speed dating, wherein individuals rotate five-minute conversations with each other in hopes of acquiring a suitable companion. Speed Zining? is pioneered by Dr. Speed Zine, Emeritus, whose laboratory work at the Institute of Public and Personal Association for Non-Celebrity Advancement for Knowledge and Etymology (PPANCAKE) has resulted in chemical and biological advances in the fields of independent publishing and breakfast ingestion. Speed Zining? differs from speed dating in that the goal of Speed Zining? is to contribute to projects and increase personal fame and renown instead of acquiring a mate. Participation in a Speed Zine? event will result in your inclusion in six research-based, multi-media projects, to be released and presented at a later date by the above mentioned HOTCAKES.

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.