I haven’t written much here for a while, primarily because I’m at work on some new writing.
In the meantime, I’ve got a short story in this anthology, titled “Open Heart Chicago: An Anthology of Chicago Writing,” edited by Vincent Francone. The story is titled “The Parabola of a Single Bullet Shot into the Night Sky.” It features the things you’ve come to know an love from yours truly, including death, love and mind-bending stuff.
Just yesterday, I received unexpected holiday news. My memoir, RELIEF BY EXECUTION: A VISIT TO MAUTHAUSEN, was awarded the Memoir Prize for Books from Memoir Magazine.
Huge thanks to the judges at Memoir Mag. It’s a tremendous honor.
I’m excited to announce that my essay, Marquette Park: Members Only, has been included in an anthology: Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook, available in September of 2019. Fans of urban prose and Chicago history, and those readers interested in questions of race, ethnicity, nation and cultural identity will find this anthology provocative and entertaining.
My essay deals with the racial tensions in Marquette Park in the 80’s and 90’s, and the curious question of why so many residents worried about encroachment from African-Americans but didn’t seem to have any trouble with the Nazi headquarters on 71st Street.
You can pre-order here.
Here is the complete table of contents:
Introduction
Martha Bayne
WEST SIDE
Austin: Austin and Division
Shaina Warfield
Austin: Cakewalk (poem)
Rasaan Khalil
West Humboldt Park: Queen of the Tunnels
Lily Be
Garfield Park: Perspectives (photo essay)
Gabriel X. Michael
North Lawndale: Interview with Alexie Young, MLK Exhibit Center
Amanda Tugade
Little Village
Emmanuel Ramirez, Gloria “Nine” Valle, and Zipporah Auta with Yollocalli Arts Reach
SOUTHWEST SIDE
Garfield Ridge: Comeback Kid
Sheila Elliot
Back of the Yards: Books and Breakfast at the Breathing Room
Miranda Goosby
Englewood: Interview with Tamar Manasseh, Mothers Against Senseless Killings
Kirsten Ginzky
Marquette Park: Members Only
Gint Aras
FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE
Ashburn: That’s Amore
Tim Mazurek
Mount Greenwood: Growing Up In, and Reporting On, Chicago’s Poster Child for Racial Tension
Joe Ward
Beverly: How to Integrate a Chicago Neighborhood in Three (Not-So) Easy Steps
Scott Smith
FAR SOUTHEAST SIDE
Roseland: They Killed Him and His Little Girlfriend
Raymond Berry
Pullman: Pullman and Ideal Communities in Chicago, the Rust Belt, and Beyond
Claire Tighe
Hegewisch: Pudgy’s Pizza
Josh Burbidge
East Side: Something About the South Side
Mare Swallow
SOUTH SIDE
South Shore: Between the Lake and Emmett Till Road
Audrey Petty
Woodlawn: Memories of Obama
Jonathan Foiles
Hyde Park: Quarks and Quiche on the Midway
John Lloyd Clayton
Bronzeville: Black Metropolis
Alex Miller
NEAR WEST SIDE
Bridgeport: The Community of the Future
Ed Marzsewski
Heart of Chicago: Sketches
Dmitry Samarov
Pilsen: The Quietest Form of Displacement in a Changing Barrio (photo essay)
WEST SIDE
Austin: Austin and Division
Shaina Warfield
Austin: Cakewalk (poem)
Rasaan Khalil
West Humboldt Park: Queen of the Tunnels
Lily Be
Garfield Park: Perspectives (photo essay)
Gabriel X. Michael
North Lawndale: Interview with Alexie Young, MLK Exhibit Center
Amanda Tugade
Little Village
Emmanuel Ramirez, Gloria “Nine” Valle, and Zipporah Auta with Yollocalli Arts Reach
SOUTHWEST SIDE
Garfield Ridge: Comeback Kid
Sheila Elliot
Back of the Yards: Books and Breakfast at the Breathing Room
Miranda Goosby
Englewood: Interview with Tamar Manasseh, Mothers Against Senseless Killings
Kirsten Ginzky
Marquette Park: Members Only
Gint Aras
FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE
Ashburn: That’s Amore
Tim Mazurek
Mount Greenwood: Growing Up In, and Reporting On, Chicago’s Poster Child for Racial Tension
Joe Ward
Beverly: How to Integrate a Chicago Neighborhood in Three (Not-So) Easy Steps
Scott Smith
FAR SOUTHEAST SIDE
Roseland: They Killed Him and His Little Girlfriend
Raymond Berry
Pullman: Pullman and Ideal Communities in Chicago, the Rust Belt, and Beyond
Claire Tighe
Hegewisch: Pudgy’s Pizza
Josh Burbidge
East Side: Something About the South Side
Mare Swallow
SOUTH SIDE
South Shore: Between the Lake and Emmett Till Road
Audrey Petty
Woodlawn: Memories of Obama
Jonathan Foiles
Hyde Park: Quarks and Quiche on the Midway
John Lloyd Clayton
Bronzeville: Black Metropolis
Alex Miller
NEAR WEST SIDE
Bridgeport: The Community of the Future
Ed Marzsewski
Heart of Chicago: Sketches
Dmitry Samarov
Pilsen: The Quietest Form of Displacement in a Changing Barrio (photo essay)
Sebastián Hidalgo
Greektown/Maxwell Street/Little Italy: UIC: Chicago’s Past and Future
Ann Logue
River West: Cranes of River West
Jean Iversen
CENTRAL
South Loop: Michigan and Harrison
Megan Stielstra
The Loop: Life in Chicago’s Front Yard
Rachel Cromidas
Gold Coast: The Alleys of the Gold Coast
Leopold Froehlich
NORTH
Lakeview: On Belmont and Clark
Emily Anna Mack
Lakeview: The Blue House
Eleanor Glockner
North Center: Signs in Bloom
Kirsten Lambert
Ravenswood Gardens: Chicago River Life
Rob Miller
FAR NORTH SIDE
Uptown: A Trip to the Argyle Museum of Memories
Vitally Vladimirov
Andersonville: The Precarious Equilibrium
Sarah Steimer
Edgewater Glen: Trick or Treat
Kim Z. Dale
West Ridge: Rebel Girl
Sara Nasser
West Ridge: Paan Stains and Discount Vegetables (photo essay)
Stuti Sharma
Albany Park: Edge Zone Chicago
Benjamin Van Loon
NORTHWEST SIDE
Portage Park: Six Corners, Many Changes
Jackie Mantey
Hermosa: Holy Hermosa (poem)
Sara Salgado
Logan Square: The Best Burger on the Square
Nicholas Ward
Wicker Park: milwaukee avenue (poem)
Kevin Coval
Humboldt Park: Along Pulaski Road, From Irving Park to Humboldt
Alex V. Hernandez
Epilogue: The Last Days of Rezkoville
Ryan Smith
Greektown/Maxwell Street/Little Italy: UIC: Chicago’s Past and Future
Ann Logue
River West: Cranes of River West
Jean Iversen
CENTRAL
South Loop: Michigan and Harrison
Megan Stielstra
The Loop: Life in Chicago’s Front Yard
Rachel Cromidas
Gold Coast: The Alleys of the Gold Coast
Leopold Froehlich
NORTH
Lakeview: On Belmont and Clark
Emily Anna Mack
Lakeview: The Blue House
Eleanor Glockner
North Center: Signs in Bloom
Kirsten Lambert
Ravenswood Gardens: Chicago River Life
Rob Miller
FAR NORTH SIDE
Uptown: A Trip to the Argyle Museum of Memories
Vitally Vladimirov
Andersonville: The Precarious Equilibrium
Sarah Steimer
Edgewater Glen: Trick or Treat
Kim Z. Dale
West Ridge: Rebel Girl
Sara Nasser
West Ridge: Paan Stains and Discount Vegetables (photo essay)
Stuti Sharma
Albany Park: Edge Zone Chicago
Benjamin Van Loon
NORTHWEST SIDE
Portage Park: Six Corners, Many Changes
Jackie Mantey
Hermosa: Holy Hermosa (poem)
Sara Salgado
Logan Square: The Best Burger on the Square
Nicholas Ward
Wicker Park: milwaukee avenue (poem)
Kevin Coval
Humboldt Park: Along Pulaski Road, From Irving Park to Humboldt
Alex V. Hernandez
Epilogue: The Last Days of Rezkoville
Ryan Smith
This is about a 24 minute video of me answering moderator Amy Danzer’s questions following my reading at The Looking Glass Bookstore in Oak Park, Illinois on February 18, 2016. Yes! That gorgeous bookstore in the background is right here where I live. It’s worth visiting just to see the decor (and to buy a bunch of books, obviously).
In this video, I answer questions about why I’d want to write a literary fugue, what place setting plays in my writing, how art helps with trauma, and what audience I had in mind while writing.
Enjoy, and do share.
Also, be sure to check out my fledgling YouTube channel. It’s sure to grow as I gather more videos.
Liquid Ink 
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