Monthly Archive for January, 2005

Stephen Elliot Event

Jan ’05
29
12:00 am

Stephen Elliot reads & signs
Happy Baby
 
Wednesday January 26th 7PM
 
FREE
Stephen Elliott is the author of four novels, as well as the nonfiction book LOOKING FORWARD TO IT: OR, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE ELECTORAL PROCESS. He is also the editor of the anthology POLITICALLY INSPIRED. A native of Chicago, he currently lives in San Francisco and lectures at Stanford University. An active political and literary blogger, you can learn more about Stephen Elliott and his books by visiting his website at www.stephenelliott.com.
 
HAPPY BABY is a haunting look inside America?s foster care system even as its fully drawn characters and fresh prose make it a rewarding and lasting work of fiction. Stephen Elliott draws on his own experiences as a ward of the court in Chicago to tell the story of Theo, once an orphan in the foster care system and now a grown man living in California. Saturated with memories of abuse and heartache, and filled with the simple wish to understand more about himself, Theo returns to Chicago to reconnect with an old girlfriend from his troubled youth.
 
Told in reverse order, this edgy novel turns mysterious as Elliott takes us backward in time, from San Francisco to Amsterdam to Chicago, as we attempt to recognize the root of Theo?s plight and the source for his quietly wavering humanity. The personal nature of this story has allowed Elliott to write about it with uncommon insight and unequaled empathy, leaving the reader with a tale that is gritty and subversive while simultaneously tender and heartbreaking.
 

Joe Meno, Todd Dills, Amber Drea, Joe Deir & Laura Negrete read words live!

Jan ’05
28
12:00 am

Underground Chicago Wintertime Fantasy Night
with
Joe Meno,
Todd Dills,
Amber Drea,
Joe Deir &
Laura Negrete
 
Saturday, January 29th, 8:00 PM
FREE
Join Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned and contributing editor to Punk Planet Magazine, Todd Dills, editor of the 2nd Hand and All Hands On, Amber Drea, editor of Banana King zine, and Joe Deir and Laura Negrete, editors of Ink Stains for an evening of readings.

Randee II: The Legend of Randee’s Gold!

Jan ’05
26
12:00 am

Join Josh Schollmeyer and
The Randee Players for the release of Randee II: The Legend of Randee?s Gold
Saturday, January 15th, 7:00 PM
FREE
 
After 15 months in prison for breaking and entering, Josh Schollmeyer and the Randee Players make their triumphant return to Quimby’s with the second issue of their awardless satire magazine Randee–full title: Randee II: The Legend of Randee’s Gold. Come out and enjoy the magazine NO ONE in America is talking about.
 
Along with reading and performing passages from Randee II: The Legend of Randee’s Gold. The Authors will–if in fact anyone actually wants them to–sign issues as well.
 
For more info check out www.randee-online.com.
 

Tony Fitzpatrick signing

Jan ’05
15
12:00 am

Tony Fitzpatrick signsThe Wonder: Portraits of a Remembered CityFriday, January 14th, 7:00 PM
FREE
 
The Wonder: Portraits of a Remembered City, a collection of new works by Chicago artist, writer and raconteur Tony Fitzpatrick. Stories of his city and its denizens permeate Fitzpatrick?s art, already in the collections of The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The National Museum of American Art in Washington D.C., the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In his recent work, Fitzpatrick spins magical tales from his own history and that of his beloved city via drawing-collages, vivid combinations of drawing, text and applied elements like matchbooks, postcards, gambling slips and ballgame stubs. In this gorgeous book, Fitzpatrick introduces the first set of drawing-collages as chapters in an ongoing project that is both personal diary and chronicle of Chicago: \”This is a city of bars, broads, gambling and political shenanigans. It is also a city of grace, as magical, in its own way, as Paris or Bombay. It is gypsy music and flamenco dancers and Celtic poetry. You just have to keep your eyes open.\”
 
Tony Fitzpatrick will be signing copies of his book at this event.

The 2nd Hand celebrates the release of LE2EMEMAIN

Jan ’05
14
12:00 am

The 2nd Hand celebratesthe release of LE2EMEMAINThursday, December 16th, 7:30 PM
 
THIS EVENT celebrates the release of LE2EMEMAIN, the f-r-e-e-d-o-m (for one dare not speak the word aloud) issue and installment 15 in THE2NDHAND\’s broadsheet series. Reading for the event are Marc Baez, Emerson Dameron, Susannah Felts and Todd Dills. Baez will red from his contributions to LE2EMEMAIN, a catalog of LOVE LETTERS FOR SALE. The entire performance will end with a dramatic rendition of Baez’s “Talking to Strangers,” a series of street monologues in prose form featured in the best-of THE2NDHAND anthology ALL HANDS ON.
 
Marc Baez is a frequent contributor to THE2NDHAND; his work is featured in our brand-new issue 15, LE2EMEMAIN, as well as the recently released best-of anthology ALL HANDS ON.
 
Emerson Dameron was born and reared in Western North Carolina. Sometimes he yearns, sometimes he publishes the zine Wherewithal. His work appears in the Whirligig, Slush Pile, A Shout in the Street and various other scrappy organs, including THE2NDHAND. He enjoys music, sex, food and fun.
 
Susannah Felts’s “Forecast Poems” series was recently part of the Code Is Implement faculty/grad show at SAIC’s 1926 Exhibition space but debuted at THE2NDHAND.com. Felts is a instructor in writing at the school, and her work has been featured in numerous magazines.
 
Todd Dills is the founding editor and publisher of THE2NDHAND. He lives in Chicago.