Archive for the 'readings' Category

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David Rees Reads From How to Sharpen Pencils 8/15

Published on July 18, 2012 0 Comments
Aug ’12
15
7:00 pm

In David Rees’s new book How to Sharpen Pencils (Melville House), the creator of Get Your War On and founder of ArtisanalPencilSharpening.com shares the secrets of his craft, empowering the layman to discover the pleasures (and perils) of sharpening pencils. Over the course of 18 chapters, Rees explains the difference between sharpening techniques, including:

– Using a Pocketknife

– Using a Single-Burr Handcrank Sharpener

– Sharpening Pencils for Children

– and many more!

“How to Sharpen Pencils is very funny—it’s the work, let’s not forget, of the guy responsible for Get Your War On—but it’s no April Fools’ joke, and it’s no bathroom book. It’s a literary oddity that, even as it gleefully pursues the comic possibilities of its premise, subtly gestures towards its own secluded seriousness. And, for what it’s worth, it also marks the standard to which all future pencil-sharpening textbooks must now aspire.”

– Mark O’Connell, NewYorker.com

“I trust my bespoke pencils only to David Rees.”

– Liz Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

“You may think that sharpening a pencil is easy, but David Rees makes it look hard, and that makes all the difference.”

– John Hodgman, Areas of My Expertise

The work of David Rees has been featured in such places as: Rolling Stone, GQ, Punk Planet, and The Nation. His work has also been in such anthologies as Ultimate Blogs: Masterworks from the Wild Web and The McSweeney’s Book of Politics & Musicals. He has been featured on podcasts and radio shows such as Bullseye with Jesse Thorn and The Best Show on WFMU.

For more info: artisanalpencilsharpening.com

Wed, Aug 15th, 7pm

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“Bad Zine, Everyone’s Fault” Zine Tour Kick Off Reading 7/20

Published on July 4, 2012 0 Comments
Jul ’12
20
7:00 pm

A night of zine readings by four zinesters setting off on their East Coast tour.

Readings by:

Jen Twigg writes zines about playing music as a lady-identified punx, the dubious crossroads of football and feminism, and living in two places at once. She is writing a grad thesis about Star Trek and is an organizer of the Chicago Zine Fest.

Heather C writes Dig Deep, a zine about public libraries, street harassment, & the rad ways she’s working to create a full life. She also runs Stranger Danger, a zine distro that specializes in feminist, queer, & trans zines.

Xavi M. writes about identity and unripened fruit in a collection of poetry called Explorers Are We.

Leslie Perrine writes and illustrates short fiction and mini-comics mostly about talking animals.  She lives in Chicago with her cat Bum and is an organizer for the Chicago Zine Fest.

“This is going to be a night to remember!” Johnny Misfit, founder of Two Cookie Minimum reading series.

Check out work:

leslieperrine.blogspot.com

jtwiggjtwigg.tumblr.com

strangerdangerzines.com

www.chicagozinefest.org

Fri, July 20th, 7pm

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Marc Arcuri, Dan Gleason, Gregory Jacobsen, Mike McPadden & Gabriel Wallace Read 7/28

Published on June 28, 2012 0 Comments
Jul ’12
28
7:00 pm

Back and sexier than ever! The great Marc Arcuri, stylist to the stylites, keyboardist for Santana, lover of Pantera and lead singer/drummer of the English Softhearts plans to orate nonsensically at the top of his lungs! Dan Gleason, that fat sad sac ejaculator of short stories, shall read b. s. from his latest greatest hits book, ‘Dear Sweetness,’ and also some of his more recent vapid creations! Gregory Jacobsen, greaser/guido/hairball, possessor of large hands, painter, and lead singer of the Lovely Little Girls will lick your body up and down with his sensual verbosity! Mike McPadden, author of, ‘If You Like Metallica…,’ ‘Heavy Metal Movies: The 666 Most Headbanging Films from Anvil to Zardoz,’ and head writer at Mr. Skin will provide a delightful pause from that life you are leading, void of meaning, with his angelic wordplay! And Gabriel Wallace, poet/genius/renegade, dead-ringer for Taylor Negron – a. k. a. the Pizza Guy from Fast Times – author of The Great Sheboygan Panty Raid of 18977, Quack With Me (folderol) and The Waukegan Pepsodent Conundrum will mesmerize your loins with his erotic mysticism!

The work of Marc Arcuri has been featured at Buddy Gallery, the Co-Prosperity Sphere, New Capital, the Double Door, the Burlington and at Bitchpork. Dan’s work has been on display at the Hyde Park Art Center, Antena Gallery, the Block Museum of Art, Roots & Culture and at Salon Tress. Gregory Jacobsen shows his artwork at Chicago’s ZG Gallery and Berlin’s Bongout. He’s also had stuff in Hi-Fructose and New American Paintings. Mike McPadden’s stuffs can be found in Happyland, Hustler, and Mr. Skin. He has also served as screenwriter of a number of films. Gabriel Wallace’s work has been witnessed at the Hideout, Bottom Lounge, innumerable places in the great NYC and Columbia, Missouri, and also at the magical QUIMBY’S BOOKSTORE!

Marc: http://lit.newcity.com/2008/08/21/reading-series-orphan-schlitz-iii/

Greg: http://gregoryjacobsen.com/

Mike: http://mcbeardo.com/

Dan: https://www.quimbys.com/store/1696

Gabe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2h6ZKQrjk4

Saturday, July 28, 7pm

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All The Writers I Know Presents: No Pleasure Is A Guilty Pleasure Queer Literary Showcase 6/22

Published on June 6, 2012 0 Comments
Jun ’12
22
7:00 pm

Quimby’s will be hosting the next installment of All The Writers I Know on June 22nd, titled, “No Pleasure Is A Guilty Pleasure.” Readers Patrick Gill, Rosy Phinick, Mar Curran, ellie june navidson, and Jamie Royce, among others, will be reading pieces about the pleasures people find and create in life.

All The Writers I Know is the brainchild of Gill and Phinick, who realizing their social circles contained many talented writers who had no queer-focused space to read their work, started hosting the showcase in Gill’s livingroom. As it has moved outside his home to Southside Hub of Production in Hyde Park and now Quimby’s, Gill has sought to retain the intimacy among the readers and audience the showcase was first known for. With a growing fan base and audience, audiences will recognize recurring performers such as Gill, Phinick, and Curran, while hearing new talented writers such as navidson.

Maintaining a queer-focused space in which pleasure could be openly celebrated and embraced is important for Gill and Phinick, as well as their writers, who feel that fostering queer voices in safe spaces allows for open dialogue about pleasure and its importance in their lives.

“Queer people are often alienated from society and culture. It’s important to celebrate ourselves and the pleasure we derive from our experience to reject dominant narratives on the value of queer folks and, more importantly, to acknowledge the real beauty in our lives,” said navidson.

Readers will also have zines of their work available for purchase.

For more info:

allthewritersiknow.tumblr.com

stuffqueerpeopleneedtoknow.wordpress.com

Fri, June 22nd, 7pm

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George R.R. Washington Presents A Game of Groans 3/27

Published on February 29, 2012 0 Comments
Mar ’12
27
7:00 pm

A GAME OF GROANS
A Sonnet of Slush and Soot By George R.R. Washington

It’s the story fans of George R.R. Martin’s series A Song of Fire and Ice know and love—well, sort of. In the wayward world of GEORGE R.R. WASHINGTON’s A GAME OF GROANS:  A Sonnet of Slush and Soot (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Griffin; 1-250-01126-4; March 27, 2012; Trade Paperback Original; $9.99) seasons can last decades. And trouble is brewing. The warmth is returning, and in the thawing tundra of the North of Summerseve, something wicked is coming. A GAME OF GROANS  is the story of the Barkers of Summerseve, headed by Lord Headcase Barker and Lady Gateway Bully Barker, and their children including Allbran, Bobb, Malia, Sasha, and of course, bastard Juan Nieve (all followed by their pet direpandas, natch).

The Barkers are a family unit as hard and unforgiving as the pronunciation of “Daenerys Targaryen” and nothing will be the same after a visit from King Bobbert Baronme and the royal family. Swooping from this land of sweater weather to a balmy kingdom of equestrian delights and outdoor fornication, here is an epic of novella proportions. Amid plots and counterplots, wizards and warriors, poor reception and no wireless, the future of the Barkers, their BFFs, and their enemies dangles in the balance, as each strives to star in that funniest of concepts: a parody of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones

GEORGE R.R. WASHINGTON is the author of many novels. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Outer Limits, Teen Wolf, and many other films and pilots that are currently stored in the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. He lives with the lovely Natalie in Chicago, Illinois.

Tues, March 27th, 7pm

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