http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com en thales@wordsandstuffcreates.com Copyright 2009 2009-01-05T16:57:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/486 #When:15:57:00Z I recently discovered the Loose Leaf Tea Loft, a tea shop/cafe that hosts open mic nights and poetry readings.  Bonus: it’s a stone’s throw from the studio (4229 N. Lincoln) and all their events are free.  Their next event is a Poetry Cram Open Mic, Tuesday, January 13, 7:30 to 9:30 PM.  Get out there and listen to some local flavor, and if you’re feeling brave get up there and share!  Check out their website at http://www.looseleaftealoft.com for more upcoming events.  2009-01-05T15:57:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/485 #When:13:07:01Z From all of us at StoryStudio Chicago. We wish you health and happiness and great sentences. Cheers. 2008-12-31T13:07:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/reviews/484 #When:18:32:01Z I saw this movie on Christmas Eve in a very packed city theatre and overall, although at times lacking details, the movie was good and I would recommend this movie for all viewers. Good: The plot, which, I’d have to say, turned out to be the movie’s biggest strength, is very intriguing. A 1944 assassination and coup attempt against Hitler and his Gestapo planned by some of his own soldiers, of which, a central figure is played by Tom Cruise.  It was the last of fifteen known assassination attempts against Hitler.  And that’s where I myself confess my own ignorance, as I had no idea that any of those organized attempts, with a considerable number of people involved, even took place.  Here, of course, I have to clarify and say, by his own soldiers’, that is.  For the most part, I’d have to say the movie’s well researched and convincing and thus, makes it a fascinating viewing.  I was also very much intrigued by the what-if speculation on what would’ve/could’ve/might’ve happened if the attempt was successful.  The coup itself, in fact, sparked a bit of a debate among some of us after the movie.  The year’s 1944.  World War II is nine months away from being over. Germany is loosing.  Would nine months really make that much of a difference? It’s too late.  It’s simply too late.  Is it though?  Is it really too late? How can it be too late in a time where every minute/second mattered?  So yeah, some of the other intriguing questions came up during and after the movie, along with the question of Germany’s socialism.  How it arose?  And why it arose?  And what it lead to at the end.  National socialism vs. fascism.  What is the difference?  Is there a difference? Then somehow, we also got on the topic of Russia.  And the regime there.  Was there communism there or socialism?  Difference between Stalin and Hitler?  Was there really one?  Very good movie. Makes you think a lot.  Not So Much: I thought the movie lacked character developments, and precisely, the clarification of the motives of these Germans.  Who needs the motives, some might ask?  Just kill the bastard!  True, but we’re talking about German soldiers here.  We, as viewers, all want him dead, no doubt, but why do they?  Why do they want to eliminate their leader, who they so long and so loyally served? The movie does start out with Stauffenberg, a German soldier, played by Tom Cruise, forswearing his loyalty to his leader and his country because of the murderous outrages Hitler has committed.  That was the only place, unless I missed something, the explanation was offered.  But because it’s so late in the war and the fact that Germany’s loosing, it’s still unclear what other motivations are driving Stauffenberg. And what about the other conspirators in the movie?  Nothing in the movie is mentioned about their motives.  And last but not least, I’d like to briefly comment on Tom Cruise’s acting, and I will try to do it as nicely as I possibly can.  My New Year’s resolution: Be nice!  Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, here it goes: I’m simply shocked and appalled.  I personally can’t even begin to understand how he was even chosen for that role.  He is a complete miscast as the German soldier.  And the acting! Oh My G-d, the acting!  It’s not that it’s bad… It is well, um, very bad.  I’m totally kidding.  Well, sort of.  It’s just he tends to overact like he does in most of his movies, making his character seem unbelievable.  What saved this movie, I think, was the fact that although he’s a key player in the operation, he actually shares the leading role with some of the others of more compelling performances.  I loved him in the movie, Jerry Maguire, though.  Two thumbs up for Tom Cruise! And that’s all.  2008-12-30T18:32:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/483 #When:19:58:00Z I can easily guarantee you that StoryStudio will NOT be doing any countdown lists, Best Ofs, or Year in Pictures Reviews. I hate those things. Who needs to re-watch John McCain squirming on Ellen when we have Rick Warren making us squirm for the Inaugural? And don’t even get me started on the latest Britney-Paris-Lindsay-Bradjolina-[INSERT CELEBRITY NAME HERE] debacle. Talking about the Economy makes us just want to cry. We barely lived through the past year and I for one certainly don’t want to have to relive it before I pop that bottle of Champagne to usher in the new year. Or do I? Really, what’s the harm in remembering the worst moments of the Campaign without End or watching a replay of the year’s worst tornadoes.  Going to see the movie, Milk made me remember how these newsy tidbits can do wonders for waking me up and forcing me to take notice of the world around me. Over the Christmas holiday I was in a sort of news blackout as I was away from my daily New York Times and afternoon NPR sessions.  I promised myself I would leave my computer closed unless I absolutely HAD to check out something. (I lasted almost two days.) I won’t lie and tell you the break from the news calmed my nerves or made it easier to think. I kept worrying about what major catastrophe was happening and I was missing all the details. Kind of sick, I know. But this curiosity about the world can be construed as an important desire to be a part of that world, to not divorce myself from the difficulties we face as a society. It also means that I shouldn’t divorce myself from the achievements we make as a society. I can tell you I get no greater joy at work than learning that one of our StoryStudio writers has gotten something published. Hell, I even want to celebrate when one of my writers tells me she’s finished a chapter. That’s big news around here, and definitely worth noting. And those who know me will attest to how much I enjoy debating, especially the personal aspects of our political realities. And if I’m all alone in a room somewhere, it’s pretty difficult to get a good argument going. So while we won’t be spending our time looking backward, we will be craning our necks to look around the corner at 2009 because I for one want to hear a lot of news worth celebrating! Happy New Year everyone from all of us at StoryStudio Chicago. 2008-12-29T19:58:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/482 #When:14:59:00Z We’re all getting ready to celebrate the holidays in our own unique fashions. For me? I spend it with my family, who I love, very much. But for whatever reason, it’s during these trips “home” that I get the most outrageous thoughts and questions running through my brain. While the rest of the clan is playing Tripoli, I’m off in the corner, huddled with a book, a magazine and my notebook which gets lots of action. It’s not that I’m anti-holiday or anything (although I really don’t like playing games!), it’s more that these times away from the usual routines of life open up my brain, my imagination is allowed to breathe, to relax, to do what it does best: just be. So while we can be thankful about a lot this holiday season--and here at StoryStudio there is an awfully long list of things to be thankful for-- I will also relish this sacred time to breathe, perchance to dream. Happy Holidays. 2008-12-18T14:59:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/474 #When:16:29:00Z Come by StoryStudio tonight, December 17th, for a reading of the inaugural chapbooks published by Ice Box Press!  Join us for readings by Kristiana Colon (Pieces of Shedu) and Ryan Pendell (Say To These Bones, Live!). The reading begins at 7pm.  There will be snacks and drinks, and chapbooks will be available for purchase for only $3. StoryStudio Staffer Liz is the co-founder of Icebox Press so come offer your support and listen to some great poetry. “Ice Box Press publishes innovative poetry, fiction, and nonfiction of emerging writers. We strive to make top quality, handmade chapbooks, which marry the art of the writing to the art of the book form.” For more information, check out the Ice Box Press blog. 2008-12-16T16:29:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/stories/481 #When:20:50:01Z Written by Julia Sherman On the bottom of the sea, in the coastal waters, live the soft corrals, small jellyfish, lively crabs, lobsters, and different species of colorful, beautiful fish.  It’s marvelous.  It’s stunning.  It’s like an underwater wonderland that seems to never end.  And that’s why all people love to go snorkeling.  Or at least that’s what the advertisement said.  It is August 2000.  We are on our summer college vacation in Cancun and the four of us, dressed in our swimming suits, have walked into our first snorkeling session.  There is already a small group of people gathered on the silky, smooth, white beach, their tanned bodies glistening under the hot, burning sun of Mexico.  We’re newbies but not to swimming.  The instructor seems nice and friendly.  (All of this is emphasized by the big smile of his face and the energetic movements of his hands). He is probably used to teaching all levels.  Everything is with us, of course.  Sunblock Lotion SPF 45.  Water bottles.  The rented gear: life jackets and snorkeling masks.  We are ready to go, but the instructor keeps on talking.  Two of our friends’ come over and stand behind him, I stand behind them, and my boyfriend stands besides me.  We are in a fight.  He slowly turns his head to me, hands on his hips, and then we both begin to make hideous faces.  His big, brown eyes widen and then narrow into slits.  His thin lips curl and his teeth stick out so that his face takes on the expression of a witch.  I roll my pupils to the left corner of my sockets, poke my tongue slightly out, stick out my jaw and settle into an image that is half idiot, half monkey.  Our faces represent “what we think of each other.” “Were there any incidents with the sharks?” someone asks from the crowd.  That sudden question causes me immediately to swallow hard and turn my head.  “Sharks,” says instructor, “are rare sightings around here.  But yes, there are sharks.  But you’d be lucky if you see one.  Very lucky.  In fact, in all of my experience, here in Cancun, I have only come across one type.  That is the nurse shark.  But nothing to worry about folks, they’re friendly and passive fellows.  Usually harmless to humans.  Unless provoked, of course.  So if you see them, keep calm, and if necessary, move slowly out of the water.  Follow my instructions and you’ll be fine.  Alright, ladies and gentlemen, everyone that’s ready to snorkel, get in the boat!” “See you there,” my boyfriend mumbles angrily.  Then he takes a few steps towards the boat that is waiting at the quiet shore for us.  There it is.  It is right in front of me.  Foamy, smooth waves rolling onto the sandy beach, shady palm trees, clear sky with white clouds, and the fact that we are both here.  The perfect vacation I believed that was going to bring us closer together.  “Come on young lady,” instructor runs up to me from the boat, leaving behind a trail of wet steps.  “Did I scare you off with the sharks?  Don’t be afraid to lift your wings.  Approach each moment as if there is no shadow of risky failure waiting at the end of it.” It is the only memory I have of ever getting close to going snorkeling.  2008-12-11T20:50:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/473 #When:00:35:00Z ...because the lovely poets and writers at Poets & Writers have made the submission process too easy for you to *not* give it a whirl. In the past 3 months, Poets & Writers has added thirty-three journals to their database of over 273 literary magazines.  The database is free and easy to use, and you’ll no doubt find the perfect place to send that poem, short story, novel excerpt, or essay you’ve been polishing in class.  Access the database at the Poets & Writers website. 2008-12-11T00:35:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/476 #When:18:01:01Z We had a great crowd come by last night to have a drink and chat and make some new connections. (Sorry, I was so busy chatting that I forgot to take pictures!). Happy Holidays! ‘Tis the season…and we’re ready to PARTY! Join us on Wednesday, December 10, 2007, from 6:30pm to 10pm for this year’s annual Holiday Party at StoryStudio Chicago.  It’s our fifth anniversary so there will be a lot to celebrate. Come by to meet other writers, artists and generally cool people. Libations and hors d’oeuvres will be provided. Bring your spouses, partners, friends, and artsy acquaintances. SPECIAL NOTE: In the spirit of giving this season, StoryStudio is supporting The House of Good Shephard, which provides a three month recovery program for women and children who are survivors of domestic violence.  So during this season, and especially at the Holiday Party, we invite you to donate items from the wish list below, or gently used clothing, household goods, and non-perishable food items.  Monetary donations are also appreciated. Your gift will serve as a reminder to these families that their courage and journey are supported by their greater Chicago community. StoryStudio Chicago will have a display with information regarding House of the Good Shepherd and collection area for donations . It’s tough times all around, but giving makes us all stronger. HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD WISH LIST: Diapers size 3 and 4 Shampoo and conditioner Girls’ jeans/pants size 5, 6, 7, 8 Boys’ jeans/pants size 5, 6, 7, 8 Boys, girls, and women’s socks (all sizes) Boys, girls, and women’s underwear (all sizes) Thermal long underwear Blenders (new or gently used) Toasters (new or gently used) Gym shoes (new) Dress shoes (new or gently used) Paper towels Toilet paper Feminine hygiene products CTA bus cards Gift cards (Jewel, CVS, Target, etc) 2008-12-10T18:01:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/reviews/480 #When:13:11:00Z This is my second time around reading this book, because I find it absolutely brilliant. “A triumph.” – Margaret Atwood, The New York Times Book Review.  There is nothing I can say about this book that would sound better that that.  Anything in addition will sound too cliché.  Summary:  “Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free.  She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened.” A sample of a fantastic dialogue: “What were you praying for, Ma’am?” “Not for anything.  I don’t pray anymore.  I just talk.” “What were you talking about?” “You won’t understand, baby.” “Yes, I will.” “I was talking about time.  It’s so hard for me to believe in it.  Some things go.  Pass on.  Some things just stay.  I used to think it was my rememory.  You know.  Some things you forget.  Other things you never do.  But it’s not.  Places, places are still there.  If a house burns down, it’s gone, but the place – the picture of it – stays, and not just in my rememory, but out there, in the world.  What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head.  I mean, even if I don’t think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there.  Right in the place where it happened.” “Can other people see it?” asked Denver. “Oh, yes.  Oh, yes, yes, yes.  Someday you will be walking down the road and you hear something or see something going on.  So clear.  And you think it’s you thinking it up.  A thought picture.  But no.  It’s when you bump into a rememory that belongs to somebody else.  Where I was before I came here, that place is real.  It’s never going away.  Even if the whole farm – every tree and grass blade of it dies.  The picture is there and what’s more, if you go there – you who never was there – if you go there and stand in the place where it was, it will happen again; it will be there for you, waiting for you.  So, Denver, you can’t never go there.  Never.  Because even though it’s all over – over and done with – it’s going to always be there waiting for you.  That’s how come I had to get all my children out.  No matter what.” Denver picked at her fingernails.  “If it’s still there, waiting, that must mean that nothing ever dies.” Sethe looked right in Denver’s face.  “Nothing ever does,” she said.  2008-12-10T13:11:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/472 #When:00:28:01Z Babes With Blades proudly announces Joining Sword & Pen 2009-10, a play writing competition devoted to increasing the number of quality scripts featuring fighting roles for women, sponsored by Fight Master David Woolley. The 2009-10 theme is “FILM NOIR” by Chicago artist Kristine Borcz.  BWB is soliciting scripts for productions that are inspired by this image.  In order for a script to qualify for the competition, the scene depicted in the image must appear within the script. The winning script will be produced in Spring 2010 as part of Babes With Blades’ 2009-10 Season.  The winning playwright will receive a $1000 cash prize. Scripts due: FEBRUARY 28, 2009 Winner announced:  APRIL 2, 2009 For more info, visit the website. 2008-12-10T00:28:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/471 #When:00:19:01Z There are plenty of things to do in Chicago during the busy holiday season, and Women & Children First has a packed December schedule for your enjoyment! Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30pm:  Make/Shift Magazine Reading Featuring co-editors/publishers Daria Yudacufski and Jessica Hoffman and Chicago contributors Keidra Chaney, Lisa Factora-Borchers, Yasmin Nair, Lewis Wallace, and Chelsey Clammer. Friday, Dec. 5: Late Night Andersonville Women & Children First will be open until 10:00pm! Stop in for hot cider and cookies, and get a leg up on your holiday shopping. Wednesday, Dec. 10, 4:00pm:  Marian Wright Edelman For a very special way to celebrate the day, have tea with Marian Wright Edelman at Hull House. She’ll be talking about and signing copies of her new book, The Sea Is So Wide and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation. Jane Addams Hull-House Museum Residents’ Dining Hall Reservations not required, but suggested: 312.413.5353 Check out the Women and Children First website for more information about these events, and others. 2008-12-09T00:19:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/479 #When:17:12:01Z The good news is that you’re writing.  Every single day you work to put words on paper, to gather the wispy intangible echoes and whispers from the far corners of your imagination and weave them into beautiful, true sentences, you’re taking part in the grandest tradition of humankind.  You’re a storyteller, and your job is to remind us of who we are and what it means to be a human being, here, now.  Your struggle, your long hours and your sleepless nights are not for nothing.  Writing is important.  Writing is holy work.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that Joe the Plumber has a book coming out. In the New York Times yesterday, guest columnist Timothy Egan railed against the Joe the Plumber books of the world.  “Most of the writers I know work every day, in obscurity and close to poverty, trying to say one thing well and true. Day in, day out, they labor to find their voice, to learn their trade, to understand nuance and pace. And then, facing a sea of rejections, they hear about something like Barbara Bush’s dog getting a book deal.” While books like “Joe the Plumber—Fighting for the American Dream” (I can hardly type the words without wanting to punch a fist through the screen), Meghan McCain’s My Dad, John McCain (because writing a children’s book is SO EASY!  I wrote four of them this morning!), and yes, Millie’s Book, may make you lose faith in the publishing system, not to mention the general justice of the universe, take heart friends.  For one thing, you’re not alone.  Everyone hates Joe the Plumber.  And though freckle-faced Millie the dog may have been a famous author and even earned herself a cameo on Murphy Brown while you were still lost in a twisted plot maze of your own making, in the end, she was still a dog.  At least you have opposable thumbs. More importantly, what “authors” like Joe the Plumber, Meghan McCain, and Millie the dog Bush are missing is the truth at the very heart of writing, the reason we all keep coming back to the blank page day after day: in the end, writing isn’t about the paycheck.  It’s not about the money.  If it were, we’d all be fools to pursue it for years, to spend so much time worrying about subtly revealing details and perfectly unspooling plots.  If it were all about the money, we’d be better off sleeping with someone famous and then finding a ghostwriter.  If it were all about the money, Harper Lee’s friends wouldn’t have supported her for a year so she could write To Kill A Mockingbird.  John Kennedy Toole’s mother wouldn’t have worked tirelessly to publish A Confederacy of Dunces.  Thomas Paine wouldn’t have written The Age of Reason, Milton wouldn’t have bothered to reach through his blindness and dictate Paradise Lost, and I would have majored in computer science. The good news is that the very trials and struggles of crafting a good story are worth the effort.  The work of writing is its own reward, regardless of celebrity authors and huge payouts for crappy books.  Joe and Meghan and Millie might get the book deal, but they’ll miss out on the best part: actually writing a book.  authors, fiction, publishing, writing life 2008-12-08T17:12:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/stories/478 #When:14:33:00Z Written By Scott Abrahams Sam Porter is a jukebox with two songs. Track one is, “What’s wrong?” and track two is, “I’m sorry.” He plays each one over and over, often in tandem, until they’re unbearably worn out and the needle is scratching directly on your nerves. The only way to switch him off is a spoonful of peanut butter, something I’d rather not experience again. Who knew he had a narrow trachea? Although, that might explain his limited verbal repertoire. Panting from unplanned exertion, I collapse into a chair at our weekly staff meeting. It just so happens to be the chair Sam chose for himself some moments earlier. Once I realize that my armrests are in fact arms, I slide to the next chair over. Sam speaks at last, “What’s wrong?” “Oh, sorry about at that. The elevator’s out, so I had to take the stairs. How careless of me to sit on you.” “I’m sorry,” Sam says. I say, “No problem. Don’t mention it.” Can someone be considered a scapegoat if he takes the blame uncomplaining? The other day I was making copies—trying to make a copy—and the copier caught fire. Sam was next in line. “What’s wrong?” “You broke the copier, Sam.” “I’m sorry.” “Apology accepted.” We are talking about “I’m sorry” in strictly the apologetic sense, as opposed to what you might say if you didn’t hear someone properly. Sam, if he doesn’t understand you, will say nothing, saving his “I’m sorry” for when he doesn’t do what you requested of him. “Sam, why did the boss’s mother just call me from the airport?” “What’s wrong?” “I asked you to pick her up noon.” “I’m sorry.” My theory is that he was traumatized at a young age by a windup doll. I imagine a Chatty Cathy, gift wrapped for a female relative, mistakenly opened one Christmas morning by an impressionable Sam Porter. Pull, “Do you love me?” Click. Pull, “Please take me with you.” Click. Cathy quickly usurps upon the position of baseball and toy soldiers in his playtime hierarchy, much to the chagrin of his masculine-centric father. Unable to dissuade the boy from hosting girly doll tea parties, and, ironically, hoping to forestall any long term psychological damage, the father boils Chatty Cathy in a lobster bisque and serves her severed cord to Sam at dinner. “What’s wrong?” asks a trembling and confused first grader. “Playing with dolls is wrong. It’s time to be a son, son.” “I’m sorry.” And so it begins. I imagine too that these phrases, played daily since second semester grade one, have taken on a life of their own, even becoming a part of the man’s body. Specifically, his eyebrows. The eyebrows of Sam Porter are hedgehogs. They are two Siamese hedgehogs joined at the hip, one named What’s Wrong and the other I’m Sorry. At dinner parties they serve the function of napkins; in winter, they are earmuffs. Not just for him but for the whole office. What’s more, every day, unlike his vocabulary, they are growing. While Sam is asleep, I must imagine since he’s certainly never mentioned it, What’s Wrong and I’m Sorry slip away to jump in a pot of glue. Thoroughly sticky, they roll around on the shaggy floor of the neighborhood barbershop, an establishment specializing in buzz cuts for people sick of tripping over their curls when they walk. Thus fulfilled, the hedgehogs roll back up the drainpipe and through the open bedroom window, nestling adhesively against the spot where most people have a forehead. I wonder what would happen if Sam shaved his eyebrows, or they were, say, scorched off in an unfortunate sparkler incident. Would the scales fall from his regressed vocal cords, unleashing a torrent of soliloquies and passionate small talk? Or maybe, a scathing denunciation of his gender phobic father would come tumbling out, dormant yet primed these past thirty odd years, just waiting for someone to pull the cord. As my good deed for the year, I might just try it, if for nothing else than for the sake of science and the annual staff photograph that the boss insists on hanging in the hallway. It would go something like this: “Hey, Sam, would you please pass the scissors?” “What’s wrong?” “Oh gracious, how clumsy of me. What I meant to do was cut this piece of blank computer paper. I don’t know how your eyebrows got in the way.” And Sam, rubbing the spot between his eyes and his hairline for the first time in decades, dabbing here and there with a tissue at the places he is bleeding, coughs once—a great clearing of his liberated throat—while a tender tear trickles down the hairy mess on his cheek. Sam looks at me, his lips part, and he punches me in the face. “I’m sorry?” NOTE: Scott is completing the Comic Essay class. classes, student writing 2008-12-07T14:33:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/475 #When:01:01:00Z Come by Tuesday, December 9 from 4pm to 7pm for a StoryStudio Open House. It’s free, warm and cozy, and we’ll have pots of coffee, tea and cookies. You’ll have a nice time writing or reading or meeting other writers or talking with us about your writing goals and how to get there. There will be details on the Winter Class Schedule and you can ask any questions you wish. Hang out in the studio or just want to check us out, this is a great opportunity to do both! Friends, acquaintances and significant others are welcome. 2008-12-07T01:01:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/getlit/470 #When:00:07:00Z Maybe you’ve got a little file full of them in the back of a drawer.  Maybe you’re one of those crazies who likes to frame them and keep them on display for all to see.  Now we can all be one of those crazies!!! Bill Shapiro (editor of Other People’s Love Letters) is looking for your literary rejection letters, planning to publish them in a 2010 collection entitled, Other People’s Rejection Letters. Send rejection letters and questions to 1000rejectionletters@gmail.com, and check out the guidelines for more information on submission. If you need more immediate satisfaction (or sympathy), check out the excellent Literary Rejections on Display blog. 2008-12-05T00:07:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/469 #When:15:57:01Z The economy’s falling apart, your writing isn’t going well, the kids are sick, the dog chewed his way through a stack of library books, there’s no way in hell you’re going to lose that five pounds before the holidays when people keep shoving cookies in your face.... BUT!  The Irving Park Brown Line Station is reopening this weekend! Who cares about the economy when you have the luxury of brand new elevators swooping you up to the platform?  Who needs sick kids and naughty dogs when you’ll have bike racks and braille signs??  And your writing can’t help but go well when getting to StoryStudio is more convenient than ever! We’ve been waiting for this moment all year, and it’s almost here!  With the Irving Park Brown Line station open, you have no excuse not to swing by our Prospective Student Open House on Tuesday, December 9 or our StoryStudio Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 10.  You can just take the Brown Line to Irving Park and get off right there!  You don’t have to travel all the way up to Montrose and walk back!  It’s happy dance time, folks.  Irving Park Brown Line!  Irving Park Brown Line!  Hooray!!  events 2008-12-03T15:57:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/467 #When:14:50:01Z Yesterday morning I was downtown, in a rush to cross LaSalle street to get to my appointment. Everyone around me was in a rush too and as I stood at the crosswalk waiting for the light to change, I was rehearsing in my head how I hoped to sound at my meeting. After that I was busy thinking about the rest of my day, how I was going to be on time for all my meetings and still get my work done. The light was still red, the voice in my head was still working out my schedule, and then a new voice interjected, causing me to jump a few inches in the air. “Do you know when the first Thanksgiving was?” it asked. But I didn’t hear it because the first voice, (my voice) was still working through the day’s to do list, way too busy to be concerned with the a silly question about a food holiday. In slow motion my brain kicked into gear and I turned to see a young man with an earring pointing what looked to be a phone at me. He seemed nice enough and the light was still red so I said, “What?” “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to know if you knew when the first Thanksgiving was.” That’s what I thought he had said. And so I was disappointed. Years ago, on a trip to England, we were wandering around the beautiful city of York while young people with microphones from the BBC were interviewing passers by about their favorite fictional character. Now that was something to ask of total strangers. I mean, fictional characters are important. They guide us. They make us laugh. They make us thankful we’re not them. Who really cares when the first Thanksgiving was! Maybe if the interviewer had put a narrative around the question. Something like, who do you think was at the first Thanksgiving and who do you think complained about how long it took to cook and how short it took to eat? But he didn’t. He asked his one question. When I answered honestly that I “didn’t have a clue,” he said, slightly disappointed, “1621.” Not one to take his word for it, I did a little research myself. Turns out the original “Pilgrims” celebrated Thanksgiving in the form of religious prayer that had little to do with gorging on turkey. After the Native American Samoset stopped by for a chat and showed them how to survive in this new land, the Pilgrims did celebrate with a meal with the Indians. But we all know how that story ends. But before you think I’m going to get all cynical and “tell the whole history not just what white men want to tell us,” I’m going to say this: the older I get, the more I realize how much I have to give thanks for. And so this Thursday I will sit eating my turkey and stuffing and really truly consider it a day to give thanks. In preparation, I want to thank all of you who make StoryStudio such a wonderful place to work and write and be every day. Happy Holidays to you and yours. 2008-11-25T14:50:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/stories/466 #When:22:35:00Z “Homecoming” By Bob Cengr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am grading expository essays on a crisp autumn afternoon when four girls tumble into my classroom. Their voices ring out somewhere between giggly and brassy, first asking, then demanding to know why the middle school they used to know so well looks “totally different” now that they have been high school freshmen for three whole months. Before I can answer, they spot four markers, each one a different color. “Ohmygodcanwewriteontheboard?” they ask. These girls live in houses that cost more money than I will earn in 20 years. They have cell phones that take pictures and cameras that play movies. But drawing on the dry erase board normally reserved for homework assignments and Student Council announcements is still one hell of a treat. It is hard to look at these girls – each one a former student of mine – at their bony knees peeking out of ripped jeans, at their pale flesh spilling out of their tank tops, at the way they are hungry for boys to be hungry for them. Yet for all their fifteen-year-old bravado, the things they write on the board make my heart ache. “McArthur Jr. High is the best!” “Enjoy it while you can!” “Mr. Roberts, we miss you!” A girl named Renee turns away from the other marker-writers and looks at me. “I miss the smell of your classroom,” she says, inhaling deeply. What smell is that? I wonder. The knock-off aftershave I splashed on over eight hours ago? The leftover pepperoni pizza I ate for lunch at my desk during 5th period study hall? The post-P.E. sweatiness of my afternoon classes? I smile because the final analysis it does not matter. Last year Renee played Sandy in our school’s production of Grease. When she wore a slinky red dress to school I half-kiddingly asked her to marry me. Half-kiddingly, she said yes. Following Renee’s lead, the girls spin away from the group, one at a time. “Mr. Roberts,” one of them says breathlessly. “You’ll never guess what Haney did at Homecoming!” Haney is one of the girl’s classmates who has not come back to visit. “Wait, I probably shouldn’t tell you,” she says. Blushing happily, she goes back to the board. “Mr. Roberts,” the next girl says, “did you hear about the party at Kim’s house last weekend?” I shake my head no. “Well, it was pretty crazy,” she says, wanting to go into specifics but not sure exactly how to proceed. Next come the junior high memories. “Remember the time Stewart tried to drink 10 chocolate milks at lunch and threw up all over the table?” “Remember when Jonathan started that fire in the science lab?” “Remember the time we saw you buying shampoo at Walgreen’s?” Without warning a mom arrives, interrupting the conversational flow and filling the doorway with the bulk of her fatigue. She looks at me with narrowed eyes, then turns her attention to her daughter. “Sally, you said 5 minutes – it’s been almost a half an hour!” she snaps. “I’ve got to get your brother to football practice!” The girls scurry to return my markers, embarrassed and excited. They shout goodbyes over their shoulders, leaving in much the same chaotic way that they entered. For a few seconds I bask in the afterglow, one of those sappy moments that is almost enough to make up for the long hours, low salary, lack of respect…and for the Teachers Lounge grousing about all of the above. I am caught unaware when Renee pops her head back through the door. “I need one more smell,” she says, inhaling again like she means it. Then she smiles and backs out of the room, and I listen to her sneakered footfalls padding down the hallway toward the rest of her life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Author’s Bio: Bob Cengr has studied fiction writing at StoryStudio Chicago and at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. His work has been published by The Prairie Light Review, Runner’s World Magazine, and The Daily Palette. His writing mentors are Elizabeth Wetmore, Bret Anthony Johnston, and everyone from last summer’s Advanced Short Story workshop in Iowa City. fiction, student writing 2008-11-24T22:35:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/463 #When:20:05:01Z Write-a-Thon Update 8pm Well, the November Write-a-Thon is winding down – only one more hour to go.  There was such fabulous energy in the studio today.  We had over thirty writers drop by, many of them working to meet their NaNoWriMo word counts (November’s almost over, after all – hope everyone’s word count is well underway).  The clack of keyboards is getting quieter, we’re out of cookies, and the fruits and vegetable crudities are gone, too.  But the words, the energy, the sense of possibility is still wafting through the air. Be sure to keep an eye out for the next Write-a-Thon date, and enjoy your turkey (or soy turkey) this Thanksgiving! 3pm It’s been a great day and the studio is packed. I’ve never seen this many people be so quiet that all you hear are the clicking of keyboard letters. Which turn into words. Which turn into paragraphs and then pages and then....you get the picture. We’ve taken two breaks today to visit next door with the Serendipity folks and hear some first person narratives read aloud. What added to the whole wonderful affect was the use of music to augment the stories, in just the right places. Then we all talked about how to get involved in their reading series (they run three of them PLUS a fantastic storytelling festival!) and that the closest deadline is December 1. It was a lot to remember so you should definitely take a look at the website: 2ndstory.serendipitytheatre.org 10:30am Write-a-thons always feel like Christmas to me. Well, sort of. I mean I’m Jewish so Christmas used to mean chinese food and a movie. But I can imagine waking up, sure that this year Santa was going to be extra specially nice, making that last little box in the corner the perfect gift. The day seems just so full of possibility. And that’s what these marathon writing sessions feel like. So much Possibility. 12 hours to think of me and my words. Plus, all the caffeine I can stand, chocolate hidden in plain sight, and great energy coming off all the other writers here filled with their own possibilities. I got here about 8:30am this morning to finish set up and had the first first pot of coffee made, donut holes out on the table staring back at me and some nice quiet classical music streaming. Christina was the first to arrive at 9:10am and it’s been a steady trickle since then. But there’s still plenty of room. So come on over! At about noon we’re going to go next door to Serendipity Theatre to take a break and listen to one of their short readings. They’ll be doing another performance later in the day. (First Pic of the Day above feature Katie on the Futon, Jessica at the Lounge Desk and Christina in the back.) events, nanowrimo, writing life 2008-11-22T20:05:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/465 #When:19:38:00Z Green Lantern, an independent press and gallery located in Wicker Park, is holding its first fundraiser tonight, November 22.  From noon to 9 p.m., the Green Lantern will be holding a silent auction featuring the work of a wide range of writers and artists; after the auction, from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., there will be a live music show featuring Joan of Arc, The Lanterns, & lowland.  Entry is $12; a $25 donation includes all you can drink at the bar, while $30 includes all you can drink and a one-year membership.  Green Lantern is located at 1511 N. Milwaukee Ave., second floor. events, publishing 2008-11-22T19:38:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/464 #When:17:06:00Z Narrative Magazine has announced the winners and finalists of the 30 Below story contest.  All writers are between the ages of 18 and 30: FIRST PRIZE Alita Putnam Fisherman’s Daughter SECOND PRIZE Kara Levy Ready THIRD PRIZE Alison Yin The West Oakland Project FINALISTS Gavin Broady The Hounds Xuan Chen Apple Leigh Gallagher The Drought Maggie Gerrity Black Ice Chris D. Harvey Werewolves Jason Perez Oh, Angelita Garcia! Rebecca Rasmussin Edge City Douglas Silver The Letter Writer Jackie Thomas-Kennedy Jack-in-the-Pulpit Emily Watson Child of Lake Michigan and the Northwest Wind For more details, check Narrative’s website.  Also, don’t forget about the 2008 Fall Fiction Contest, with a First Prize of $3,000, a Second Prize of $1,500, a Third Prize of $750, and ten finalists receiving $100 each.  The contest is open to all writers, and the deadline is November 30, so enter now.  2008-11-22T17:06:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/460 #When:23:30:01Z It’s time to party with Yelp again!  This year, the holiday bash is open to anyone with a Yelp profile...so sign up and RSVP! The Winter Wonderland Cocktail Soirée will be taking place Thursday December 11, 2008 from 8pm-10pm at Architectural Artifacts (aka Atrium Events Space) in the Ravenswood neighborhood!  Some of Chicago’s finest cocktail creators will be on hand showcasing their favorite, signature “wintery” cocktails. After sampling these lovely libations, guests will vote on their favorite, and a winner will be crowned.  Light appetizers will also be served. TO RSVP: Send an email to Chicago@yelp.com with your Yelp profile link (copy/paste the url link from the browser when looking at your profile page), name and guest’s name. (One guest allowed per person). You will receive a confirmation within a few days! 2008-11-21T23:30:01-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/462 #When:17:35:00Z This is totally stolen, so my apologies to Robin Morrissey, a friend of mine who used this exercise for much more serious writing purposes. Choose a word.  Usually a noun works best. Do you have it? Ok, now write a story titled “My Autobiography as a [your word here]”.  It’s like mad libs for adults.  Robin had her class make a list of American icons, and her class wound up writing their autobiographies as apple pie, and they told of the searing pain of slicing, the delicious warmth of the baking process, and the phantom pains of longing for their missing pieces.  Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red is the autobiography of Geryon, a little known red monster killed by Hercules as one of his labors. If you’re stuck in NaNoWriMo, maybe this will help you get started.  Let me know how things turn out! fiction, Prompts 2008-11-21T17:35:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/461 #When:20:25:00Z StoryStudio student Anne Laughlin is published again (the woman’s a publishing machine!), this time in Best Lesbian Love Stories 2009.  Anne’s story is called “On Retreat,” and seeing as how she workshopped it in the Advanced Writer’s Workshop, I think she’d agree that she couldn’t have done it without us!  Let’s hope she’ll show her gratitude by bringing us cookies.  Cookies, Anne, cookies!  Seriously, we’re ever so proud of her, and excited to hear that she’s finished her second novel, which is now being shopped around to publishers.  You go, girl!  authors, classes, fiction, kudos, student writing, success stories, writing life 2008-11-20T20:25:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/459 #When:16:01:00Z Wednesday, November 19 Poetry and Contratiempo magazines present a bilingual reading featuring the poetry of Roberto Bolaño (introduced and read by Jorge Frisancho), short fiction by Raul Dorantes, and poems by Leila Wilson and Jorge Sánchez 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Café Efebos 1640 s Blue Island Ave. (in Pilsen, between 16th & 18th) admission and magazines are free Thursday November 20 Playwright Mickle Maher and Adam Rosenberg and Amy Stern, students from the MFA in Writing program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will read at 7pm at Powell’s Bookstore, located at 2850 N. Lincoln.  Call (773) 248-1444 Mickle Maher is a co-founder of Chicago’s Theater Oobleck and the author of numerous plays, including An Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening, and The Hunchback Variations. Recent plays include Spirits to Enforce (Theater Oobleck), Cyrano (translator) and The Cabinet (Redmoon Theater), and Lady Madeline (Steppenwolf). His children’s book, Master Stitchum and the Moon, is published by Bollix Books. His plays are published by Hope and Nonthings. He is currently working on a libretto about Don Quixote. Starting last Friday Cut to the Quick: Splayed Verbiage (A festival of 10-minute plays with no time to waste! ) The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm November 16 - December 21. FEATURING Yes to Everything by Philip Dawkins, directed by Lavina Jadhwani 78 by Laurel Haines, directed by Gina LoPiccolo The New Lonely by Andrew Hinderaker, directed by Vance Smith Space by Laura Jacqmin, directed by Megan Schuchman One Lucky Duck by Matthew Swaye, directed by Gina LoPiccolo The Best Christmas Ever by Amy Whittenberger, directed by Kyra Lewandowski Not That (But Something Else) by Brian Golden, directed by Chelsea Marcantel Agony in the Garden by Crystal Skillman, directed by Dan Foss O’Dark Thirty by Aaron Carter, directed by Daniel Caffrey Ethnic Cleansing Day by Brett Neveu, directed by Eric Ziegenhagen Slave Day by Wilderness Sarchild, directed by Mignon McPherson-Nance Black and White by Mark Young, directed by Anna C. Bahow Click here for more information. Saturday, November 22 The first Illinois statewide write-in meet up will be from 1-4pm. Information on the location can be found here. Sandwiches and chips will be available starting at 12:15. It’s a chance to chat before the write-in starts. You can find more information and RSVP here. Also Saturday, November 22 Green Lantern Press will be holding it’s first ever fundraiser from noon until 1am.  The event features a silent auction, crepe breakfast (noon until 1:30pm, cocktail hour (6-9pm, and live music (9pm until1am) with Joan of Arc, The Lanterns, and Lowland. Sunday, November 25th Come join the School of the Art Institute’s Text Off the Page class on from 12-1 at MC 118 for a free lunch. This will be an opportunity to see the work to be shown at the Sullivan Galleries and potentially respond in a reading/performance event.  For more information, see the school’s website events, nanowrimo, poetry, writing life 2008-11-19T16:01:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/458 #When:11:55:00Z I’ve been hearing about Twitter a lot lately. I haven’t gone to the site yet, but I understand that it’s a way to do a mini-blog. If it didn’t sound like a supercharged procrastination tool, I’d go there; I’d look; I’d Twitter about my novel. My progress over the last two weeks would look something like this: Oh no, THIS is the chapter I have to revise? The point of view is so jacked up. Why did I choose to write in omniscient POV? I’ll reread it first, then start writing. I reread the chapter, then washed the dishes. And my revision went on like that for about four days. I finally revised my chapter, lamenting the whole time about having an omniscient narrator. The problem I’m finding with the all-knowing point of view, is that she knows too much. If each chapter is written through the long distance lens of an omniscient narrator, then the reader can get into any character’s head the narrator chooses. If I choose all the minds, all the voices at once, the work gets confusing. The focus dims. So I’ve been sharpening the narrative focus, one chapter at a time. So, I’m letting one character’s perspective lead each chapter, which seems to work. I’ve been working that way for months now, and I’m ready to attempt the narrator’s voice again, to write sections or chapters fully from her point of view. However, I haven’t entered the narrator’s perspective in so long, I’m struggling to regain the voice she started with. My challenge this week is to find my narrator. 2008-11-18T11:55:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/457 #When:21:12:02Z From SSC Student Anne-Marie Kennedy: I’m setting TiVo to tape It’s Thanksgiving Charlie Brown and thinking about gifts: getting them, giving them, good gifts, bad gifts, and the little twists of fate that are gifts-in-disguise, for which I’m most thankful of all. Last spring, my husband celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by sending me away. To another state.  He’d asked me for gift ideas (we gave up trying to surprise each other long ago and now rely on blunt instructions: get me this. It’s not romantic, but it saves time in the shopping and cuts down on the returning) and I told him there was something he could get me. I wanted to attend Story Studio’s annual writer’s retreat, a weekend in New Buffalo, MI. Done. At the retreat, I met Jill. I’d taken two courses at SSC, but didn’t really know her except by name, and that SSC was her creation. It was a rare treat, to be holed up in a comfortable cabin for 48 hours with a dozen other smart, supportive writers– like camp, minus the bugs.  When the group wasn’t writing, or listening, or reading, eating or workshopping, we happily traded stories about our day jobs, families and friends. I commiserated with other freelancers about the ups and downs of self-employment. A few weeks later, before class, Jill handed me a post-it note with a name and phone number. “This woman is looking for someone to do some copywriting and editing. I thought you might be interested.” Of course I was. (Did I mention the ups and downs of freelancing?) The woman, having no connection to SSC, but figuring she’d find a writer there, worked for the Chicago Architecture Foundation (you know, the architectural boat tours, Devil in the White City tours, and now, segue tours). They needed help with the very exciting project of “jazzing up” the annual report.  No problem. Not the most exciting assignment, but who looks a gift-horse in the mouth? The Chicago Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit, dedicated to advancing public interest in architecture and design, specifically Chicago’s architecture and design. They are the go-to organization Mayor Daley relies on to showcase our city when members of the International Olympic Committee come to town. An army of docents lead 150,000 tours each year. These folks are passionate about architecture and design, and so devoted to the art form and its role in our city, they happily train via a specially-designed program that requires hundreds of hours of course- and field-work before they’re considered qualified to educate the public on what is arguably one of the world’s finest living museums. Which they do for free, as volunteers. Like my new writer-friends from the retreat, these folks could talk for hours about their beloved art form, discussing the latest contributions, arguing their passions. I didn’t expect inspiration to come from editing the CAF’s annual report, but one late night as I was consulting my “Elements of Style”, an image popped into my head. I saw the ghosts of Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, sitting in back row on the upper deck of a boat tour, listening to a CAF docent educate her tour group: “Wright is known to have said,” the docent tells her charges, “’A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines.’ “ “Hogwash, I never said such a thing,” says Wright, turning indignantly to Sullivan. “You most certainly did,” says Sullivan, “I remember distinctly—“ “Hrfmph,” mutters Wright, folding his arms, and turning his critical gaze to consider the new Trump tower as their boat glides by the building on its way down the river. I didn’t know where this little scene was going, but I knew enough to write it down, to let it meander and flow like the river tour. We get these little gifts all the time, but rarely call it that. I forget, most of the time, that the really good gifts are usually not the ones tied up in a neat bow. My husband gave me a gift; my fellow-writer Jill gave me a gift by passing on that phone number, which led to a job, which led to a new friend and the observance of passion, which led maybe to the makings of a new story. You never know where the gifts are going to come from, but I’ve decided to try hard to pass them on… 2008-11-17T21:12:02-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/listen_up/456 #When:17:00:00Z Next Wednesday, November 19, StoryStudio’s own Jenene Ravesloot will be reading from her first book of poetry, “Loot: Stolen Memories & Tales Out of School.” There will be an author signing after.  Head down to Taste of Heaven and get a chance to hear and support a fellow StoryStudio member! Taste of Heaven 5401 North Clark Street Chicago, Illinois 60625 Reading begins at 7:30 in the evening, Wednesday, November 19. 2008-11-15T17:00:00-06:00 http://cooler.storystudiochicago.com/poetry/455 #When:15:23:00Z We’ve tried for a long while to get a poetry group up and running at the studio. Thanks to instructor Paige Warren, we’ve finally done it! This fall we had a short-run Poetry Workshop that had amazing group of writers. Amazing and prolific! Here’s just one very short example from longtime StoryStudio writer, Kelley Clink: October 30, 2008 Ladybug shells— look again Not as empty as I’d imagined But slow moving on cold legs 2008-11-13T15:23:00-06:00