Green Apple Books is proud to celebrate the release of Volume 19 of the Chicago Quarterly Review on Friday, March 13th 2015 in our Granny Smith Room at 7:30pm. The night will include a short reception and readings from featured writers:
Donka Farkas
Stephen Kessler
Zack Rogow
Evie Rucker
Catherine Segurson
Moazzam Sheikh
Chicago Quarterly Review editor Elizabeth McKenzie’s short story, “Savage Breast” appears in the December 15, 2014 issue of the New Yorker. Below is an excerpt. The entire story is available here.
“Savage Breast,” by Elizabeth McKenzie
It had been an ordinary day, to a point. I had a headache that wouldn’t let up, and there was a party I’d promised I’d go to—I’d said see you soon to the people at work. But after I unlocked my door and kicked off my shoes all I could think about was jumping into bed. Once I allowed myself to think that this was a reasonable idea, I felt released from the grip of the party; I realized that if I slept right through nobody would really care.
I threw down my bag in the hall. A stale smell engulfed me, as if from a storage room that hadn’t been opened for a long time, but I was too dead to investigate. I groped for the light switch but instead felt a warm furry thing on my hand.
Next thing I knew, I was lying on my back in a bed.
The bed was hard, and there was a thin blue blanket over me. Looking up, I saw light coming through an old-fashioned shade that had been pulled down over a window. There was nothing like this in my apartment. Slightly yellowed, it had a cord hanging from it which had been crocheted around a plastic pull ring. There was a familiar water stain on the shade, a lion’s head coming out of a rose, and I sat up in bed with a gasp….
An Interview by Katie Alstadt
Don De Grazia is the author of American Skin, a contemporary coming-of-age novel. His stories have appeared in Chicago After Dark, The Chicago Reader, TriQuarterly, and in 2014, his story “Black Was Missing” appeared in the Chicago Quarterly Review’s special Chicago Issue. Don is also a professor at Columbia College Chicago, teaching fiction. I had the pleasure of catching up with Don recently to discuss his current projects and get his perspective on the future of publishing and literary fiction.
Don is currently working on two different novels and a collection of short stories. Several of the short stories are interconnected, sharing several common characters and environments. He’s also continuing to develop characters he introduced in prior works, such as Black from “Black Was Missing.”
Given Don’s versatility as a short story writer, novelist, fiction and nonfiction writer, I asked him about his writing process. “When I’m writing short stories, I have a very clear sense of the story’s end, the resolution and the themes, which are the driving forces of the story for me,” Don says. As for novels, Don states that unlike short stories he “writes on the edge of discovery,” meaning he lets the story and the characters guide him towards revelations and resolutions. I found this particularly encouraging as many young novelists and writers apply the same process to their larger works of prose.
Don also shared that recently, he has been writing screenplays. Initially he approached them the same way he approached his prose: with the notion that screenplays “are simply just stories.” However, he soon discovered that novels and short stories are very different from screenplays. “Screenplays are incomplete movies,” Don says. “The writer is challenged to focus on enhancing the storyline while thinking about elements that do not exist until later production, such as lighting and sound environments.” Despite these challenges, Don says that the technical concepts you learn in all storytelling can be applied to screenwriting. “You still need to develop an intriguing plot and focus on rich character development.”
Of all the forms he’s tried, which is his favorite? “I prefer fiction because I feel like much of the nonfiction and memoirs out there today are fictionalized. Our memories are subjective versions of reality where the writer puts order into something that previously did not exist.”
Don’s success is inspiring and I had the honor of working with him in a fiction class at Columbia College. So like all aspiring writers, I was interested in his experience with publishing and how his novel went from a simple idea to a published work of fiction. His response was moving. “If you devote yourself to writing a book and pour yourself into it, you will get published.”
The process of choosing a small press or a top publishing house after your novel is complete is more complicated and relies heavily on individual taste. Writers have to decide if they want more personal, detailed attention which they will receive at a small press or if they want to work with a top publishing house, where they might become a “bingo chip” in the pool of established authors.
However, with all these different options, including self-publishing, Don declares that young writers should be more encouraged than ever, as the publishing world is constantly changing forms and creating many more exciting opportunities. “The lines in the industry are blurring,” Don says.
Don recently shared with his students the example of a young adult novel written by James Frey entitled Endgame. The book is set to be the first interactive, multimedia experience and will incorporate e-books, interactive gaming and Youtube videos. Imagine the opportunities to engage the reader using audio and visual tools.
I appreciated Don’s professionalism and willingness to take time to share his insights and expertise. I believe he is a great example of the talent that exists within Chicago’s literary community and I am sure we will be hearing more great things from him in the future.
“Breeding Grounds” by Amy Bitterman, published in our Spring 2013 issue, has received a “Special Mention” in the 2015 Pushcart Prize Anthology! www.pushcartprize.com
by Katie Alstadt
A sense of community is difficult to find as a writer, a solitary profession that limits communication and interactions with those around you. If you’re a writer or if you write as a hobby, you know that sharing it is scary. Opening up your ideas and works-in-progress with other writers builds a sense of community, fuels ideas and keeps you moving forward with your work. This was the theme at the 2014 Kriti Festival, hosted on UIC campus in Chicago, Illinois. The week long festival celebrated authors, their works, their successes and the art of writing itself.
Syed A. Haider, the Chicago Quarterly Review’s chief editor, attended and spoke at three different panels and read a few selections from his short stories. He also shared his personal experiences in the arts, revealed his road to success, and discussed how to get work published. Syed started his writing career later in life. He came to America to be an engineer, studied psychology, and pursued a career in social work. He studied at the University of Chicago and met a professor that was generous with her writing criticism of Syed’s early work. He then went on to publish a book of short stories. Syed stated that he always thought he could write but not well enough to make money.
When asked on the panel at the Kriti Festival for advice how to publish and handle rejection, Haider simply said, “Keep writing, keep writing. Don’t worry about rejection.” He also said that it’s important for writers not to share their work with publishers or writing groups too early, as criticism during the writing process can be overwhelming and harmful to early drafts. However, Syed encouraged the aspiring writers in the audience to join writing groups whether on social media or within school as they build their help community.
Other writers on the panel, including young adult writer Rajeep Paulus, author of Swimming Through Clouds, also encouraged writers to follow their dreams but to do it sensibly. “Pay attention to your art,” she stated, “while reminding everyone to remain realistic and maintain other jobs while you write. Always have a Plan B,” Paulus said.
Manil Suri, award winning author and bestseller of a trilogy of novels named for Hindu gods, including The Death of Vishnu, also spoke at the Festival. I had the honor of speaking to Manil after his panel to ask him for advice for aspiring writers.
Dignified and calm after signing a stack of books for excited readers and fans, Suri told me that he originally started writing as a hobby and that it was something he did only in his free time. But as he continued, he found that writing was something he really enjoyed because it added another dimension to his already busy life. Suri attended the University of Mumbai and Carnegie for a major in mathematics. He wrote his first novel in 1995, after keeping the project secret from his friends and family for about fifteen years. When I asked him about his publication process, Suri smiled and admitted that he was lucky when he found his agent. It all started when he submitted the first three chapters of his novel to an arts center as admittance to attend. He was surprised to find that he received harsh criticism that “tore it apart.” Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize winner, hosted the program and encouraged Suri to keep writing the novel at any cost. Cunningham also wrote Suri a recommendation to an artist colony in New Hampshire and it was there that Suri met a scout from Hollywood who took an interest in his manuscript. However, the novel was not right for film and he found an agent for Suri who later published the novel. Suri stated that writing should be for yourself first and that it should make you happy. If it does, then hard work and dedication will make success easier. “Don’t worry about the first ten years,” Suri said. “Try to get better and hone your craft, then worry about publication.”
I found that many audience members during other panels were interested in how authors found their inspiration, so I asked Suri the same thing. “I only need enough inspiration to get the idea but I think the mechanics are more important. I’ve found that biking or swimming will usually spark an idea.”
The Kriti Festival as a whole was inspiring for me as a writer. I met so many smart and gracious authors who were more than willing to share their secrets to writing, editing and submitting. But most of all, I felt very welcomed in the community as we all shared our experiences with the arts, and what we loved to read and write. The Kriti Festival advocated writers and their community, joining together and creating art, no matter what you may be interested in. I enjoyed meeting so many writers and even made some connections. I highly recommend attending the event next year and in the meantime, joining creative groups and getting yourself and your work out there.
Bay area contributors to CQR #18 read at Green Apple Books, August 18, 2014. Including Ali Eteraz, Thomas Lee, Willer de Oliveira, Dan Moreau and Moazzam Sheikh. A brilliant group!
Come visit us in the Poetry Tent!
Free and open to the public. Come celebrate the Chicago Issue of the Chicago Quarterly Review with Sharon Solwitz, Signe Ratcliff, Cecilia Pinto, Liz Radford, Syed Haider, John Blades, Jim Stacey, Elizabeth McKenzie, Umberto Tosi, R. Craig Sautter, Jason Economus, Natalia Nebel, Bill Lederer, Jim Stacey, Joe Weintraub, Jack Fuller, Robert Kerwin, Dipika Mukherjee, Paul Jones, Steve Trumpeter, Rogers Worthington, Garnett Kilberg Cohen, and Donald G. Evans. Join the writers at the bar at 6; reading starts at 7!
Curbside Splendor, The Ernest Hemingway Foundation, Oak Park Library, and826CHI are proud to present: POP-UP BOOK FAIR 2014
FEATURING:
&NOW Books
2nd Story
57th Street Books / Seminary Co-op
7Vientos
Allium Press
Another Chicago Magazine
Artifice Books
Bookslut
Burial Day Books
Chicago Center for Literature and Photography (CCLaP)
Chicago Literary Hall of Fame
CHIPRC
Chicago Quarterly Review
Christian Larsen
Convulsive Editions
Dead Tree Press
Dream of Things
Fifth Star Press
Half Letter Press / Temporary Services
Hobart and Short Flight / Long Drive Books
Lake Claremont Press
MAKE
Miss Nyet Publishing, LLC
Ricochet Review
Soberscove Press
Switchback Books
http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/events/pop-book-fair-hemingway-museum-oak-park
Join us on March 30, 2014, 5-7 pm at the Celtic Knot in Evanston for a reading with CQR contributors Robert Brown, Don De Grazia, David Hart and Liz Radford.
Don De Grazia 
The Celtic Knot
Booth 1205. See you there!
Chicago Quarterly Review Turns 20
Literary journal turns its lens toward its hometown
by Rick Kogan
The authors of the editors’ note that begins Volume 17/2014 of Chicago Quarterly Review: The Chicago Issue are justifiably thrilled that the publication has reached its 20th birthday: “We are amazed and humbled to look back at the hundreds of writers who have lent their work to our pages. If ever there were a testament to the exuberance of the Chicago writing scene, and the Chicago influence on the mind and psyche of those touched by the city, this is it.”
In this gathering of 54 writers and artists is some very good writing (fiction, nonfiction and poetry), some interesting visual art, fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The editors say they hope to stimulate, entertain and inspire, and they do.
You will find here the work of a few of my erstwhile newspaper colleagues: Gary Houston, long gone from the Sun-Times, with a nonfiction entry; former Tribune editor and publisher Jack Fuller, with a short story titled “True With Time,” and former Tribune book editor/critic John Blades, who also serves as fiction editor of the review, with his “The Fourth Dementia” story.
Fuller and Blades have published novels, and they are joined here by former Tribune reporter Rogers Worthington with “Bugroast,” his first published short story.
The Chicago Reader’s Michael Miner breaks from his steady, decades-long stream of media columns and other musings to contribute three short poems, the first to reach the public since a couple were published in his ship’s newspaper when he served in the U.S. Navy.
The work of some of the city’s brightest young talents — Don De Grazia, Gina Frangello, Joe Meno and Christine Sneed among them — is here too, full of energy and coltish inventiveness. They are joined by veteran prose pros such as Rosellen Brown.
There is not a writer alive who will not benefit from reading “Writing and Publication,” Harry Mark Petrakis’ remembrance of his early stabs at writing, excerpted from his memoir, “Song of My Life,” due to be published next year. There is no one I can think of who has toiled more tirelessly and passionately for his place in the world of words than has Petrakis.
“What became apparent to me was the importance of revision,” he writes. “As I became more intensely involved with the writing of stories, I found myself revising beginnings and endings and certain crucial scenes through as many as eight to ten drafts.”
Also included here are three stories by local high school students, full of promise. These were the winners of the first Budding Literary Masters prizes, launched this year by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, which was created almost single-handedly by Donald G. Evans. Evans is a tireless sort who also has a piece for this volume, a sad-chilling story titled “The Princess of Portage Park.”
He orchestrated the fourth Hall of Fame induction ceremony this month at the Cultural Center. Inducted were Edna Ferber, Leon Forrest, L. Frank Baum, John H. Johnson, Thornton Wilder and Ben Hecht. (All inductions are posthumous.)
I would hope that those names register and that some of the names in this book will achieve whatever success or fame their words deserve. But I would also hope they realize that fame is tough to get and harder to hold.
If you want proof, it is in this issue of the review. In “The Paradox of Ben Hecht,” former Sun-Times’ reporter/columnist Jan Herman writes, “If Ben Hecht is remembered at all today, it is not for his novels. It is not even for his journalism or the movies he wrote, credited and uncredited, but for a more general reputation as the most successful screenwriter of his time.”
Rick Kogan is a Tribune senior writer and columnist.
“Chicago Quarterly Review: The Chicago Issue”
Edited by S. Afzal Haider and Elizabeth McKenzie, Chicago Quarterly Review, 373 pages, $16 paperback
