Gapers Block has ceased publication.
Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
TODAY
Friday, April 19
Slowdown
BY DAY
Thursday, September 15 2005
Fishnet Release
Come celebrate the release of Paul A. Toth's new novel, Fishnet, with The2ndHand's Todd Dills and ThisISGrand's Jonathan Messinger. The novel tells the story of "an aging couple on the path toward dissolution." Join them, with the author, at the Hungry Brain, 2319 W. Belmont. Pay what you can and call 773-935-2118 for more information.
Mini Relief Effort @ Myopic
Myopic Books, 1546 N. Milwaukee, plays host to a "mini relief effort" to benefit employees of I Can Learn, which is based in New Orleans and has an office here in Chicago. Hardscrabble, Third Sunday, and Edith Frost perform. There will be cupcakes, beer and other snacks, and a raffle. Give what you can. Starts at 7pm.
"Coming of Age: Lolita at 50"
Nabokov's ">Lolita turns 50 this year, and New City and Vintage Books are throwing a party tonight at the Darkroom, 2210 W. Chicago. "Coming of Age: Lolita at 50" is a multimedia extravaganza, with talks from author Carol Anshaw and free speech activist Burt Joseph, music from DJs Tobias and Brock as well as a live set by My Where They, and a "Reinterpreting Lolita" costume contest (extra points for not going with the schoolgirl cliché). The 50th anniversary edition of Lolita will be available for purchase, as will $3 Goose Island beer. Doors open at 7:30pm, with a $3 cover after 10pm. Ironically, the event is 21 and over.
Butoh Festival at the Chicago Cultural Center
Groping Towards Dance: Butoh and the Origins of Music, the only U.S. butoh festival that features emerging artists, continues tonight in the Sydney R. Yates Gallery of the Chicago Cultural Center at 7 PM. Butoh is an avant-garde dance form developed in Japan in the 1960s. “The first public performances were wild and primal and shocked the conservative Japanese dance community.” Performances in this free program will be followed by talk-backs with the artists. For more information, see the website or call 312-744-6630.
Opening: Spectacle '05: Love Me...Loves Me Not
Redmoon Theater's latest endeavor opens tonight on the south side of the Museum of Science and Industry. "Spectacle '05: Loves Me...Loves Me Not" features "75 choir singers, 31 plastic costumes, 4 pregnant women and 1 escape vehicle." Oh...and it takes place all on water. If you've ever seen a Redmoon production, you know that their ethereal and whimsical designs can only be enhanced by lagoon setting. The show starts at dusk, 7:30 pm. Tonight's performance is free for all; regular tickets cost $10 and the show will run through September 25. The Museum of Science and Industry is located at 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr. Call 312-850-8440x11 for tickets and for more information.
Powell's North Reading Series
Tonight at 7pm, Powell's North Bookstore hosts another of its literary pairings (or triplings, if you will). This time, two local up-and-coming writers, (GB's own) Michelle Taransky and Manda Aufochs Gillespie will read poetry along with Sally Keith. Keith is the author of two books of poetry, most recently "Dwelling Song," published by The University of Georgia Press. Her first book, "Design," won the Colorado Prize for Poetry in 2000. She attended the Iowa Writer's Workshop and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Rochester. Each Powell's North reading pairs an established poet, fiction, or non-fiction writer from around the nation with one or two emerging writers in an event that exposes the community to a dynamic variety of work from writers at different stages in their career. Also, the readings hope to inspire a dialogue between writers and their audience, as well establish an environment open to all genres, styles, and experiments in writing. Powell's is located just north of Diversey Ave. at 2850 N. Lincoln, (773) 248-1444.
Researching Chicago's Local History @ Newberry
The Newberry Library kicks off a new season of public programs in genealogy this evening with a panel discussion titled, "Researching Chicago's Local History." This free event features four panelists who will "present different ways of learning about local history and will discuss sources and methods for researching the city and suburbs." The panelists include Gapers Block staffer Alice Maggio, Wicker Park historian Elaine Coorens, Jennifer Masengarb of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and Peggy Tuck Sinko from the Newberry Library. The discussion begins at 6pm at the Newberry Library, located at 60 W. Walton St. in Chicago.
