This is one of a large series devoted to Chicago writers. These articles are expansions of ones written as introductions to two anthologies of Chicago writing I did: first, with David Starkey, Smokestacks and Skyscrapers, and second, my Black Writing from Chicago. See links at end to go to complete lists of the writers covered, and to the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, a leading literary organization I am currently on the board of. Most of this article was written by David Starkey.
Today she may be better known as the mother of naturalist Donald Culross Peattie, but in her day Elia Wilkinson Peattie was a crusading reporter and editor for the Chicago Tribune and the author of more than 30 books. Born in 1862 to a proud, financially unsuccessful father, Elia Peattie was forced to quit school in seventh grade, her early poverty giving her a work eteic that never abated. She married a fellow writer, Robert, who was remarkably supportive of her career. In fact, she sometimes dictated stories to him in the evening as she sewed. Influential as a critic as well as a social reformer, Peattie was an outspoken advocate of women’s suffrage and women’s rights. She died in 1935.
In our book Smokestacks and Skyscrapers: An Anthology of Chicago Writing, we included a passage from her 1914 novel The Precipice, a novel of ideas. It chronicles Kate Barrington’s escape from downstate Silvertree to Chicago, where she becomes involved in social welfare. Working for a time with Jane Addams (with whom Elia Peattie herself was friends) Kate, by the end of the novel, is offered the directorship of the Bureau of Children by the President of the United States. After deflecting a number of lesser proposals, she also manages to find a husband willing to honor her sense of independence.
Chapter 5 shows Kate balancing the demands of her own strong will and conscience with the constraints of early 20th Century society. She is carrying a neglected infant in her arms when she runs into two acquaintances, one of whom, Mrs. Barsaloux, is appalled that Kate would actually touch a poor child. After listening to Kate recount some of her troubles as a social worker to her friends David and Honora Fulham, we admire (or perhaps wince at) the way she is able to gracefully handle Dr. von Shierbrand, who “expected women to be amusing.” One of Chicago literature’s early feminist protagonists, Kate has the courage to wonder “what sort of world it would be if there were no men in it at all.”
In the second paragraph of the excerpt from The Precipice, we read: “It was her business to adjust the lives of children—which meant that she adjusted their parents’ lives also. She arranged the disarranged; played the providential part, exercising the powers of intervention which in past times belonged to the priest, but which, in the days of commercial feudalism, devolve upon the social worker.” Here a self-righteous paternalism—or maternalism—shines through but also the precision of Elia Peattie’s style. And with the phrase “commercial feudalism” we see Peattie place her feminism within an economic context perhaps more pertinent today than it was in the early 20th Century.
♦ Go HERE for a list of Chicago writers, many from Smokestacks and Skyscrapers, and HERE for a list of Black writers, many from Black Writing from Chicago. Read my article on the founding of The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, where I currently serve on the board of directors.
Whales, and An Ethic for the Age of AI
The graphic for Addrienne LaFrance’s Atlantic article.
Below is a 3:48 highlights VIDEO of a recent trip my wife and I took to Cabo San Lucas, specifically to watch whales. We were not disappointed. But aside from the Video, this commentary isn’t really about whales. It’s my take on Adrienne LaFrance’s article in the July/August 2023 Atlantic titled “In Defense of Humanity.” As the subheading says, “We need a cultural and philosophical movement to meet the rise of artificial superintelligence.” It’s more nuanced and sophisticated than my summary, so I’d urge you to read it for yourself. It’s not long. It amounts to four points from which a possible ethics for the age of AI could arise. Whales are an illustration of Point Four below.
1. TRANSPARENCY: If you’ve used AI to create anything, just tell us you did. Writers like Ayad Akhtar, who won a 2013 Pulitzer for his play Disgraced, are already openly making AI a part of their writing process, as are many visual artists. As a former writing professor, I would just ask students if they used AI and have them describe their process of using it at the end of their papers. A law or an ethic of transparency would do much to warn consumers about AI-generated pictures purporting to be of someone doing this or that, including posing naked. Short of banning such pictures or hunting down and prosecuting each offender—which would be the best solution, of course—a statement saying something like “AI was used to generate this image,” or “this sound,” would give consumers important information and afford victims some semblance of protection from the beginning. This point is related to Point Three below.
2. PERSONAL CONNECTION: How convenient to meet on Zoom. Yet this should not take away from meeting in person, face-to-face. Live, personal contact should be seen as a necessity. This point is related to Point Four below.
3. PRIVACY: LeFrance says, “privacy is the key to preserving our humanity.” On a personal level, this means learning that you don’t have to share everything you’ve ever done or thought. This calls for a measure of modesty, a growing sense of your inner vs. public self, and for a careful drawing of lines that will protect you and those closest to you from outside intrusion.
4. PERSONAL WITNESSING: Whenever possible, go see things for yourself and through your own eyes. Do not rely on a virtual reality tour of Rome, but go there yourself. Which brings me back to the Video below. How long I’ve wanted to actually see whales in the wild. I watched films, including one of my oldest son’s family going whale watching in kayaks and having a humpback surface no more than 10 feet from them. So during one of the coldest days in 2025’s Chicagoland winter, we were able to fly off to Cabo San Lucas and experience what the Video below shows. What a privilege. And how privileged was I. Not everyone can do that, or actually step onto Vatican Square in Rome, as I was also able to do many years ago, but the more you can see with, and through, your own eyes, with no intervening technology, the better. Actually see your neighborhood, your backyard, the people closest to you, and even those who are strangers.