Tag Archives: Smokestacks and Skyscrapers: An Anthology of Chicago Writing
Neil Tesser: Out of Season
With everything on hold this year, including baseball, I’m re-reading Neil Tesser’s piece “Out of Season” with greater than average nostalgia. David Starkey and I put this piece in our 1999 book Smokestacks and Skyscrapers: An Anthology of Chicago Writing. … Continue reading
Leon Forrest’s Divine Days
In the Afterword to my book Black Writing from Chicago, the first person I apologize for not including is Leon Forrest. I wrote: “First and foremost, I will immediately agree with anyone who believes omitting Leon Forrest is unforgivable. Chair … Continue reading
Mike Royko: Controversy…and the Cubs
When Mike Royko died in 1997, Chicago mourned. Granted, a few of the many people he confronted in his no-nonsense manner may have secretly celebrated, but his death was seen by many as the end of an era, when newspaper … Continue reading