March Literary License 2021 Biblio File Author elevates discussion Susan Croce Kelly has given three Zoom talks during the shut-down, one for Columbia, Missouri’s Boone County with talk about Chicago L History & Culture BY THOMAS FRISBIE Center, a second at uthor Patrick Reardon took Sentieri Italian Zoom viewers for a spin on Language School in AChicago’s Loop L on Feb. 9 dur- Chicago which had an ing the Midland Authors’ monthly pro- international audience, gram, which was conducted via Zoom. and a third, on Feb. 25 Reardon, author of The Loop: The “L” for the University of Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago, Oklahoma Libraries. ... Susan Croce the latest of his nine books, said the Helen Frost’s novel in Kelly book’s main argument is the L is the most poems, All He Knew important structure in Chicago’s history. (See Literary License, May 2020), has Because of the L and its downtown won the 2021 Scott O’Dell Award for loop, “Chicagoans could come from one Historical Fiction. Past winners of the end of Chicago to the other very easily,” award include Louise Erdrich and said Reardon, who was a Chicago Tribune Harriette Gillem reporter, feature writer and editor for AJAK Robinet. Also, Helen’s more than three decades. Z novel, Blue Daisy (See Before the Loop was constructed, ICHAEL Literary License, May Chicagoans could take an L train down- M 2020), a mix of poems town, but then they had to get out and Patrick Reardon and prose, won the take a cable car, a “horse car” or walk to 2020 Best Dog Book the center of the city or to another train the trend toward suburbanization in the Medal. ... David station to go elsewhere in the city, he 1960s and 1970s, he said. Radavich’s essay, Harriette Gillem said. Many members of the Midland Authors “ ‘Elegy for Jane’: The Robinet “This was a very awkward situation,” make appearances in his book, Reardon Nature of Grief,” he said. said. For example: Hobart Chatfield- appears in A Field Guide to the Poetry of The Loop L also created a central Taylor, the first president of the society. Theodore Roethke (Swallow Press, Dec. downtown that “was everybody’s second Chatfield-Taylor published a book in 29, 2020), edited by William Barillas, neighborhood,” he said. “The downtown 1917 titled Chicago, in which he with a forward by Edward Hirsch, who is owned by all Chicagoans. When I say expressed his love for the elevated Loop, presented the Midland Authors’ April, owned, I mean the feeling of ownership.” which shows that in 1917 it was already 2013 program. The volume provides a The L also was important for Chicago’s being called the Loop. rich diversity of interpretations of this economic strength because “it marked off Some historians set the date for using major poet of the Midwest. David will and anchored the richest property in the that name as far back 1882 or there- moderate the Midland Authors’ March 9 city, and the deep investment in the abouts, Reardon said. Some writers said program. ... David L. Harrison writes to downtown made the people who owned it the Loop got its name from cable car say, “I wanted to tell you about an event want to find ways to make the downtown loops that served the central business dis- that took place on Feb. 9 when I per- work.” trict. But, using illustrations, Reardon formed with Sandy Asher a reading of That helped the city’s center ride out Turn to Page 2 our novel in verse, Jesse and Grace, A Best Friend Story. Sandy’s play version of our story about life in fourth grade was Literary Landscape Literary Latest Final Chapters published more than a decade ago and with New Books Harry Mark Petrakis she went to Chicago to receive the David Radavich PAGE 3 PAGE 9-11 PAGE 7 Turn to Page 2 Biblio File Chicago L Continued from Page 1 Continued from Page 1 showed the six small cable car loops did Distinguished Play of the Year award not ring the central city the way the L from Alliance of American Theatre and later did. Education. This time we were chosen to When you look at “many, many” 1890s be one of the events in the Philadelphia novels, including three by Theodore Online: DG Footlights™, a project spon- Dreiser based on Charles Yerkes, who sored by Dramatists Guild of America. basically built the Loop, none of them We were especially pleased because ours refer to Chicago’s downtown as the Loop, was the first reading of a children’s story Reardon said. in this program and we drew the greatest “The interesting thing is The Jungle and attendance they’ve had. The link to the The Pit: A Story of Chicago are from the reading is free: https://bit.ly/2M0utQG. In first decade of the 1900s,” Reardon said. other news, I just had a 4,000-word arti- “So this is even after the elevated Loop cle accepted in Missouri Reading, the was built [but] these books are not men- online journal published by Missouri tioning it as the downtown. If they talk Literacy Association, about ways to cele- about downtown at all, they talk about it as brate National Poetry Month in April. downtown, often spelled as down-town.” Also, I granted reprint rights to an educa- Two other Midland Authors members, tional publisher in South Africa for Clarence Darrow and Edgar Lee “Mystery Lunch,” a poem from Mouse Masters, were in Chicago in the 1890s, was Out at Recess, Reardon said. In their memoirs, they talk published in 2003 by about walking in the downtown area in Boyds Mills Press. ... the 1890s that was “later” called the Loop, but could you draw the edges of The long list of books Loop, Reardon said. The two-mile-long the subway? You can’t visualize it the for the 2021 loop was built in 1897. way you can with the Loop.” PEN/Faulkner Award “The L was not only a “looming pres- Moreover, the Loop minimized the phe- for Fiction announced ence on the streetscape,” but it also nomenon of “wandering downtowns” that on Feb. 2 included anchored the downtown, Reardon said. occurred in other cities,” he said. Scattered Lights by Steve Wiegenstein In some cities, new construction on the Steve Wiegenstein If there is a [subway] edge of a downtown might attract more (See Literary License, October, 2020). ... train going by ... you activity at the expense of an older area on W. Nikola-Lisa’s 2000 book Hallelujah! the opposite side of the downtown. Over A Christmas Celebration was included on “ don’t see it and you time, the recognized center of the city can Dec. 2 in PBS SoCal’s “Beyond shift or “wander.” Christmas: A December Holiday Book don’t feel it. That happened in Chicago in its early List for Little Ones.” ... Robert Starks The city’s subways don’t have the same days when the downtown shifted from was quoted on Feb. 5 in the Chicago effect, he said. ” South Water Street to Lake Street and Crusader in an obit “If there is a train going by, there may then to State Street. about hotel pioneer be a whoosh in the grate, but you don’t But once the circle of elevated tracks Herman Roberts. ... see it and you don’t feel it,” he said. “A was constructed, that rooted Chicago’s Vicki Quade’s “Late lot of us have taken the subway to the downtown, Reardon said. Nite Catechism” was nominated for the Chicago Reader’s best www.midlandauthors.com of 2020. ... Mary Follow the Society on Wisniewski wrote the Robert Starks Twitter@midlandauthors op-ed “The case against dibs – a lousy ‘tradition’ ” for the C 2021, Society Society of Midland Authors members can Feb 4. Chicago Tribune. ... On Feb. 9, of Midland Authors now pay their membership dues, buy tickets Rebecca Johns tweeted to say, P.O. Box 10419, Chicago IL 60610 to the annual dinner and make donations on “I’m wanting to start on the next novel our website with PayPal (there is a $1 fee to Editor: Thomas Frisbie already, please talk me out of it.” ... help cover PayPal’s fee). To make a dona- [email protected] Previously out of print, Megan tion, visit our home page at www.midlan- dauthors.com and click on the "Donate" Stielstra’s newly re-edited Everyone button in the upper right corner. Turn to Page 3 2 LITERARY LICENSE, MARCH 2021 ‘I have seen resurgence Biblio File Continued from Page 2 of interest in poetry’ Remain Calm and Once I Was Cool will avid Radavich will moderate the be published by Northwestern University March 9 Midland Authors panel March 9, 2021, program Press in August, with new covers. ... Don poetry. The panelists will be Presentation: 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Midland Authors award winner Samira Angela Jackson, Grace Bauer and Lisa (Central Time). Followed by time Ahmed tweets to say: “Authors, what’s Fay Coutley. Here is what Radavich tells to socialize: 8 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. your favorite revision tool. Like do you Literary License about trends in poetry: make a spreadsheet (but whyyyy) for Join the meeting via Zoom: edits? Use note Literary License: Do you see a resur- https://bit.ly/3qvYTcK cards, perhaps? gence of interest in poetry, especially Details on Page 9 Or do you use a among young people? bizarre “sys- tem” of post-its, David Radavich: With the advent of ancient times, modern poetry readings are different color poetry slams and a huge range of poetry often accompanied by choric effects or pens, and punc- readings in all sorts of venues, I have seen musical instruments.