Book review: “Fidelity” by Susan Glaspell
It’s the early twentieth century in the small Midwestern city of Freeport, and Dr. Deane Franklin is a member of its upper crust but strong-minded enough to go against the [...]
Book review: “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War” by Karl Marlantes
By my count, Karl Marlantes mentions the word “fear” or some synonym of it at least sixty times in his 2010 novel about the Vietnam War called Matterhorn, or about [...]
Poem: Glory
Glory Patrick T. Reardon One-Cent knew his name. Declare the glory — firmament, handywork. Tabernacle of the sun. From the darkness of the womb, One-Cent knew [...]
Book review: “The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt” by Euphrosyne Doxiadis
There is a knowingness to the man in this portrait, a sadness, not surprising given that it is a death painting, an image on wood that was placed at the [...]
Poem: This night
This night Patrick T. Reardon “Worthy alone to know the time and hour” — Exsultet, Easter Vigil Just and right, ardent. Debt paid, blood washed. This [...]
Book review: “Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan: Personal Histories of Two Icons of American Architecture” by Trygve Thoreson
Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham lived parallel lives. Both were born in the East and came to Chicago in their youth. Both were poor students and relatively aimless until they [...]
Book review: “Sirens in the Loop: A History of the City News Bureau of Chicago” by Paul Zimbrakos and James Elsener
In the mid-1960s, Anne Keegan wore white gloves to apply for a job as a reporter at City News Bureau of Chicago. And she recalled riding the elevator to the [...]
Poem: Still
Still By Patrick T. Reardon In Burger King, the Filipino singer is louder than the gold sparrows of Deuteronomy, Texas, as proud as the bearded eagles (technically hawks) of [...]
Essay: Yes, there is a Banks Street, but it’s not named for Ernie
I drove down Cuyler Avenue the other day, and, as usual, I was reminded of Kiki Cuyler who played outfield for the Cubs from 1928 through 1935 during a 19-year [...]
Book review: “The Gospel of John: A Biography” by Kim Haines-Eitzen
The Gospel of John, the last written of the four canonic gospels, was composed by a poet who might easily be called a mystic. Was the poet also an anti-Semite? [...]