The Burnham Plan as literature
The 1909 Plan of Chicago, written by Daniel Burnham and his co-author Edward Bennett, is a great work of American literature. There, I’ve said it. Now, let’s see if I [...]
Book review: “Searching for Robert Johnson” by Peter Guralnick
There is much that is mysterious and evocative and just plain odd about the life of blues legend Robert Johnson who died in 1938 at the age of 27, probably [...]
Book review: “The Colour of Magic” by Terry Pratchett
Fifteen years ago, I interviewed Terry Pratchett for the Chicago Tribune about his new novel The Fifth Elephant. It was the 24th of his Discworld books, and it had to [...]
“July 10, 1981” and a dozen other faith poems
July 10, 1981 By Patrick T. Reardon On this porch, on this cool summer day, when the moon is benign in afternoon sky, when birds sing from wire to wire, [...]
Fiction: A Church Refreshed: A dispatch from an American Catholic future — Dateline: Chicago, March 13, 2063
Song leader Sophia Santiago stood to the right of the altar of St. Gertrude Church in Chicago and invited those in the crowded pews and in folding chairs to greet [...]
Marina Abramovic’s page at artsy.net
I'm a fan of Marina Abramovic's performance art. I wrote about it three years ago in a review of "The Lovers" which was the catalogue for the work that she [...]
Book review: “Storm” by George R. Stewart
Early in George R. Stewart’s Storm (1941), the new Junior Meteorologist in the San Francisco office of the U.S. Weather Bureau is putting the finishing touches on a map that [...]
Book review: “Staring at the Sun — Overcoming the Terror of Death” by Irvin D. Yalom
Here’s an experiment: You wake up in the middle of the night, and standing next to your bed is an angel or a devil or a genii or some spirit [...]
Book Review: “The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger’s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare’s First Folio” by Andrea E. Mays
There is an image at the end of the glossy photo section in The Millionaire and the Bard by Andrea E. Mays. It shows 82 copies of the First Folio [...]
Book review: “Poetry in the Bible” by Garry Wills
Garry Wills was just 25 years old in 1960 when he completed Poetry in the Bible, a 63-page booklet that was part of the Catholic Know-You-Bible Program. He was at [...]