Poem: “I was born in the desert”
I was born in the desert By Patrick T. Reardon (1) In the desert, I was thrice tempted. I was offered two stones to eat and five [...]
Book review: “Cities and Civilizations” by Christopher Hibbert
Christopher Hibbert writes in a note at the start of his 1986 book Cities and Civilizations that, in contrast to more scholarly and comprehensive works, he aims simply “to give [...]
Book review: “Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side” by Lee Bey
When Lee Bey writes about Pride Cleaners, he expresses a palpably warm affection for the other worldly structure which has stood on the northwest corner of 79th Street and [...]
Book review: “Binga: The Rise and Fall of Chicago’s First Black Banker” by Don Hayner
A hallmark of the black nationalism movement in the 1960s was the idea of African-Americans patronizing African-American businesses. This approach with its pull-ourselves-up-by-the-bootstraps subtext has been a prominent tenet [...]
Book review: “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
Reader: This review is going to deal with Mark Twain’s 1885 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and, because of that, it will include a particular term that, today, is [...]
Poem: “Many Annunciations”
Many Annunciations By Patrick T. Reardon The first was a girl who dodged. The second girl wanted to think about it. The third fainted. The fourth [...]
Book review: “The World of Juliette Kinzie: Chicago before the Fire” by Ann Durkin Keating
When 27-year-old Juliette Kinzie settled with her husband John, the local Indian agent, in the tiny hamlet of Chicago in 1833, it was the home of only about 300 people, [...]
Book review: “Women Who Read Are Dangerous” by Stefan Bollmann
I’ve lived my whole life, I guess, with dangerous women. I just thought they were interesting. I’ve discussed with Sarah, my daughter, the pros and cons of Christopher Hibbert’s [...]
Book review: “Postcards from The Russian Revolution” by the Bodleian Library
Throughout the 20th century, postcards were an easy, cheap way to keep in touch. Often, they were sent home by tourists, but postcards were also sent to memorialize or comment [...]
Essay: Baby Jesus and Baby Emma
I like it when a Scripture story about Jesus reminds me of my granddaughter Emma. In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus, just over a month old, is taken to be presented [...]