James Baldwin is the greatest American writer. Period. Even more so during Black History Month 2025. Among Baldwin’s many, many gifts was prescience. As a gay Black midcentury man, he […]
Welcome (back) to Book Smarts, a semi-regular series profiling Chicago’s bookstores and their owners. We began the series way back in 2020…then the pandemic happened. As bookstores closed, the series […]
Chicago Restaurant Week wraps up this weekend on February 9. If you haven’t taken advantage of the special menus at a record breaking 500 restaurants yet, now is your chance […]
Dear Cinnamon is a monthly column based on the idea that all of life’s questions can be answered by art, because, after all, art is the spice of life. To […]
The new production of The Mannequins’ Ball at Trap Door Theatre is a whole lot of 1930s agitprop choreographed with music, singing and dancing. Nicole Weisner and Miguel Long direct 90 minutes […]
Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero blends working relationships tested by an ethical dilemma in this comedic drama that gets a timely staging by Shattered Globe Theatre. Is the titular Lobby Hero the loopy […]
Our coverage of Sundance Film Festival continues with more reviews of the festival’s official selections. Last Days One of the finest documentaries from 2023 was Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ […]
If you have been to Alinea, or heard about Alinea, or seen Alinea referenced on television or heard Grant Achatz talk about food or ingredients, it should already be clear […]
Authors are frequently asked, “When is your book coming out?” I heard this question when I finished the first draft of my novel, and while I was editing the sixth […]
Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, and, more recently, Taylor Swift. These renowned musicians have transcended what it means to be songwriters—they’re storytellers whose evocative lyrics intertwine with intriguing melodies […]
Our coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival continues with reviews of four films making their world premiere at the festival. Folktales Documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are a […]
It’s a half and half Curated Weekend as we tackle the final couple of days of January and the first of February! So while we await the groundhog’s weather predictions […]
