When:

Friday, December 12, 8 PM

Saturday, December 13, 8 PM (followed by a discussion with poet Dana Levin)

Sunday, December 14, 7 PM

Location: Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield, Chicago

What: “What use had I for hands”: a theatrical interpretation of five poems by Dana Levin. Conceived and directed by Valerie Jean Johnson. Devised and performed by the ensemble: Jennifer Crissey, Aaron DeYoung, Katie Eberhardy, Jennifer Guglielmi, and Kate Olsen.

***Admission is free; call 773.281.0824 or visit linkshall.org for reservations.

Tonight’s event is the theatrical presentation by Poetry magazine of five poems by Dana Levin: “Pyro,” “Above the Neck,” “Refuge Field,” Ichor,” and “School of Flesh,” all of which first appeared in the magazine. Poetry calls her work, “Erupting with stunning visual imagery and a singular, soulful voice.” Another review here says her unpredictable poems show “the skilled ear, magnificent tongue and fierce mind of the truly prophetic.”

Ackerman, lit agent for the likes of Bradbury, Asimov, and Hubbard, died of a heart attack on December 4th. Ackerman, who coined the term “sci-fi,” also acted in over 50 films, edited Famous Monsters of Filmland, created Vampirella, and is indirectly responsible for the zine culture that got you through high school. Obituary here.

Half are fiction, and half are not. Read the full list here. Admirable scope, but couldn’t we stop drooling over Bolaño and Knopf and stick an indy press or two in there? Or some poetry? I like Bolaño, I like Knopf, but today’s print market begs at least a token diversity from the press.

Ten points for leading with Millhauser, though. He is, as the editors say, a fine mix of Poe and Nabokov, but even more immediately, he’s an excerpt at unschlocky empathy and finely-tuned intrigue. When I read him, I forget about the book and the room. Plus Rose Dorn, the adorée in his Edwin Mullhouse is sweetly, sharply written and a fashion icon to boot: one-way silver eyeglasses, yellow hair with paper roses in it, plastic rings and charm bracelets. At seven years old! No wonder Edwin sent liquorice and temporary tattoos. (Admittedly, Rose Dorn has nothing to do with Dangerous Laughter. But when it’s this cold outside, thinking about paper roses is very helpful.)

Well, hello. It’s been an eventful month for us at Literago. Our writers had an economic crisis to worry about, election rallies to attend, inauguration hangovers to nurse, turkey to eat, babies to cuddle, proposals to accept, out-of-town friends to be drunk with, and myriad colds and flus among us. Now that we’re quite settled into the bustling holiday season, let’s turn our attention to technology and how we’re staying in touch lately. That is to say: Twitter. I’ll refrain from the pontificating about the potential for terrible haikus, but I *am* interested in what it’ll produce as a format for short bursts of text. (I signed up for Twitter after reading this). For instance, did you know about TwitterLit, which Twitters first lines of books? Not bad, right? Too, there’s the opportunity to follow the happenstance, daily thoughts of writers or personalities you dig. (Sasha Frere Jones has a Twitter stream, as does Ira Glass, whose last one was: “The purpose of art is to reveal the beauty of humanity – to inspire”). For contrast, I should note that Richard Roeper has one, with the most recent on the topic of Victoria’s Secret. What I want to know is: what other clever literary uses have you seen for tweets? Do you know of any notable Chicago writers on Twitter? What’s the best tweet you’ve read? I’m curious and still getting acclimated. Write in!