CliffsNotes is soo twentieth century, and the young literati, especially its upstarts, know it. Two University of Chicago freshmen have just signed a book deal with Penguin to translate 75 classic literary works as “Twitterature,” reports the Chicago Tribune. Alex Aciman and Emmett Rensin, both 19, are rewriting classics by Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Dante and other greats in 20 or fewer 140-character tweets.

“Imagine if Achilles had a Twitter account and an iPhone, and he was telling his story in real time,” Aciman said. “That’s what this book is going to be like.”

Rensin added, “It’s like [CliffsNotes], but funnier—it reflects the narcissistic nature of Twitter.”

Awh, he said “narcissistic,” how cute. Don’t mind me, I’m just jealous; it’s hilarious, and it actually sounds like an incredibly fun project, combining synopsis and fresh interpretation with aspects of translation, full of possibilities for prose-poem-esque brilliance. Will Twitterature dominate literature? I think not. It would be a great gift to give someone 75 books all in one, but only once.

Speaking of the tweeting world, Literago is launching Twiterago (by the way, we totally came up with that before Twitterature! And ours only has one ‘t’ in the middle–classier, eh?) to keep you up to date on as many lit events as we can twit. Look for Twiterago on, well, you know where.

*from Emma Trelles’s “How to Write a Poem: Theory #62″

What are you doing Wednesday? You are going to Pilsen! Whether by Pink Line or the #60, by bike or by foot. Palabra Pura presents Chicago’s own Jacob Saenz and Miami’s Emma Trelles at Décima Musa, 1901 South Loomis. A brief open mic begins at 7:30, before the readers take it away.

To get a taste for these two, watch Saenz, a graduate of Columbia College, read his poem “Sweeping the States” during a Poetry magazine panel at this year’s AWP conference. Then, watch a video adaptation of Trelles’s poem “How to Write a Poem: Theory #62,” featuring her reading, and an eclectic mix of imagery, including a child adorably jumping down the street.

If all this weren’t enough, I hear the guacamole’s pretty damn good at Décima Musa. Fun fact: it’s named after Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a Mexican Carmelite nun (pictured above—in case you were thinking it was Jacob or Emma) who wrote poetry, prose, and theater in the late 17th century, and earned the epithet “La Décima Musa,” the Tenth Muse (refresh yourself on the other nine—always a good move to be able to invoke Terpsichore, the muse of dance). She defended her right as a woman to participate in the male domain of intellectual activities against many, including a bishop, and is widely considered to be the first feminist on the North American Continent! Amen, sista.

Six readers, five minutes of prose each. No poetry. No excerpts. No cheating. Quickies! was started by Mary Hamilton and Lindsay Hunter as a showcase for very short prose. So, the short notice of this day-of post is absolutely intentional.

Who: Jac Jemc, Dave Reidy, Fred Sasaki, Scott Stealey, Steve Tartaglione. Plus a secret reader!
When: Tonight! Tonight! Hot damn, tonight. 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Innertown Pub, 1935 W Thomas Street

Jac Jemc sells books in Chicago. Recent work has appeared from featherproof, ml Press, bearcreekfeed, Handsome, Bird Dog and Word Riot.

Dave Reidy’s first book, Captive Audience, a collection of seven short stories about performers, is now available at you favorite online, chain, or independent bookseller.

Fred Sasaki publishes fiction, essays, and drama in MAKE, THE2NDHAND, STOP SMILING, ACM, and other places.

Scott Stealey has a website that he updates sporadically called Please Don’t. He’s written for Time Out and Playboy and has a Featherproof Mini-Book.

Steve Tartaglione is the elder twin, having been born four minutes before Jessica. Steve enjoys reading and writing and hopes to become a journalist someday. He writes for the Sweet Valley High newspaper and is always happy to offer advice or help to anyone.

and the SECRET READER!

The secret reader doesn’t actually write stories, the words assemble themselves out of fear.

Garbage Puppet, by the Anatomy Collective for the CUL Orphan Works Performance Series, 2007. Photo by Eric Bartholomew.

The Chicago Underground Library brings back its re-interpretation series, Orphan Works, next Friday, June 12th; what is a re-interpretation series, you may ask? The answer begins with the inspired diligence of the Chicago Underground Library, which collects and catalogs Chicago’s independent and small-press media, ranging from local zines to found handmade books made by unknown hands. And so:

“The Chicago Underground Library brings a variety of the most creative minds in Chicago to locations all around the city to share with you the fruits of their forays into our collection of orphan works—anonymous works or those for which no further information on the author can be found. With the help of our intrepid explorers, these lost publications will be brought back to life: read, reinterpreted, and reunited with the audience they’ve been missing.”

Instead of performers, the CUL presents re-interpreters; instead of readings, reinventions. Orphan Works had an initial run in 2007, but we hope it’s back for as long as a “nomadic performance series” can be. Friday’s performance features work from the Anatomy Collective: read the interview from the Green Lantern with CUL’s Nell Taylor and Anatomy Collective’s Stephanie Acosta to warm up for the savvy energy you can expect from “Sad Sullen Girls and Other Such Squid.

What: The Chicago Underground Library Presents: Orphan Works
Sad Sullen Girls and Other Such Squid by the Anatomy Collective
Free, all ages welcome

“The side effects of a broken heart, the benefits of spooning, the emotional collateral of wasted time and the addiction of insomnia weave together in a satire that follows the misadventures and disenchantment of young women in America. Through a series of snapshots, Sullen Girls compiles the musing of several women fighting and failing to create original portraits of themselves during prolonged adolescence.”

When: Friday, June 12th
Two performances, 8pm and 9pm
(Audiences may come and go throughout the performances)

Where: TEMPLE
1749 S. Halsted Ave. (gate entrance 1747)
These performances take place during 2nd Fridays in the Pilsen Arts District

Taylor has written about her mission for the CUL: “Collecting ephemera is an act of city beautification.” What a beholder! To help CUL keep on dolling up Chicago, visit its website for volunteer opportunities, details on the library, and some feel-good philosophy about creating a living archive of the city.

Wednesday night, the anthology The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry presented the Chicago reading of its ongoing national tour, in collaboration with the Guild Complex, Letras Latinas, and Poetry magazine, at Pilsen’s Décima Musa, which is a fantastic space—high ceilings, stucco walls, tall plants, Frieda Kahlo images, and, my favorite, the unicorn statue rearing on top of the piano. Surroundings aside, the real delights of the evening were the three readers from the anthology, Rosa Alcalá, Kevin A. González, and Carolina Monsivais, who read their own work and selections of other poets featured in The Wind Shifts. The ever-delightful Johnny Vázquez Paz emcee’d, lending her sass and enthusiasm, and completed the evening by reading a poem by Brenda Cárdenas.

Kevin González was next, and delivered his jaw-droppingly good lines. His poems and stories have appeared from Poetry to Playboy, as well in Best New American Voices and Best American Nonrequired Reading. He had a terrific reading style—earnest but savvy, at ease but arresting. Listen to him read “Skin” at From the Fishhouse; here’s an excerpt:

When you see
your father’s name on the Caller ID,
a shot of whiskey spills suddenly
inside you.

Carolina Monsivais finished out the evening; her poems often address the inner workings of family. Her infant son happened to be in attendance, and clearly enjoyed hearing his mother’s voice in stereo. Her imagery gains accumulative strength throughout each poem, and her endings often veer off into directions foreign to the rest of the poem. Here’s the end of “How the Eye Works,” which is included in The Wind Shifts:

The next Palabra Pura will be June 17, featuring Emma Trelles, a poet from Miami, and Jacob Saenz, one of Chicago’s finest. Come to Décima Musa for another fine evening of poetry.

Pull on those rubber boots and come out to Danny’s for what will surely be a fine evening:

Who: Noelle Kocot, Eirik Steinhoff, & Miranda Mellis
When: Tonight! Wednesday, May 13, at 7:30 PM (sharp!)
Where: 1951 W. Dickens

Kocot, a Brooklyn poet, is the author of four books of poetry, including mostly recently Sunny Wednesday (Wave Books, 2009), a book centered on the death of her husband, the composer Damon Tomblin; Harp & Altar has a great profile on her.  Steinhoff, who’s writing a dissertation on 16th- and 17th-Century English poetry at U of Chicago, edited Chicago Review from 2000 to 2005. Mellis’s novella, The Revisionist, was short-listed for The Believer 2007 Book Prize; she is a founding editor at The Encyclopedia Project and is currently on faculty in the department of Creative Writing at U of Chicago. Hope to see you there . . .