ThirdCoastReview.com

Review: Trap Door Takes Us Back to the Sixties with Amiri Baraka’s Electric <em>Dutchman</em> | Third Coast Review Amiri Baraka was still LeRoi Jones when he wrote Dutchman in 1964. The play, now being staged by Trap Door Theatre, is an early dialogue on race, class and power. […]

Trap Door Theatre stages "Dutchman" by Amiri Baraka, a 1964 play about racism, power and politiics. Dated? A little, but still thrilling after all these years. thirdcoastreview.com/stages/2025/...

Words of Survival: Chicago Bookstores Respond to COVID and Book Bans | Third Coast Review This is the third in our series of articles on The Art of Survival, in which we explore how small Chicago arts organizations are surviving post-COVID and weathering the anti-humanist and anti-diversit...

How are Chicago-area bookstores doing in this era of increasing book bans and censorship? We talked to a bunch of them. We think you will find their responses as interesting as we do. thirdcoastreview.com/lit/2025/09/...

Review: Design Museum Recreates Classic Great Ideas Series With New Voices and Expanded Focus | Third Coast Review The Design Museum of Chicago has reached back into design history for a landmark advertising campaign developed by a Chicago corporation; the curators have recreated it as a modern-day exhibit […]

The Design Museum exhibit—Great Ideas of Humanity—reinvents a great advertising campaign that began in Chicago. thirdcoastreview.com/art/2025/07/...

Dispatch: iO Fest 2025 Closes With POC Comedy, Off-Kilter Standup and Shakespearean Bloodshed | Third Coast Review By Third Coast Review Staff iO Theater’s second annual iO Fest closed Sunday after 100-plus comedy acts performed over the four-day event. The fest featured homegrown Chicago talent and nationally […]

Our comedy fans covered iO Fest and here's our finale. thirdcoastreview.com/stages/2025/...

Preview: Chicago’s iO Fest Returns with Star-Studded Lineup July 24–27 | Third Coast Review Chicago’s rich improv tradition takes center stage next week as iO Fest 2025 returns July 24-27 to the iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., filling four days with comedic performances, […]

I officially have my byline with @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social! Check out this preview piece for iO Fest 2025 ✨ thirdcoastreview.com/stages/2025/...

Interview: Witches, Pirates, and LGBTQIA+: A Talk with Horror/Romance Writer Damian Serbu | Third Coast Review "The genres allowed me to empower LGBTQIA+ characters in different ways. A gay vampire has power over the world other gay people don’t."

Lit editor business for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social. I interview horror/spec fiction writer @damianserbu.bsky.social about his new book Witch in the Wind, "gay horror," and supporting your favorite writers.

thirdcoastreview.com/lit/2025/06/...

Let Us Re-Joyce: "Bloomsday in Chicago" Celebrates James Joyce's Masterwork | Third Coast Review Ulysses. The book Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare and Company published in Paris in 1922. The book that was banned in the US and the UK. The book people either love or […]

Lit Editor Business: June Sawyers shares her experiences at "Bloomsday in Chicago" at the Galway Arms in @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social.

thirdcoastreview.com/lit/2025/06/...

Review: <em>Afternoons of Solitude</em> Takes an Unconventional Approach to a Bloody Tradition | Third Coast Review “It is impossible to believe the emotional and spiritual intensity and pure, classic beauty that can be produced by a man, an animal and a piece of scarlet serge draped […]

Back on the local Iberoamerican film beat for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social with AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE, Albert Serra's hypnotic observational documentary about bullfighting. Opens today in Chicago for a limited four-day engagement at the Gene Siskel Film Center:

thirdcoastreview.com/film-tv/2025...

Review: His Mind Constantly on the Go, Lincoln the Citizen, by Henry C. Whitney, edited by Michael Burlingame | Third Coast Review Nonetheless, if the reader is willing to spend the time, energy, and discernment, the book offers striking insights about Lincoln.

TCR Lit Editor Business: Always glad when Patrick T. Reardon does a review for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social. Especially if it's about old Abe.

thirdcoastreview.com/lit/2025/06/...

Book Smarts: 57th Street Books: Stairs, Lore, and a Third Space | Third Coast Review “The importance is to be a community resource and a community third space,” Mayer continued, also indicating the store's location—not far from the University of Chicago's main quad...

Lit Ed Biz: Check out the latest installment of Book Smarts, in which @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social writers cover their favorite Chicago bookstores. This installment was written by guest author Holly Smith about 57th Street Books of @seminarycoopbooks.bsky.social.

thirdcoastreview.com/lit/2025/06/...

Review: <em>This Is Life: Rediscovered Short Fiction</em>, by Frank London Brown | Third Coast Review Here we find Black Chicagoans at work or play, struggling or succeeding, and sadly experiencing familiar problems and obstacles brought in by prejudice, inequality, and discrimination. Most of Brown’s...

I wrote a review of Frank London Brown's "This Is Life," a collection of short, short fiction about Black Chicago written in 1959–1960 for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social. These formerly appeared in the Chicago Defender. Published by @frombeyondpress.bsky.social.

thirdcoastreview.com/lit/2025/06/...

New review for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social by Caroline Huftalen. @beltpublishing.bsky.social offers a delightful cookbook revealing the many facets of the humble rhubarb. Believe it or not, you can use it for more than pie and crumbles.

thirdcoastreview.com/food/2025/06...

Throughout human history, children grew up watching plants grow and become food. They helped plant seeds. They helped tend the field or orchard. They helped harvest the rice or the apples or the potatoes.

Lovely new review from Patrick T. Reardon for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social. Help little little kids understand where their food comes from:

thirdcoastreview.com/2025/05/27/r...

Review: The How, When, and Why of Rail Lines, <em>A History of the Railroad in 100 Maps</em>, by Jeremy Black | Third Coast Review It’s a serious book for serious readers, mainly scholars studying the history of the railroad, the history of humanity over the past two centuries and the ways people and the railroad have intersected...

Third Coast Review Lit Editor Business: Patrick T. Reardon reviews a book about railway maps, which I know SOME of you will eat up with a soup ladle. @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social

thirdcoastreview.com/2025/03/09/r...

Steve Prokopy of Third Coast Review sits on stage at the Music Box Theatre next to filmmaker David Cronenberg during a post-screening Q&A for The Shrouds. Both are holding microphones and engaged in conversation.

Our chief film critic Steve Prokopy joined David Cronenberg for a post-screening Q&A of The Shrouds at @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social

📸: Tumpale Mwakasisi

Book Smarts—Secret World Books of Highland Park: Third Space for the North Shore | Third Coast Review Gayle and Michael Brandeis sought to provide the North Shore with just such a space through their Highland Park store, Secret World Books (1774 2nd Street, Highland Park).

New article by me for Third Coast Review (@thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social.) I interview the proprietors of Secret World Books of Highland Park. It's their first anniversary. They're on the Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl for Independent Bookstore Day too.

thirdcoastreview.com/2025/04/23/b...

Chicago Is Lit: Independent Bookstore Day and More Spring Events | Third Coast Review After Independent Bookstore Day, the literary celebration continues: add these free author events and readings to your May to-do list.

Looking for some literary things to do in the coming weeks? Check out @elizabethniarchosneukirch.com's Chicago Is Lit column for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social!

thirdcoastreview.com/2025/04/25/c...

Review: Sadness at the End of a World, Unstaged Grief: Musicals and Mourning in Midcentury America, by Jake Johnson | Third Coast Review The title of Jake Johnson’s latest book—Unstaged Grief: Musicals and Mourning in Midcentury America—is more than a bit jarring. It’s that part about “Musicals and Mourning” that seems so odd. […]

Always a pleasure when Patrick T. Reardon does a review for @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social:

thirdcoastreview.com/2025/05/06/r...

It was lovely to hear Mark Anthony Green chat about his movie Opus at @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social!

Opus is an eerie Willy Wonkaesque dive into the dark side of fame. John Malkovich is delightfully bizarre, and Ayo Edebiri is exceptional. 🎵🔪 #OpusMovie #horror #filmsky 📽️

Cover of The Braille Encyclopedia by Naomi Cohn, with raised braille letters beneath each character in the title.

THE BRAILLE ENCYCLOPEDIA: BRIEF ESSAYS ON ALTERED SIGHT by Naomi Cohn, the latest hybrid title from @rosemetalpress.bsky.social, is an unforgettable series of poetic "definitions" unlike anything you've ever read. More in my highly recommended review!
@thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social
#BookRecommendation

Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 2/27 and Beyond | Third Coast Review We’re in that miraculous false spring season so let’s take advantage of the warmer temps and brighter days! There’s so much coming up this weekend including all the fun concerts, […]

Need weekend plans? We got you covered! Check out Your Curated Weekend for ideas: thirdcoastreview.com/2025/02/27/y...

Vote with Your Wallet: Join the Shopping Boycott on February 28th to Protest Billionaires Ransacking the American Government | Third Coast Review Wondering how to fight fascism funded by corporate greed? Simple. Don’t feed the beast. Withholding unnecessary spending is a powerful form of resistance against today’s robber barons, the American ol...

Nice boycott breakdown from @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social.

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Review: Raven Theatre Creates a Sizzling Production of the Sam Shepard Masterwork, <em>A  Lie of the Mind</em> | Third Coast Review A Lie of the Mind, Sam Shepard’s 1983 play about two families and the tragedy that binds them, is a sizzling 2.5 hours of solid acting, direction and pacing. At […]

A new staging of Sam Shepard's great play by Raven Theatre. thirdcoastreview.com/2025/02/25/s...

Review: They All Stand Up, <em>Louis Sullivan: An American Architect</em>, by Patrick F. Cannon and James Caulfield | Third Coast Review Thankfully, for those who can’t...sweet talk their way into Sullivan’s buildings, Cannon and Caulfield have created this bright and handsome book.

The Remains of Louis Sullivan. @mrdankelly.bsky.social reviews Louis Sullivan: An American Architect. Gorgeous images of his remaining structures, accompanied by great histories/descriptions. By Patrick F. Cannon and James Caulfield.
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Chicago Is Lit: Poetry Brothel & more December events | Third Coast Review Chicago's literary scene heats up this month with The Poetry Brothel and more indoor readings and events for book lovers.

Elizabeth Neukirch contributes her monthly "Chicago Is LIT" literary events column to @thirdcoastrvw.bsky.social. What's the word(s) here in Chicago? Check it out here.

thirdcoastreview.com/2024/12/04/c...

Review: Take a Vulgar Picture, <em>Vivian Maier Developed</em>, by Ann Marks | Third Coast Review A self-made mystery woman, Maier remains mystifying, though Marks’ book inspires a few interesting thoughts on her, her hoarding, and society’s rapaciousness for dead, easily branded artists.

Take a Vulgar Picture: @mrdankelly.bsky.social reviews Ann Marks' biography of Vivian Maier, and shares a few thoughts on posthumous fame and exploitation of artistic oddballs.

thirdcoastreview.com/2024/12/02/r...

Opinion: Public Contest to Design New State Flag Is a Terrible Idea | Third Coast Review The State of Illinois has announced a contest to gather designs for a new state flag. Design submissions are due by October 18. This is a horrendously bad idea. Unless one of […]

The state of Illinois needs a new flag, Problem is, they're asking us to design it. Nephew art, anyone? @robertloerzel.bsky.social
thirdcoastreview.com/2024/09/12/a...

Here's a new post on Kara Swisher telling us what she thinks about some of the tech bros she covers.

Review: An Artist/Photographer Analyzes the Wanderlust of Stray Shopping Carts | Third Coast Review The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification By Julian Montague Second edition, 2023, University of Chicago Press Julian Montague published his first edition of ...

Have you ever wondered how all those shopping carts congregated in some otherwise-deserted space? Julian Montague has done rigorous analysis (and taken great photos) to answer that question. We review his book, Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America.
thirdcoastreview.com/2023/12/27/l...

Review: Searching for Meaning in the Absurd World of Rajkamal Chaudhary’s Traces of Boots on Tongu... Traces of Boots on Tongue and Other Stories, the first English-language translation of the late Indian writer Rajkamal Chaudhary's work, searches for meaning in an absurd and changing world.

We review a new translation of a book of short stories by the noted Indian writer, Rajkamal Chaudhary. Reviewed by @ejneukirch.bsky.social.

thirdcoastreview.com/2023/12/27/r...