We know that his head is pounding from the Father’s Day kegger, but find a hungover dad (any hungover dad will do), give him some water, and bring him to The Book Cellar at 7pm on Monday, June 20th for an evening of personal essays in support of 826CHI. He’s going to love all of these readers:
Alicia Swiz is a professor and performer who facilitates conversations about feminism and pop-culture through humor, candid observation and being really smart. She teaches Media & Gender Studies at Harold Washington College and is the creator of SlutTalk, a performance that raises awareness of slut shaming and encourages sex positivity. Sometimes she’s funny; sometimes she’s not. Find her on the Internet @popgoesalicia.
Ian Belknap is the founder of WRITE CLUB, which has its final show of the season and maybe ever tomorrow night at The Hideout.
Ines Bellina is a writer, translator and performer. She is the co-producer of the monthly Live Lit show, Is This a Thing? and has read at Story Club, Serving the Sentence, 20X2, The Marrow, Miss Spoken and other events around town. Ines is also one of the hosts of XX,Will Travel, a podcast geared towards independent women travelers. When she’s not over scheduling herself or working on a YA novel, she sings love songs to her bulldog, Charlie.
Amy Sumpter is a stand up comedian. She is a cast member of the Kates, was one of the top 100 comics of Last Comic Standing season 9 & is in She’s Crafty, an all female beastie boy tribute band.
Ricardo Gamboa is an artist, activist and academic working in his native Chicago and New York City. In Chicago, he is a company member of Barrel of Monkeys, Southside Ignoramus Quartet and Free Street Theater. He was founding Artistic Director of Teatro Americano and the controversial ensemble The Young Fugitives. In New York, he was a fellow of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics’ EmergeNYC program and company member of the New York Neo-Futurists. This year, he was a finalist for Sundance Film Festival Latino Film Fellowship and selected as a Critical Collaborations Fellow at NYU’s Global Network University (2016- 2018). He is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in American Studies at NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.
Essay Fiesta 