On August 18th, 1868, a group of French astronomers discovered helium. On August 19th, 1868, they discovered what happens to your voice when you inhale helium. On August 20th, 1868, they gave up their scientific pursuits to tour the countryside entertaining villages with their sideshow. At 7pm on Monday, August 18th, 2014 , Essay Fiesta celebrates … Continue reading
Put on your Hemingway-shaped party hat and come on out to The Book Cellar at 7:00 pm on Monday, July 21st. Hosts Karen Shimmin and Willy Nast will be joined by a lineup so good, you’ll wish you could sit in a boat with them for days, trying to catch a giant fish. Scott Smith grew up in the suburbs of Chicago … Continue reading
Can’t wait until the next Fiesta on July 21st? Lucky for you, Willy and Karen produce a literary podcast and this week’s episode features three stories told at Essay Fiesta. Hop on over to All Write Already! to hear Erin Kahoa recount his greatest moment on the baseball diamond, Randy Richardson taking the birds and the bees … Continue reading
July 21st is not only the date of our next Fiesta, but it’s also the day that Ernest Miller Hemingway punched his way out of his mother’s womb in Oak Park, Illinois. Whether or not you were enchanted with his prose when your high school English teacher made you read The Sun Also Rises, you have to … Continue reading
Come to The Book Cellar on Monday, June 16th, at 7pm and introduce your hungover dad to this lineup. They’ll charm the heck out of him: J.H. Palmer co-produces the monthly live lit series That’s All She Wrote, which takes place on the second Sunday of the month at The Savoy, and is pursuing an … Continue reading
Sure, everyone loves Father’s Day, but what about the day after Father’s Day? June 16th, commonly known as Hungover Dad Day, is the day Dad has to pay the consequences of having his own Hallmark-endorsed Sunday Fun-Day. On Sunday, you made Dad breakfast. On Monday, you make him a tall glass of water, four ibuprofen, and a … Continue reading
Treat yourself to a tariff-ic night of essays at a tariff-ic venue (The Book Cellar) on Monday, May 19th at 7pm. These writers are sure to give tariff-ic performances (this is the only tariff joke we can think of so we’re really getting our money’s worth out of it): Dana Norris is the Editor-in-Chief of … Continue reading
As we all know, May 19 marks the 186th anniversary of the day President John Quincy Adams (like John Adams, but Quincyer) signed the Tariff of 1828 into law, much to the chagrin of South Carolina’s John C. “Crazy Eyes” Calhoun, who labelled it the “Tariff of Abominations.” He had a way with words, that … Continue reading
Now that you’ve filed your taxes (right?) and given up on baseball season (let’s be real), treat yourself to an evening at The Book Cellar on Monday, April 21st at 7pm, with these April essayists: Erin Diamond grew up in Arlington Heights in a legendary neighborhood that is filled with stories. She is a proud … Continue reading
No one likes April showers, especially when they are showers of tiny sharp icicles. And if we’re honest, there isn’t much to like about April. Tax Day; the beginning of an interminable, sub-mediocre baseball season; broken umbrellas; dumb Internet April Fools pranks. Luckily, we have a cure for your rainy day blues. Don’t sit around, drenched, … Continue reading
Essay Fiesta 