Celebrity Hostages

Frank asked me to make a flyer for his band. He’s a painter, so I was kind of surprised. When I wondered about it, he said, “What am I gonna do, paint a tree?” (he’s paints landscapes), so I agreed to do it. I’ve haven’t seen or heard them yet, but I’ve known Frank nearlyContinue reading “Celebrity Hostages”

A Visit from Abroad

A few months ago, I got a curious email from Tel Aviv. A professor there wanted to come to Chicago to meet me. Seems she’d been tasked with writing a chapter on migrant writing for Cambridge University’s forthcoming history of Chicago literature and had chosen my work to be part of it. I asked herContinue reading “A Visit from Abroad”

Counterbalance

‌A couple Fridays ago I went to a fundraiser for a film site I used to write for and met a woman. The room—a suite for a film production company—was cramped and ill-suited for a party. I threw some money into a glass jar and got a raffle ticket, then squeezed my way toward theContinue reading “Counterbalance”