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Ad Categories: Culture

Settling Versus Settling Down

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Tuesday’s blog seemed to strike a chord with some readers. “Why do you hold so firmly to the belief that single 32-year-olds have a hang-up or two?” one poster queried. Another asked, “What’s so bad about ‘settling’ at this point in the game?” As cited in a previous post, 51 percent of American women are … Read more

Big Nights, Small City

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Thursday night I attended De Lux, a clean, comfortable, no-frills corner bar owned by Gen Furla (I love women bar owners), who used to helm the now-shuttered Parkway Tavern on Fullerton. Chicago feels like such a small city sometimes: When we walked in, we bumped into The Husbands – the male half of The Marrieds … Read more

Psst! There’s Art in #4A

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In turning their living rooms into exhibition spaces, some young entrepreneurs are bridging the gap between elite West Loop galleries and the emerging art scene. “It forces me to mop more,” says Katie Rashid, explaining the downside of opening an art gallery in her apartment. The upside? For an aspiring gallerist with an eye for talent: a business opportunity—plus an excuse to throw some of the best parties in town.

Writers on the Record with Victoria Lautman – Nathan Englander

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When Nathan Englander published his first collection of short stories (For the Relief of Unbearable Urges), in 1999, he drew comparisons to Roth, Bellow, and Joyce. Here was a young (age: 29) unknown, a former yeshiva-educated Orthodox Jew who had abandoned his religious training even while mining it with literary flair, and he had reportedly snared a rare six-figure advance. Fans salivated and clamored for a novel; eight years later, The Ministry of Special Cases is worth the wait. Set in 1976 during Argentina’s “Dirty War,” the novel tells of one family’s Kafkaesque nightmare, through Englander’s unique combination of pathos, humor, and intelligence. Victoria Lautman chats with Englander.