Wow! eBook
Chicago Stories: 40 Dramatic Fictions
Author(s): Michael Czyzniejewski (Author), Jacob S. Knabb (Editor), Rob Funderburk (Illustrator)
- Publisher: Curbside Publishing
- Publication Date: 30 April 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 168 pages
- ISBN-10: 0983422850
- ISBN-13: 9780983422853
Book Description
Chicago Stories, 40 dramatic fictions by Michael Czyzniejewski, acclaimed author and Wrigley Field beer vendor, each told in the persona of a famous Chicagoan, from Mrs. O’Leary to Barack Obama. Illustrated by Chicago artist Rob Funderburk. For everyone who’s always wondered what would happen if Roger Ebert had taken Oprah Winfrey to a critics’ screening of REVENGE OF THE NERDS for their second date… “An absurdist Chi-town Spoon River Anthology on crack, Mike Czyzniejewski’s Chicago Stories is an explosion of imagination, a relentless churn of intellect and wit. In true Chicago style, this book tells it straight to your face and pulls no punches. Chicago Stories is easily the most fun I’ve had reading in quite some time.” – Alan Heathcock, author of VOLT “Mike Czyzniejewski’s Chicago Stories reads at once as scatting celebration of the moral landscape that stretches across the country’s midsection, and as a travelogue. Czyzniejewski’s sharp wit and peering eye trek along that crooked road between the dead president & crony highways and the murky river, crossing tracks where trains haven’t run in two score – before boring down past the jukejoints sidled against public houses, and corner hustlers hawking whores to blue pickpockets and last migrants on the run, down where they all keep score in shadow votes. The author brings it home early and often here as, along with so much more, he is a sojourner.” – Bayo Ojikutu, author of Free Burning “In Chicago Stories, Michael Czyzniejewski channels Studs Terkel’s Division Street, the voices so singular and complete that in the end you feel as though you’ve listened to each story rather than read them. Rob Funderburk’s illustrations are a snapshot of movement; in their messy, deliberate lines each voice comes alive. Chicago buffs: if you like architecture, that is, if you like outsides, the riverboat tour will do. But if you’re looking to go inside for a deeper look, Czyzniejewski’s book will take you there.” -Lindsay Hunter, author of Daddy’s
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Michael Czyzniejewski was born in Chicago and grew up in its south suburbs. He teaches at Bowling Green State University and is Editor of Mid-American Review. He is the author of the short story collection Elephants in Our Bedroom (Dzanc Books, 2009), and has been published in over 50 literary journals, including Another Chicago Magazine, Ninth Letter, Gulf Coast, The Southern Review, and StoryQuarterly. In 2010, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for his fiction. During the summer, Czyzniejewski lives in Chicago, where he has worked over 20 seasons at Wrigley Field as a beer vendor. Find him at michaelczyzniejewski.com.
Rob Funderburk: Rob is a multi-faceted artist working and living in Chicago. He teaches at Columbia College and his work has appeared all over.
