Wednesday, May 2
7:30 p.m.
Geeta Maker-Clark
Marla Rose
This I Believe: On Motherhood
This I Believe, Inc.
An offshoot of the popular public radio series This I Believe, This I Believe: On Motherhood is an inspirational compilation of original essays, offering the insight and wisdom of sixty contributors—celebrated and unknown—exploring what is arguably the most complex of all human relationships: that between a mother and her children. Two local contributors, Geeta Maker-Clark and Marla Rose, will share their stories from a collection that would make a wonderful gift for all mothers and mothers-to-be.
Thursday, May 3
7:30 p.m.
Tamam Kahn
Untold: The History of the Wives of Prophet Muhammad
Monkfish Press
For too long, the story of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad has been shadowy and incomplete. In her meticulously researched biography, poet and Sufi teacher Tamam Kahn lifts the veil that has obscured the lives of these extraordinary women, giving them the stature and historical significance they so richly deserve.
Friday, May 4
7:00 p.m.
Jackleg Press Poetry Reading
Featuring Barbara Cully, Jennifer Harris, and Maureen Seaton
Jackleg magazine is becoming Jackleg Press, an independent publisher of poetry and fiction. Tonight’s reading from three acclaimed poets celebrates the launch of Jackleg’s new incarnation. Barbara Cully is the author of four poetry collections, including Desire Recliningand That Place Where. Jennifer Harris’s first novel, Pink, was hailed as a “true poetic read” byNew York Quarterly. Her poetry has appeared in many journals and anthologies. Maureen Seaton is the Lambda Literary Award—winning author of fourteen poetry collections and the memoir Sex Talk to Girls.
Saturday, May 5, noon to 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 6, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Chicago Green Festival
Navy Pier
Women & Children First is happy to once again be the official bookseller at the Chicago Green Festival, a symposium bringing together hundreds of presenters and exhibitors exploring pathways to environmentally responsible and sustainable living.
Free admission tickets for the Chicago Green Festival are available at the bookstore on a first-come basis, while supplies last. For more information on the Chicago Green Festival, visit www.greenfestivals.org/chicago/.
Wednesday, May 9
7:30 p.m.
Jac Jemc
My Only Wife
Dzanc Books
When the narrator unlocks the door of his wrecked apartment, suddenly empty of any trace of his wife, his response is as stunning as her disappearance. Jac Jemc’s debut novel My Only Wife tells the story of a man so paralyzed by his idealized recollections of his wife that he is unable to go find her. Jemc is the author of the story chapbook These Strangers She’d Invited, and her work has appeared in The Denver Quarterly and Caketrain, among others. We’re thrilled for Jac’s success; she worked at WCF from 2008 to 2011!
“I adored this book. I adored the slippery, enigmatic wife of the title and I adored her adoring husband and I adored every lovely, heartbreaking sentence in this deftly written, beautiful book.” —Elizabeth Crane, author of We Only Know So Much
Thursday, May 10
7:30 p.m.
Alice Kessler-Harris
A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman
Bloomsbury
Lillian Hellman was a giant of twentieth-century letters and a groundbreaking figure as one of the most successful female playwrights on Broadway. Yet the author of The Little Foxesand An Unfinished Woman is today remembered more as a combative, bitter survivor and literary fabulist. In her revelatory and provocative biography, renowned historian Alice Kessler-Harris undertakes a feat few would attempt: rescuing Hellman from her own reputation.
Friday, May 11
7:30 p.m.
Kate Hopper
Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers
Cleis Press
According to a 2010 Ad Age article, there are 3.9 million women writers blogging about the experience of motherhood. Use Your Words is the first writer’s guide presenting motherhood as a literary lens and source for creative inspiration. A writing workshop between the covers, each chapter of Use Your Words contains a lecture, a published essay by a contributing writer, and exercises that serve as jumping-off points for the reader’s own writing.
Wednesday, May 16
10:30 a.m.
Storytime Special Event: A Fairy Tale Reading for Tots
Featuring Katy Collins from the Vintage Theater Collective
Join storyteller Katy Collins as she reads and invites children to act out a new version of the classic fable, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Song, dance, and role-playing will be used to discover this magical story. This is the launch event for The Fable Festival, a weekend of new, short works based on international fairy tales and fables.
Wednesday, May 16
7:30 p.m.
Alison Bechdel
Are You My Mother?
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Swedish American Museum
5211 N. Clark St.
Doors open at 7 p.m.
We are thrilled to host Alison Bechdel, as she presents the highly anticipated sequel to her bestselling graphic memoir, Fun Home. In Fun Home Bechdel explored the enigmatic life of her closeted gay father; in Are You My Mother? Bechdel turns her attention to her relationship with her critical mother and her impact on Bechdel’s creative development and sense of self-worth. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praised Are You My Mother? as “A fiercely honest work about the field of combat that is family.” Alison will be presenting a slide show, and refreshments will be served. Tickets are free with the purchase of a book. The book releases May 1st but can be ordered in advance for this event. Companion tickets are $7.00.
Saturday, May 19
7:30 p.m.
Sappho’s Salon: A Provocative Night of Lesbian Diversions
Featuring Catherine Lundoff and Beth Grogg, with Special Guest Host C. C. Carter
$7-$10 sliding scale includes food and wine
This month’s installment of our popular salon night for lesbians and their friends presents writers Catherine Lundoff and Beth Grogg. Minnesota-based Lundoff is the award-winning author of several books, including Night’s Kiss and Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf’s Point Novel, editor of Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories, and co-editor of Hellebore and Rue: Takes of Queer Women and Magic. Although her first love is poetry, Chicagoan Beth Grogg has also written screenplays, a one-woman show, performance pieces, journalism, and, alas, advertising and public relations copy. (A girl’s gotta eat, right?) She is also a former Sappho’s volunteer and long-time Sappho’s Salon supporter. Tonight’s special guest host is nationally renowned, award-winning spoken word artist and POW-WOW founder, C. C. Carter. Proceeds benefit the artists and the Women’s Voices Fund.
Sunday, May 20
4:30 p.m.
Why it Matters that Katniss is a Girl: The Hunger Games YA & Parent’s book discussion
With moderator Alicia Sowisdral
The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen is a unique protagonist whose identity resonates with boys and girls. While many critics have celebrated the gender-neutral appeal of Katniss, we shouldn’t be too quick to disregard the importance of her gender. Facilitated by feminist pop-culture blogger Alicia Sowisdral, this dialogue will explore what Katniss means for our cultural understanding of gender and the female experience.
Friday, June 1
7:30 p.m.
Jeanne Cordova
When We Were Outlaws
Spinsters Ink
In Conversation with Achy Obejas
In her sweeping memoir, groundbreaking queer journalist Jeanne Cordova presents a raw and intimate chronicle of an activist torn between conflicting personal longing and political goals. When We Were Outlaws presents the true story of a brash young radical lesbian during the early struggles for gay and women’s rights. Featuring an introduction by renowned historian Lillian Faderman, When We Were Outlaws paints a vivid portrait of political engagement and the search for self-identity, set within the maelstrom of 1970s social and sexual revolutions. Tonight’s program presents Cordova in conversation with two-time Lambda Award—winning novelist (Ruins, Days of Awe) and Pulitzer Prize—winning journalist Achy Obejas.
Mark Your Calendars:
Saturday, June 16
7:30 p.m.
Sappho’s Salon featuring legendary women’s music artist Deidre McCalla with special guest Monica Del Castillo. Guest host: Vernita Gray