Here in Chicago, tomorrow is a primary election. There are candidates for judges and state’s attorney and property tax board of reviews and, oh yeah, President. The elections with judges always require some research about who’s been approved by the Chicago Bar Association and, depending on your point of view, endorsed by the advocacy group […]

Earlier this week I got word that Hannelore (Hanna) Bratman, a writer in the memoir-writing class I used to lead at the Chicago Cultural Center, had died Monday, just short of her 104th birthday. Hannelore had age-related macular degeneration and found out about my “Me, Myself and I” writing class decades ago from volunteers who […]

ChatGPT has brought artificial intelligence—and discussions about AI—into the mainstream. On one hand, some see infinite possibilities, on the other, skeptics see aspects of dystopia. AI was a major sticking point for the writers guild during its strike, and remains an issue during the ongoing actors strike. Major technological advances have always been seen as […]

The two memoir-writing classes I lead in person are both starting up again this week after a month-long break. I don’t give writing prompts during breaks, but I encourage writers to write about whatever they’d like and read it at the first class of the new six-week session. Mel Washburn came back with this fast-paced, […]

I really don’t much like it when Chicago takes a major public space like part or all of Grant Park out of public commission for events like Lollapalooza or, this past weekend, NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race. And I never trust the numbers that the organizers or the city provides in terms of economic gain—they’re notoriously […]