Explore Essays and memoir
Sort by:
Sort by:
Saint Jane
Elaine Showalter
‘Addams was hailed as ‘the only saint America has produced’, and a female saint to boot.’
Chicago’s Great Expositor
Wole Soyinka
‘It is not a complete man now dominating the affairs of the world from a historic mansion appropriately named the White House, although a case can be made that he comes close enough.’
Once Upon a Time the Zhou Brothers
Bei Dao
‘When I first came to America in the autumn of 1988, I met the Zhou brothers in Chicago.’
Big Money
Dinaw Mengestu
‘In a city as sprawling and as proud of its architectural grandeur as Chicago, such an emphasis on size seemed only fitting.’
Winter
Rich Cohen
‘When everyone was asleep, we put on our boots and waded out into the drifts of Glencoe – a suburban street remade into an eerie winter-scape.’
An Ofrenda for my Mother
Sandra Cisneros
‘She was a prisoner-of-war mother, banging on the bars of her cell all her life.’
Easter Island Noodles Almondine
Thom Jones
‘I grew up in a factory town, Aurora, Illinois, some forty miles west of Chicago.’
Are We Related?
Liz Jobey
‘Most family relationships are difficult, and sometimes they can become the most difficult human relationships of all.’
