Megan Stielstra's Blog

There’s a new Chicago literary magazine—

A quick tangent:

I love that sentence. “A new Chicago literary magazine.” I also love “new Chicago reading series,” and “new Chicago storytelling venue,” and “new website for Chicago writers,” and anything that adds to the rapidly growing Chicago literary scene. The loss of Punk Planet was a major kick in the teeth for me—I cheered for everything about that team, the work they put out and what they did for Chicago writers (not to mention musicians, filmmakers, (anti) marketing, media-junkies, etc.)—but it’s wonderful to see that even WITH that setback, the Chicago scene is alive and well. The best part is, I’m sure I don’t know the HALF of what's out there which means there's always something new to discover. Hold your index finger an inch away from your thumb—that’s what’s on my radar insofar as writing in this city, and I flatter myself to think I might know more than the next guy.

Who DOES know a lot—dare I say ALL—are Gretchen Kalwinski and Eugenia Williamson at Literago, an indispensible resource for local writers and readers, and people who want to publish local writers and readers, or love writers and readers, or are sleeping with writers and readers, or WANT to sleep with writers and readers (of which I KNOW there are many because I used to be one of them, until I met/slept with/married another one of them, Yaaaay Happy endings!).

Anyhow: Literago. You should go there. You should also give them money. Or presents. You should make them a nice casserole dish and leave it on their front porch, because those girls attend like every lit event in this entire city of which there are many many many, so who has time to cook?

End Tangent.

—called The Bruiser Review. The magazine dubs itself “Stories for the Morning After,” which A. is awesome and B. gave me pause when Simon, Brusier’s editor-in-chief, invited me to read for their launch party. Usually, when I’m asked to read somewhere, I say yes, and do a little happy-dance, and try to find something that’s appropriate for the venue/audience/publication ('cause a lot of times readers don't do that and it really bugs me, and isn't there some Socratic formula about That Which Pisses One Off Should Not Be Then Done By One?) but this time I imagined myself, standing in front of a Brusier Review crowd, so big now that when I look down I can’t see my toes over my stomach, and no one would be paying attention to my story-for-the-morning-after because my physical apperance is a story-for-the-morning-after in and of itself.

But maybe not the one that Simon was going for.

Then, I remembered Gina Frangello (who I love love love), eight months pregnant on her book tour for My Sister’s Continent, reading from wild S&M sex scenes with her smile and her stomach and her stiletto high-heeled boots—that, my friends, is the definition of BADASS—and I realized that if I DIDN’T read for something as tough-sounding as The Brusier Review when I was six months pregnant then I was a big fat wuss.

I’m a lot of things, but a wuss is not one of them.

I don’t even like that WORD.

So anyhow, I’m super-excited to read tomorrow night for the new Chicago literary magazine, The Brusier Review, along with Billy Lombardo and Brian Costello (both of whom are favorites of mine). Familiar faces in the crowd are always appreciated, plus WHO KNOWS? You may end up with a story for the morning after.

Although, if it results in pregnancy I’d suggest a bit of pre-planning.

Either way, it’d be a good story: “Well, Junior, I was at a launch party for The Brusier Review and I met this, like, writer, and this was back in the day when I was really into sleeping with writers. And sometimes readers … "

More information is here.