The Chicago Sound

Golden Rule Jones persuaded me to listen to an interview with Stuart Dybek broadcast on Chicago's public radio station, WBEZ. And I'm glad he did. If you've got Real Audio, this 25-minute conversation is worth your attention. Right now, the whole town's reading Dybek's The Coast of Chicago for One Book, One Chicago, and he also did a Q&A with the Chicago Public Library as part of the proceedings.

The lesson inherent in reading the writers in the Chicago tradition is that if you look and listen the material in your own so-called back yard is not only as significant, but as exotic as any you'd find if you traveled the world. A neighborhood such as Little Village or Pilsen resonates in its daily round of life with all the great themes and conflicts: class, assimilation, democracy, race, cultural identity, etc.