Today, we discuss the legacy of Nelson Algren with Colin Asher, author of the biography Never A Lovely So Real: The Life and Work of Nelson Algren. This was originally recorded live at the American Writers Museum June 25th, 2019. Quick note: the end of this podcast episode includes a Q&A with the live audience, however their questions were not recorded. We did want to include Colin’s answers though, so we have.

We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a writer.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

“One of the things that interested me most about Algren was the way he thought about writing. Algren is a person who thought a lot about the purpose of writing and its social function. That really drew me to his work.”

“Chicago, he realized, was…a place so in love with the idea of its virtue that it was willing to disavow, in the name of the common good, anyone who failed to meet its narrow and exacting standards. It had great symbolic value for that reason. And Nelson decided that using his work to undermine that image would be more impactful.”

“[Algren] had things to say about the 30s and the 40s that were so fully realized that they apply today. He was writing about income inequality. He was writing about criminal justice issues. In the 40s he was writing about the opioid epidemic that started after the war, where people were trying to escape this sort of new, emerging late-capitalist reality and feeling adrift. And all of those things we’re still wrestling with.”

“[Algren] could’ve used his GI benefits to purchase a home on the edge of the city with no money down but instead he returned to his old neighborhood and looked for an apartment where he could work without distraction.”

“How to write is a less meaningful question than why. Literature must challenge authority and defy demagoguery. It is born in fidelity to the truth and crumbles into incoherence in its absence.”

The Cornerstore spoke with Columbia College Chicago Film Professor Michael Caplan about the Premiere of his Nelson Algren documentary on WTTW, the journey of entering the creative world and finding true fulfillment in the arts, and more.

Stay connected with The Cornerstore on Twitter, Instagram,and Soundcloud! You can also access and download episodes via Spotify and Apple!

The Cornerstore spoke with Columbia College Chicago Film Professor Michael Caplan about the Premiere of his Nelson Algren documentary on WTTW, the journey of entering the creative world and finding true fulfillment in the arts, and more.

• Used in Chicago’s Nelson Algren — copyright 2007 Seven Stories Press
  Image Courtesy of Michael Caplan

Stay connected with The Cornerstore on Twitter, Instagram,and Soundcloud! You can also access and download episodes via Spotify and Apple!

Dan and Eric talk about how tired they tend to get every April; Toobin's reporting on William Barr (is he just doing Trump's bidding?  All signs point to yes.); Jonathan Dee's excellent review of a Nelson Algren biography; Pat Barker and her harrowing yet witty short story; the Isaac Chotiner/Bret Easton Ellis interview that went viral; and Hilton Als' very critical review of Sam Gold's production of King Lear.

Mary Reynard is a longtime actor and acting coach living in Los Angeles. Phil Circle and Mary met through the Chicago Actors Studio, where she was teaching for some time and whose founder is a student of Mary's late husband, the great Ted Liss. 

After Mary gives a little run down of her fascinating history surrounded by icons, she and Phil move into a discussion about music and acting, coaching in these professions, and ultimately how the techniques learned to master these performing arts can be beneficial to performing well in life as a human being.

This was recorded over dinner at Corky's Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California, after Mary spent the afternoon observing Phil's recording session for a new album with Ted Wulfers (Episode 3). This was recorded on March 6th, 2019.

The album Phil was recording released the following month. The song Mary was watching Phil and Ted work on was Lava.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, as we continue our adventure through the 90s, we're discussing both the winner and runner-up stories from 1991's Nelson Algren Prize, sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. Tom Barbash won for his story, "Howling at the Moon," and Patricia Stevens came in second for her story, "Leaving Fort Ord." Barbash would go on to publish a few books, while Stevens seems to have mostly left fiction behind.

Also this week, we revisit a piece by Jacob Weisberg that called out a couple big-name editors for not doing their jobs--which caused some serious blowback in the publishing industry. Plus a mysterious death, a big year for video games, and much, much more.

Thanks for listening!