Looking at February - May of 2018

Hey all you No Shush Lovin' folks!

I've been wrapped up in Library School and work and this is the first chance I've had to update the blog in a long time. I'm excited that October 2018 will be our 5th year anniversary and our third year at the Oak Park Library Maze Branch! But before we get to that, check out these other exciting things coming up:

Thursday, February 22nd, we are excited to have one of our regular No Shushers, Alexei Collier! Alexei is a writer who grew up in sunny Southern California, in a house his family moved into on his very first Halloween. Many years later, powerful forces flung him deep into the heart of the Midwest, where he now lives across the street from Chicago with his wife and their cat. His short fiction has been published by Cicada, Ideomancer, and StarShipSofa's Tales to Terrify. You can check him out on his underused author website: alexeicollier.com

On March 29th, we are honored to have Gary Johnson. Gary is an Associate Professor in the English and Creative Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago. He is also a writer/producer of creative nonfiction for Public Radio on Morning Edition, Soundprint, Living On Earth, and Pacifica. His fiction appears in We Speak Chicagoese, F Magazine, Private Arts, Hyphen, and his articles have appeared in the Chicago Reader, and online at The Smirking Chimp, Buzzflash, and American Politics Journal.  He is a Certified Story Workshop Master Teacher.  He served as an Oak Park Library board Trustee from 2009-2013.

On April 26th, we are thrilled to have The OuttaSpace Ensemble as our featured performer. They are an improv group that meets weekly at OuttaSpace in Berwyn.  A core group of 6 players (sometimes more), hones "acting without scripts" in various long form improv formats.  With the understanding that improv doesn't have to be funny to entertain, the players focus on connecting with the audience through audience input and character development to tell a darn good story!

On May 31st, we'll be all about Rockin' the Open Mic (er, podium)! We look forward to celebrating your yet-to-be-published stories, experimental music, recently choreographed dances, trial comedy, and so much more.

All of our events begin at 6:30 pm on the last Thursday of the month unless otherwise noted. They all take place at the 
Maze Branch of the Oak Park Library 
in the Meeting room  

845 Gunderson Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304

July 27th: Summer Fun!

July's No Shush Salon took on the air of an actual salon rather than performance. It was fun to gather in a circle and talk about writing, art, and life! There were still readings - we had a poem, a short story, a novel chapter, a bit of a novella, and another novelesque piece of writing. 

At the end of August, we will have:

an all female comedy troupe that will leave you laughing and thinking!

Followed by our Open Mic.

Thursday August 31st

6:30-8:45pm

Oak Park Library - Maze Branch

845 Gunderson Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304

May: Luis Tubin!

What an excellent No Shush Salon we had in May! Our featured performer, Luis, is a spoken word artist. He has a very vivacious presenting style.

Luis kicked us off with his piece, Bidenity about being a Puerto Rican in Chicago. "I cannot keep Caribian blood quiet." He shared an Ode to the Photographer that took a look at the image rising to the top and an Ode to the Bartender about the fountain of euphoria. There was sad love and playing hop-scotch over landmines as he watches the bombing fill the holy land with holes. He spoke with a rhythmic slam about making mofongo with his hands stained a dirty gray. There was A Love Letter to Logan Square; "we used to be different... is this the hood I claim to keep?" He gave us Phone Call, a story about prejudice that was hard for his ears to digest.

In our Open Mic segment, Vann delivered a rap that held a hazmat suit Buddhist and the notion that "safe space means I have to feel safe first". Mike brought us The Unicorn's Song where cleaning became discovery of an office conflict involving an innocent plush unicorn. Stephanie told us about the Nimrod Club and the sketches by Seymour, "ripped from the headlines of 1867. Alex's Rattle Snake Tears gave us snake people and the understanding that "one day, the skin will wear you." Jeanine read from her Peculiar Predicament of Poppets novel about Margarita and her daughter Eva fleeing the fires in Peshtigo by running with the mass of people into the lake. CSE recited Little Sally and the Bull Fiddle God where he liked the thorns on this doll. She sang Lady Knight, a heart filling tune of a woman saving another woman. She also sang Lysistrata Strut Your Stuff -“The oracle has spoken, it is written in the stars If we can join our forces then this victory is ours". Sheila gave us Swimming Lessons about a mother dealing with her daughter's obsession with a real live mermaid.

Our next No Shush Salon will be on June 29th where we will be featuring the band Aeverling. 

We hope to see you there!

Nobody Shushes the Salon! X2

April 13th - Owen Patterson

This is the event that got flooded. But even with the rescheduling, we had a great time!

Owen read from his book, The Dis-Condition of Ease, that explored life through short vignettes that asked about living up to a name, how great calamities befall humanity, and miracles in the everyday.

Oak Park Library's own Larry Nance was there and read his poem “Brother Tim” about the intersection of oppression and Tim who spoke of social justice in a way that spoke to the young Larry. I read from my short story “Lobster Girl” about a young girl and her father and what happens when a child’s desire translates to magic. (It’s going to be published May 15th!)  

We had a few folks who had never been to our even show up halfway through. Owen read a much lighter story that made everyone laugh about a student who had no patience and discovered by experience the importance of following the chain of command.

April 27th - Iztac Metztli

Iztac is a spoken word poet as well as a short story writer who is a former student of mine. She has grown into an amazing woman! She first read her short story, “The Old Man, The Ocean, and the Bird”, a magical realism story about a man losing his wife and discovering the flight of birds with the help of the ocean. Then she read some of her spoken word poetry - “White Bitch” was about being born here but being Mexican and knowing the soil from which her grandmothers sprang. “I Am, I Is” tackled the prejudice that comes from of how language is perceived. “In Between” dealt with her identity as a Mexican American born in a Puerto Rican neighborhood. “In the Seat of Suffering”, she explored Chicago’s response, or lack thereof, to gang violence and how these are our children with expiration dates.  “I Ain’t Hip-Hop” was about growing up in the shadow of older brothers in the Hip-Hop scene. “My Grandmother is a Candle” was about her grandmother Vella who taught her the art of ancient navigation and whose candle may flicker but always burns bright.

For our Open Mic, we had Mike reading his short story, “The Ancient Eyes of Sady French” about a murder that may or may not have been perpetuated by a parrot. Alex read from his novellla, “The World River Flows Where it Will” where two characters were looking for a place in an alien world where being human didn’t make them the lowest of the low. I read my poem, “We Were Never Mermaids” about my sister who has a brain injury and how her life affects the entire family. Sheila read, “Not For You”, a story about ghosts walking on halloween night and what to do when you are the lighthouse for the dead but one of the dead is an asshole. Ed read about how he wanted to write a serial, “In the Shadows of Giants” that sipped expensive marshmallows and his poem, “Homework oh Homework” about the terrible choices homework provides.

Our Next No Shush Salon is Thursday, May 25th a 6:30 pm, with Logan Lu!

April 13th, Presenting Owen Patterson (Take 2!)

Thursday, April 13, 2017 - 6:30pm to 8:45pm

Oak Park Library - Maze Branch

845 Gunderson Ave, Oak Park, Illinois 60304

Owen Patterson, a native Chicagoan, is this month's featured reader. He will be reading from his book, The Dis-Condition of Ease. To learn more about Owen and his book, check him out here: https://booklife.com/profile/owen-patterson-14779

We have 10 minutes for anyone who wants to present their latest creative endeavor. Treats to share are awesome, but we will provide munchies. Spectators are welcome and appreciated!

The No Shush Salon is a monthly Open Mic for all creative types who what to share their works-in-progress or newly finished endeavors. We often begin with a featured performer / reader or we have a theme. No registration required, just drop in and share your talents!

Can't make it? Follow us through our blog: noshushsalon.blogspot.com and like us on Facebook: No Shush Salon

Upcoming!

Along with our No Shush Salon Fantastic February! event this coming Thursday,  we have lots of exciting things coming up! The big one is the Wednesday Writers' Word Feast is changing to the Writers' Word Feast since it will be ADDING both a Saturday and a Sunday starting in March. Here's what's coming up:

• Thur. Feb. 23, 6:30 to 8:45 pm = Fantastic February!
• Wed. March 1, 10 am - 1 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Sat. March 11, 1:30 - 4:30 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Sun. March 19, 1:30 - 4:30 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Thur. March 30, 6:30 - 8:45 = Presenting: Owen Patterson
• Wed. April 5, 10 am - 1 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Sun, April 9, 1:30 - 4:30 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Sat. April 22, 1:30 - 4:30 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Thur. April 27, 6:30 - 8:45 pm = Presenting: Maha Rakta
• Wed. May 3, 10 am - 1 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Sat. May 13, 1:30 - 4:30 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Sun. May 14, 1:30 - 4:30 pm = Writers' Word Feast
• Thur. May 25, 6:30 - 8:45 pm = Presenting: Logan Lu

Check out the sidebar links with more details.

January No Shush Salon: Bring in the New! Review

This month's No Shush Salon was a delightful Open Mic!

Check out these random and mixed-up snippets of what was read:

They're going to an execution. - Sweeping piles of ash into a paper bag. - Her life was so perfect, it could only end in tragedy. - You didn't hear? Peshtigo burned. - ...until the outsiders arrived. - Certified Armature Cartographer - Miss Eloyese Felton - They'll only germinate when covered in ash. - Gloria Sweden killed me. - Huge limbs out of joint with time. - Wildebeest Steaks - I was starving! - Fires happen. - Does a salmon try to swallow the sun? - Like a statue of a hand, not an actual hand.

Our next No Shush Salon will be February 23rd at 6:30 pm

Maze Branch of the Oak Park Library

No Shush November Featured Sheila Johnson

Everything changes... this is the theme of the story that Sheila read from her book, All Our Loved Ones Together, on November 10th. Two brothers, a daughter / niece, and a Dryad show us how change is a powerful force. "Sometimes, the truth is a spell that loses its power when spoken aloud." 

If you wish to know more about this delightful creature named Sheila and find out how to purchase her book, please check out her website: sheilacjohnson.wordpress.com

The Open Mic gave us Alex's 4 and 20 Blackbirds. We heard about how Marta used the magic of the blackbirds and how her bother Yohan had changed. Ron followed it up with a musical rendition of Give a Little / Makin' Whoopie / Glory of Love / Paper Moon mixed with other songs. Then he tickled our funny bones with Ventriloquist Love. Next was Brendan who read from his book The Hidden Lands where Amber was on a train and met Lin Mae. They discussed Boarding School rules. Matt brought us Mythical Mike and his gang of Comic Bookstore misfits in an effort to "make the streets safe for the comic buying company." Ed brought us Spider-Man Unlimited and the True Meaning of Thanksgiving with Ted, the weredog, from accounting. Rhiannon brought us blue magic wielding elves who were on an investigation. But they got sidetracked in tossing Kava (magic). J9 shared a bit about Hazel, the Luchadora Librarian.

All pictures by Anna Peterson.

Just a reminder, we are off for December, but will be back on 

January 26th at 6:30 pm with the theme, Bring in the New!

The Three Year Anniversary of the No Shush Salon!

Presenting: Cemetery Guardians

What an awesome night! We had four readers from the Cemetery Guardians and a fantastic Open Mic. Plus there was pizza and salad and cake! If you'd like to see the live stream of the event, Wes posted it here:  

Part 1 of the No Shush Salon Three Year Anniversary Reading 

and here: 

Part 2 of the No Shush Salon Three Year Anniversary Reading

Also, please check out the Cemetery Guardians for more awesome stories and great art!

Our next event will be November 10th with Sheila Johnson as our featured reader! 

Link to more info in the sidebar.

Aug. 25th Highlights on the theme: What is Family?

Another Open Mic filled with great storytelling and discussion!

Ed read his story, "The Kidnapper", where you can't believe everything you hear. He then shared a story about last week where the song was changed to Hotel North Dakota.
Alex shared "Seeing Blue" about seekers and makers where Red, a seeker, followed a snowy stag and we met Mother Maker.
Sheila read from her upcoming book, Open Arms, Steady Hearts, about Mirabird who posed the question, "is it okay to be a doctor when I grow up instead of a dragon?"
Jeanine shared, "Demons Love Latin", where a flirtation went all wrong since one of them was a demon.
Mike read, "Return of the Zombie", where a kid bought a zombie making kit from Mama Midnight to make a new friend.

Thanks again to Anna Peterson for her picture taking prowess and sneakiness!

Joyful July!

It was great to have Nathan Beachamp as our featured author!

Candid shot of our Featured
Reader Nathan Beachamp

From the Clones Anthology, Nathan read his story, "The Replacement Husband". Without giving too much away, 'cause really, you should read this story, I will say it captured the sense of loss and everything being wrong incredibly well. I was drawn in from the beginning, and thought I knew where things were going, but I was wrong... which is delightful!

What will we read?

Collage of Open Mic-ers - From top L
to bottom R: Brendan, Sheila, Jeanine, & Alex

Our Open Mic was also filled with great storytelling! We had something under the bed in Mike's story about shedding skin and a father that's truly terrible at lying. Ed brought us a spy-thriller about cookies that could solve world hunger and queried what that would entail. Sheila finished up A Gift Most Wanted, leaving us wanting to know more and more about Carol the hunter and her lover Looze (sorry for the misspell!) who was/is a meteoroid / asteroid / traveler. J9 gave us Demon Eye, a tiny poltergeist who haunts glasses. Alex had us Seeing Blue, where we met Red and learned about Seekers and Makers... Seeker Man - Maker Woman, though it sometimes gets turned around. Brendan brought us to the Chicago Arts District where we found a woman under a hood who intrigued and tantalized our protagonist and us. 

Discussion!

All of that and a bag of doughnuts... and ginger... and chocolate covered candy... and... I'm pretty sure I'm missing something else yummy, but it was an evening delicious to the taste-buds and the ears! 


Much thanks to Anna Peterson for her picture taking prowess and sneakiness!



UPCOMING:

Aug. 3rd, 10am - 1pm
Wednesday Writers' Word Feast
A writers' group for all types and genres meeting at the Main Library
Second Floor - Book Discussion Room

Aug. 25th, 6:30 - 8:45pm

A No Shush Salon Themed Open Mic: What is Family?

Meeting at the Maze Branch of the Oak Park Library Meeting Room

June 30th, Presenting: Featured Poet, Russell Jaffe

WHEN: Thursday, April 28th at 6:30 pm

WHERE: Oak Park Public Library Maze Branch

845 Gunderson Ave., Oak Park, IL 60304

This month we will be featuring Russell Jaffe, an Oak Park poet!

Russell Jaffe is a poet, artist, writer, teacher, and full-time dad living in Oak Park. He teaches English at College of DuPage and throughout the City Colleges system. He is the father of Celestine, a collaboration with his partner Carleen Tibbetts, also a poet, and his entire family are OPPL superfans. His poetry has appeared widely online and in print, and he is the author of two current poetry collections This Super Doom I Aver (Poets Democracy, '13), INTROVERT // EXTROVERT (Punk Hostage, '14), and two forthcoming LA CROIX WATER (Damask, a Chicago press!) and Civil Coping Mechanisms (Civil Coping Mechanisms' winner of the 2016 Spring Mainline competition). In former lives, he's been a poetry editor, publisher, reading series host and coordinator, hot sauce blogger, professional driver for international writers, and mixed marital arts live results recorder. He has a number of hopes and dreams. He encourages people to add him on Facebook or, and he means this, play him in chess on the Chess Time app. His name is ILikeToEatScones. 

He will have tons of his first book, a mad libs poetry collection called This Super Doom I Aver, available to sell. His second book, INTROVERT // EXTROVERT is available here: https://www.createspace.com/5392793 

This will be followed by our regular Open Mic. Come share your poetry, prose, music, dance, or any other creative endeavor in under 15 minutes at our Open Mic.

The No-Shush Salon is a monthly open mic for all creative types who want to share their works in progress or even their newly finished endeavors after a featured artist or on a theme.

Treats to share are welcomed!

No registration required — just drop in and share your talents!

Spectators welcome & appreciated!

Amazing April!

 What a great No Shush Salon! 

We mixed things up a bit and had our open mic intermixed with Paula Ngo's belly dance performances along with a mini-dance class.  Here's a recap:

Brandon: Charcoal drawing of Amber abd poison on a dead body. You can come home. The training of playing chess. 

Paula did a beautiful serpentine dance to The Smiths.

Mike: The living ghost girl in the translucent dress haunted Floyd's building. He blushed. Haunting, it's kind of what ghosts do.

Open Mic

Paula did a more sprightly hip-bopping song of Amores y Amores.

Ed: A story of a kidnapping. Aunt Martha was driving Jack. Then a stop that changed everything.

Then a poem called "Homework O Homework".

Mini Belly Dance Lesson! Check out the pics below.

Allison: Her first comedy routine and she shared it with us! Sneaky woman recorded it:

Allison S Comedy At No Shush Salon

So AWESOME!

Alex: First scene of a Novelette about the beast princess. No one dared disturb the oracle. 12 augers, one is her uncle. Chose your words with care.

Rhiannon: Hospital bed sheets had more color in them than the cadaver in drawer two. Magical, freaky cadaver. "What the hell do we do? It's a self healing corpse."

J9: The first chapter of The Three Hazels. It's Hazel's 73rd birthday on the night the lights went out in Chicago. There was chocolate cake and an epidemic of dying children.

Paula wrapped the evening up with a traditional belly dance. Check out her fantastic website: Sepia Tribal 

photo credit: Anna Peterson 
Thanks for all the great pictures!

When Writers Gather

Wednesday Writers' Word Feast!

(WWWF... we need a writing Panda)

For our first two meetings, we had seven writers. Some from the first meeting were at the second and we had some new folks join us too. We got together to share our words, some yummy food, inspiration, gave feedback, and we wrote! 

On April 6th, we had Captain Mega Thunder-Chunder-Blunder vs. the Marauding Letter Snatcher, a galaxy of small worlds around a single star, a boy in a grave during a fire, a spaceship named Tania who takes on the one resident of an escape pod, and a view of what happens when someone gets shot in the supernatural battle between Thropes and Drogers in an altered Chicago.

If you weren't at the meeting but would like more info, please email Jeanine at j9vaughn@gmail.com and I'll put you on our email list. 

We meet the first Wednesday of the month at the Oak Park Public Library - Main Branch, 834 Lake St. Oak Park, from 10 am - 1 pm in the Book Discussion Room on the second floor. Our next WWWF will be May 4th. 


WWWF on the Oak Park Library calendar

May the Fourth be with you!