Every Person Is a Philosopher

“Could perhaps the world be an immense, never-ending adventure?”: On the Front Porch with “The Bluebird”

In preparing the last Front Porch I’ll post here in my time as the NWA intern, I looked far and wide through our collected JOTs—trying to touch on a broad sampling of all that work, and trying to recall which pieces had spoken especially strongly to me. In the Fall 2011 issue, “I Am Here,” [...]

One Last Thing from the Outgoing Intern: Thank You and Farewell, for Now!

I’ve been the resident Blog and Social Media Intern here for just slightly over six months now. And this week marks the, um, “transfer of power”—there are some ceremonial procedures that go along with it, but that’s proprietary intern information—over to our new intern, Helen, who you’ll be getting to know in short order. But [...]

“I love walking down Lawrence Avenue and rarely hearing English”: Meet the Philosophers with Michelle M. Wright

In this edition of Meet the Philosophers, we talk to NWA Board Member Michelle Wright about the amazing diversity of Albany Park, the life of the written word as an archive of expression for the future, and the power of philosophical questioning that we all share. What is your name? Michelle M. Wright If you [...]

“Does someone here need to express?”: On the Front Porch with “Mother Mary Carter Smith’s Circle of Love”

As we’ve been exploring this spring with our Neighborhood Rhythms programming, the oral tradition in various cultures lives where community and self-expression meet. The occasions and rituals of communal, oral expression can take the form of storytelling, sharing, music—and in the case of the scene in NWA writer Baba Tony Brown’s piece “Mother Mary Carter [...]

Twisted Roots: Music, Politics, and the American Dream Blues

As part of our Neighborhood Rhythms programming, on Thursday, June 27, NWA will host a special event featuring Dr. John Kimsey and his band, The Twisted Roots Ensemble: Kimsey, vocal and guitar; Lia McCoo, vocal, flutes and percussion; Steve Hashimoto, bass; and Brad Newton, hand drums. The session, “A Walk Through Twisted Roots,” will feature [...]