Commentary on the real and imagined social, cultural and literary heritage of MAKE’s hometown.

13 January 2010
Penates of the Underpass

A tiny triangle of Chicago surrounded by interstates was once overseen by St. Jude, Patron of the Hopeless Cause. Without him, residents seem to eerily defend their besieged keep.Read more.

30 November 2009
Bridgeport Qua Bridgeport

The media’s image of bigoted Bridgeport might be on its last legs.  Read more.

15 November 2009
The Urban Frontier and the Value of Voids










What role do incongruence and emptiness play in the city’s culture? Read more.

1 October 2009
So a Wounded Deer Leaps Highest









Another baseball season ends in futility, another summer ends in October rain, but wounded deer and Ron Kittle teach that the best way to win is by losing big. Read more.

August 2009
Any-Old Story










Maybe the myth most told of Chicago is it’s geographic inevitability—a glance at a North American map seems to implore a great city at that spot. But is Chicago, at its heart, the most American of cities because it’s the part of America easiest to overlook? Read more.