The Logan Square Literary Review

2012-01-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

Join The Logan Square Literary Review and friends for a night of live readings!

We return to the beloved Comfort Station with a great line-up! This evening will feature readings from:

Brandon Holmquest
Amy Hayden
Dylan Peterson
Kathleen Soler
Bryan Johnson
Tim Murray
Vincent Truman
Bela Shayevich
and Matt Tracey

This event is FREE, for all-ages (but probably will consist of adult content at some point!), and it is NOT BYOB. Just bring your bad self and have fun!

Issues of The LSLR will be for sale at this event, Issue IX is on sale now at Northside Chicago retailers and at www.loganliterary.com!

Here's a link to our facebook invite for this event: https://www.facebook.com/events/281402171917205/?notif_t=event_invite

2012-01-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who submitted to Issue X! We appreciate all the contributions, and we will get word back to those selected for publication as soon as we can!

The new submission deadline for Issue XI is April 10!

Thanks!

2011-12-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

A huge thanks to the fine folk of Peanut Gallery for hosting our highly successful release reception last night! A mighty thanks too to those who attended and shared their writing! Issue IX is on store shelves starting today and at www.loganliterary.com. The submission deadline for Issue X is January 10! Submit to submissions@loganliterary.com.

Release Reception for Issue IX: Winter 2012

2011-12-06T10:35:00.001-08:00

Join us on Wednesday, December 14 for the release reception for Issue IX: Winter 2012.

The event will take place from 7 to 10 pm at Peanut Gallery in Humboldt Park. We support our neighbors! This reception takes place in a new sort of venue for The LSLR. We will be hosting live readings from the contributors of Issue IX, offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments for a menial donation, will have back issues of The LSLR for sale, and Peanut Gallery will have hanging art for sale as well.

This event features readings from the following contributors to Issue IX:

Theresa Boehl
Joshua Feinberg
John Gorman
Alicia Hilton
Erica Hunzinger
Bela Shayevich
Matt Tracey

From Peanut Gallery's website:

"Peanut Gallery is a space for creative collaboration, experimentation, exhibition and good, old-fashioned mingling. Inspired by French Salons, Peanut Gallery hosts a weekly open house which we call “Art Night” (on Tuesday nights), and people come to draw, brainstorm, jam, drink, etc… with other artistically-inclined Chicagoans. We also put on more traditional, monthly exhibitions of work by local artists, which open every second Sunday of the month. Our goal is to connect creative people with one another and nurture a vibrant, inclusive community of artists and intellectuals. We believe that 10 minds are greater than one, and collaboration/communication/cooperation is the basis for progress."

This is a FREE event, NOT byob, but all-ages are welcome and don't forget to bring cash to buy issue IX, drinks, and art!

Per request of the owner, we will be checking ID at the door if you plan on drinking alcohol, so don't forget to bring your ID!

Below is the cover for Issue IX, hand-painted by the Issue IX featured artist: Rachael McHan.

Issue IX pre-sale!

2011-11-28T13:54:00.001-08:00

Issue IX: Winter 2012 is now available for pre-sale on this website! Due to an increase in cost of materials, we are going to have to raise our newsstand prices ever so slightly, but until Issue IX's release day, you'll be able to purchase at the old price of $5 plus shipping! Order now and your copy will be mailed out the day Issue IX is released!

2011-10-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Join us on FRIDAY, October 28 for THE LSLR READS, A Night of Spooky Readings and Performances

At Quimby's Bookstore - 1854 W North Avenue

7 to 10 p.m.

Featuring:

Ben Spies
Cassandra Gillig
Alicia Hilton
Muyassar Kurdi
Lara Levitan
Michael McCauley
Josh Piotrowski
Chris Terry
John Thurgood

This is a FREE BYOB event, we will be supplying drinks and treats, come join us!

Costumes are not required but encouraged!

Thanks for submitting!

2011-10-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who submitted for Issue IX! The new deadline for submissions to be featured in Issue X is Tuesday, January 10.

Notices to those who are being published in Issue IX will be sent out soon!

2011-10-14T09:08:00.001-07:00

Call for Live Readers!

The Logan Square Literary Review is hosting a LSLR Live Reading on October 28^th at Quimby’s Bookstore and is looking for readers! Have a dark and/or spooky piece you're interested in reading? We're looking for six more writer/readers to present their work onstage at Quimby’s.

If you're interested in participating, please send an e-mail to

events.loganliterary@gmail.com with a brief description of the piece you’d like to share, as well as a little bit of information about yourself. Each reader is given 6-8 minutes. Let us know ASAP if you're interested! There are only six slots, so hurry!

Issue VIII Now Available

2011-09-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came to the release reception for Issue VIII: Autumn 2011! Issue VIII is now available through this website, and will be available at our retail vendors beginning Thursday, Sept. 29.

The submission deadline for Issue IX: Winter 2012 is Tuesday Oct. 11! Submit your work in the body of an email to submissions@loganliterary.com. Please include a brief (3-4 sentences) biography including your location of residence (neighborhood of Chicago). Submissions received without a biography will be disregarded!

SUBMIT!

Cover art for Issue VIII by Iris Iris Pasic.

The 2011 Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival

2011-07-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

During this year’s Milwaukee Avenue Arts Fest, The LSLR is excited to present its gallery exhibition Milwaukee Avenue: The Millennial Shift. The exhibit will be installed in the vacant storefront at 2634 N Milwaukee Avenue, and will be open for exhibition the entire weekend July 29 – 31.

The Exhibit

Milwaukee Avenue: The Millennial Shift is a map and printed media presentation that chronographs the shift of culture and arts up Milwaukee Avenue, into Logan Square, since the year 2000. Emerging galleries, theaters, studios and music venues, as well as neighborhood icons will be featured as continuing proof that Milwaukee Avenue remains the profound facilitator of commerce and community that it always has been. Milwaukee Avenue: The Millennial Shift provides a nostalgic look at the emerging and ever-changing arts culture on Milwaukee Avenue through an illustrated timeline composed of photographs, concert posters, and artist interviews.

The Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival

This last weekend of July, Logan Square will host its annual Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival. Events will take place between California and Kimball Avenues, in the heart of Logan Square’s commercial district. Festivities run July 29^th from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and continue throughout Saturday and Sunday from noon to 11 p.m.. This year’s festival features dozens of galleries, performing and musical artists, as well as food and drink brought to you by local eateries, food trucks and bars.

For more information on the Milwaukee Arts Festival visit,

www.milwaukeeavenueartsfestival.org

A GIANT LITERARY THANKS.....

2011-07-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

..... to tonight's readers and the accommodating staff at Cole's Bar. It was a great night for independent publishing and local literature!

Issue VII is now available in these fine stores:

G-MART COMICS
2641 N. Kedzie Ave.
773.384.0400

WOLFBAIT & B-GIRLS
3131 W. Logan Blvd.
312.698.8685

MYOPIC BOOKS
1564 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773.862.4882

QUIMBY'S BOOKSTORE
1854 W. North Ave.
773.342.0910

SAKI
3716 West Fullerton Ave.
773.486.3997

BUCKET O' BLOOD BOOKS AND RECORDS
2307 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773.715.5901

Issue VII Release Reception

2011-06-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

Your holiday weekend was just extended.

Join us on Tuesday, July 5th at COLE'S BAR to celebrate the release of our Summer issue, LSLR#7. The evening starts at 7PM.

It should be a time. We're working on a fantastic lineup of live readers who will grace the stage that night. Come by and congratulate the writers, meet the editors and talk the literary talk!

Don't miss it!

SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR ISSUE VIII: JULY 26th

2011-06-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

We need your work if we are going to put out a journal of quality. So, please be a sport and send us a piece of writing! Better yet, send us a number of pieces of writing. Get involved. Get published. Get compliments from an adoring public. It'll be good for you, we promise. We can't do it without you, the slaves-to-the-written-word who have the temerity to express their thoughts on paper and present them to total strangers.
July 26th.

Send your work to submissions@loganliterary.com

Be as cool as this guy:

DIYCHI Poetry Workshop

2011-06-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody,

Our friends over at DIYCHI are launching a poetry workshop, and we're excited to be spreading the word. Matt Whispers, an LSLR contributor and Chicago Zinefest organizer, is among those spearheading the effort. Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113461865408990

This workshop will establish a diverse, supportive community of Chicago-based poets. We encourage our friends and contributors to join the fray.

E-mail diywritingworkshops@gmail.com to sign up. Include your NAME, CONTACT INFORMATION, and 2 ORIGINAL WORKS with your e-mail. The first session will be held on TUESDAY, JUNE 14, from 8-10pm. Barring conflict, all subsequent workshops will be held at the same time.

The LSLR Reads at Bucket O' Blood Books and Records

2011-06-14T19:05:00.001-07:00

The Logan Square Literary Review is hosting another great evening of live readings featuring some excellent local talent!

The reading is at one of Logan Square's newest record and book shops, Bucket O' Blood Books and Records. We'll be shoving all the shelving out of the way and making room for all you beautfiul people to come relax and enjoy the literary stylings of:

Brad Brubaker
Amy L. Hayden
Georgi Johnston
Muyassar Kurdi
Jami Sailor
Pete Michael Smith

Readings begin at 7 p.m.

Issues of The LSLR will be available for purchase

This is a free event, and BYOB!!

We hope you'll join us in supporting local literature and Bucket O' Blood Books and Records. See you there!

If you would like to be a part of future readings, send an email to our events coordinator at events.loganliterary@gmail.com with a brief description about yourself and a sample of material you'd like to read.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #69

2011-06-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

For today, ready the nastiness embedded deep, deep down in your personality. Once you locate this hateful wasteland, use it to think of the worst possible, most damaging, wrathful and caustic thing (a single line) you could say to each of the following people:

- your mother
- your father
- your grandmother
- your sibling
- your own child
- Jim Carrey
- your current best friend
- Oprah
- your favorite teacher
- your current significant other
- yourself
- your doctor
- President Obama and his wife
- your first significant other
- your landlord
- George Clooney
- your dog
- Kim Jong-Il
- John Stewart

Send your list of devastating comments (which don't necessarily need to reflect your true beliefs) along with the targets' replies, as you imagine them, to loganliterary@gmail.com

(If the whole operation leaves you feeling a bit empty or dirty inside, feel free to turn around and write the best possible, most uplifting thing you could say to each person on that same list.)

CALL FOR LIVE READERS!

2011-06-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

We're holding an LSLR Live Reading later this month, June 21st to be exact. Have a piece you're dying to share ? We're looking for six writer/readers to present their work onstage at Bucket O' Blood.

If you're interested in participating, please send send an e-mail to loganliterary@gmail.com describing what genre you'd like to perform. Each speaker will be given 6-8 minutes. Please let us know ASAP if you're interested! There are only six slots, so hurry!

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #68

2011-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

For today, follow this link to meet your interview subject. You are profiling this figure for SEX HISTORY WEEKLY, an aptly named magazine.

He/She is an occasionally frustrating conversation partner, but try your best to discover his/her sexual history with penetrating questions. Copy and paste your conversation into a word processor frequently, because the website does not preserve it onscreen.

Send the completed interview to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #67

2011-06-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

For today, write a short story ten paragraphs in length. The first paragraph must contain a ten-digit number. The second paragraph must contain a nine-digit number..... and so on, until the final paragraph contains a single digit.

Send your story to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #66

2011-05-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

For today, imagine how different your life would have been if you had grown up with a father and eight different mothers, each of whom worked as circus-folk. Due to the occupational hazards of circus life, your (step-)mothers kept expiring, not unlike Spinal Tap drummers.

In the first five years of your life you had four different mothers, but your father made the odd, drunken choice of trying to convince you that they were each the same woman, who had merely gotten a makeover, a new haircut or put on some weight.

A circus fire destroyed most of the marriage records and family photos. You ran away from the circus at 15, and miraculously built a successful life for yourself.

Your task now is to cut through the haze of your father's misdirection and find out how many women raised you, how many mothers had a hand in shaping your habits and personality. If you must, interview retired performers, dig through city archives and revisit former circus venues. The truth might be out there.

Then, in order to gain closure, write each of these women a Mother's Day letter expressing your gratitude. Even if they are deceased, writing the letter should be a cathartic experience.

Send your letters to loganliterary@gmail.com

SUBMISSION DEADLINE for Issue VIII:July 26th

2011-05-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

A huge thanks to all the writers and artists who submitted their work for our summer issue. As we hunker down and prepare the issue, we're happy to announce the submission deadline for our Fall Issue, LSLR#8, which marks our second year of publication!

Please send your work as the body of an e-mail to submissions@loganliterary.com by July 26th, 2011 in order for it to be considered for the Fall issue.

Thanks again and happy writing!

RESPONSE TO WA#64: TIMOTHY CHARLES BAKER

2011-04-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

(Here we proudly present the work of the esteemed

MR. TIMOTHY CHARLES BAKER

... who contributed the following response to Writing Assignment #64):

The Final Interval Speech

Rumnif-Y! Today, is the day the stable boy from the Upper People's Republic of Shericksway-Latvia killed 25 men with his feet.

This game has evolved from men wearing shorts kicking a leather ball through a goal to men in suits of steel killing their opponents with a pink ball. I believe you, Rumnif-Y, are a diamond in the rough kind of talent. Your ancestors who grew up thriving in football passed down to you the superhuman leg power you need to be successful in this game. I believe you were born for this task. In 60 minutes, you will be holding the World Presidential Alliance Gobelkiball Cup.

Before you go out there, I have a few tips for you. I want you to close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself inside the arena kicking the Gobelkiball through the skull of each man. See each one fall to the turf in your mind. Hear their grunts as the ball shatters their craniums. Feel the ball strike from your instep and sail toward your target. Taste your own sweat on your lips as your chase after the ball. Smell their fear. You are going to win if you see yourself winning. See it now.

I’ve watched your practices leading up to this match. I’ve seen how you can kick a Gobelkiball through a wall. You are no stable boy. Once you get out there, begin running towards the strongest man. Kill him first. The other two dozen men will watch stunned, paralyzed. It will prove to them – and yourself – just how tough you really are. After the first man is killed, it will rain unshakeable fear upon the remaining two dozen men. Keep the ball in front of you at all times. Some will resort to cowardly tactics. If you are attacked from behind, use your legs to kick behind you and to each side to give yourself some space. These men can’t touch your incredible leg strength and you may find the need to kick in someone’s chest.

I’ve had a nebulizer installed in your helmet. You’ll have more than enough prednisone to last the entire match. Run with no fear that you might end up winded, gasping for breath. The nebulizer has been pre-programmed to ensure you have wide-open lungs, even at an accelerated heart beat. Imagine running after the Gobelkiball breathing freely, for the first time outdistancing your opponents to get there first without coughing.

Your competitor’s strength is to come at you riding their airboards. You are at your most vulnerable if you find yourself next to the stadium walls. Keep in the middle of the arena. If you end up on the sidelines with a man racing down the wall at you, shoot the Gobelkiball at the feet. You’ll either knock them off their machines or shatter their tibias. No one can out run you. On the ground, you are unbeatable and the best part is they have no idea what they’re in for.

They see you as the meek, mild stable boy who has asthma. They see you as the man who hasn’t killed anyone before. They see you as an easy kill. The men you are about to face are relieved they are facing you and not my son. They are relaxed. They are vulnerable. In a few minutes, you will show the world you are every bit as horrific as he was. They are about to die.

Derriq-Pir wanted so badly to be fighting this match. You may have seen the picture of him chained to a World Government employee hospital bed. He was a good boy. He was the greatest Gobelkiball player I had ever seen. I know the government is somehow involved in his murder but we don’t have time to talk about this now. Go out there and fight with all you have because there are shady men in this world who wanted to see us fail today. These people who want to jettison us to space or who want us to be killed. Today, we will get our revenge. You are going to kill and kill and kill.

Open your eyes. The time has come for you to fight the Final Interval. Go out there and show them who you really are…the new Gobelkiball champion. Remember what I told you. Can you see yourself holding the Cup? What does it feel like to kiss that trophy?

Rumnif-Y, listen. The crowd is booing.

RESPONSE TO WA#59: BOBBY EVERS

2011-04-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

(Here we proudly present the work of the esteemed

Mr. Bobby Evers

....who contributed the following response to Writing Assignment #59)

- embedding - v. Pounding a thing into the bed of another thing, as in
a rock or an internet post.

Used in a sentence: Charlie was embedding the html code for a music
video clip into the bed of rock located outside the plantation's
easternmost wall.

- embellish - v. to tell an teeny tiny lie, a lie so small it may as
well not even exist.

Used in a sentence: Charlie began to embellish Miranda's lesser points
for his own personal gains.

- embellishment - n. one tiny lie

Used in a sentence: Charlie's single worst embellishment was to tell
Miranda, "You don't even look fat in that pair of shoes, Miranda.
Honest."

- ember - n. a tiny bit of burning matter that rises up from a larger
collection of burning bits of matter

Used in a sentence: a tiny ember rose up from the burning fire and
landed delicately on Miranda's shoulder, the pad of the shoulder
getting a little ashy about it.

- Ember day n. Christian holiday founded in 1666 to honor the burning
of the witches found practicing Black Magick underneath the windmill
as a sacrifice to Our Lord Jesus Christ

Used in a sentence: Amy and Becky were home from school, as the school
was closed in observance of Ember Day.

- emberizine - v. to polish a human organism until it shines and
glistens like chrome

Used in a sentence: Merrill sprayed the spray on the rag and wiped his
father's bald head to emberizine it like new.

- embezzle - v. to use subterfuge in order to siphen bits of money
from a pool of money that does not belong to you.

Used in a sentence: I was impeached as CEO of my Kid Detective Agency
I ran out of my own treehouse when I began to embezzle nickels from
the nickel jar.

- embiid n. the jewel you'll find in the forehead of a magic pony / centaur

Used in a sentence: Starla gallopped through the prairie, her embiid
glistening as if it had just been emberizined.

- embiotocid - n - the next largest thing after a zygote.

Used in a sentence: Kids, your mother and I have been separated ever
since you were nothing more than a couple a embiotocids floating
around a whiskey glass.

- embitter - v - to grow a callous layer of skin after being scorned somehow

Used in a sentence: Too many heartbreaks began to embitter him, thus
he quit preschool.

- Embla - n - the first ever emblem found on the first ever Newberry
Award Winning paperback

Used in a sentence: Shades of Grey is known for having the Embla, the
first ever emblem found on the first ever Newberry Award Winning
paperback, from which all emblems would then follow.

- emblaze - n. to burn a raging path through or upon

Used in a sentence: When Weezer released their 2010 album "Hurley"
countless followers decided to emblaze the face of Jorge Garcia on
their shoulders, backs, clavicles, and calves.

RECEPTION READINGS ANNOUNCED

2011-04-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the line-up of readers for our upcoming reception celebrating the publication of Issue VI!

The reception for Issue VI: Spring 2011 is THIS TUESDAY, April 26 at Cole's Bar! 2238 N Milwaukee Ave., 7 to 10 p.m.

Issues I-VI will be for sale, and the readings! OH, THE READINGS!

Starting at 8 o'clock, there will be live readings from Issue VI, and beyond.

FEATURING, in alphabetical order

Kristiana Colón

Larry O. Dean
Dr. Daniel Gajda

Chris Hefner

Ryan P. Kennedy

Muyassar Kurdi

John Thurgood

Don't miss this excellent celebration of the written word! See you all Tuesday!

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #65

2011-04-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

For today, get a pen and an old white shirt that you don't really want anymore. It must have sleeves.

Now, listen to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FFM7w5Qys and in the ten minutes it takes to do so, write a short story about a teenage dance party, but limit your writing to the left sleeve of the shirt.

Now, listen to the song again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FFM7w5Qys and in the ten minutes it takes to do so, write a short story about a group of teenagers getting arrested for public intoxication after a teenage dance party, but limit your writing to the right sleeve of the shirt.

Now, listen to the song again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FFM7w5Qys and in the ten minutes it takes to do so, write a short story about a teenager been driven home by his or her single father and he posted bail for them, but limit your writing to the back of the shirt.

Now, listen to the song a final time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6FFM7w5Qys and in the ten minutes it takes to do so, write a short story about returning to school the Monday after a riotous teenage dance party that ended in jail and awkward family dinners all weekend, but limit your writing to the front of the shirt.

Lastly, wear the shirt in public during your next run to the convenience store and then mail the shirt to

Logan Square Literary Review
3049 W. Diversey #2
Chicago, IL 60647

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #64

2011-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

For today, pretend you are an athletic coach in the far far far future. Space colonization has failed, and the Earth is dangerously overpopulated.

Among many other population-control measures, most forms of athletic competition have been refashioned into last-man-standing games, in which the winning team is the one that successfully slaughters all members of the other team without disobeying the rules of the game.

Imagine yourself as the coach of the Mozambique Tarp Plendor-Kilnetz (this is the far future), the year's Cinderella team in the World Presidential Alliance Gobelkiball tournament. Your team, originally composed of 27 players, is down to one final man after completing 78 Intervals. The game ends after 79 Intervals or until one team has lost every one of its players to death, whichever occurs first. At the end of the 79th Interval, the surviving players on the losing team are jettisoned into space. The coaches are spared, as they are World Government Employees.

You have one player remaining in the game, nicknamed Rumnif-Y. Your opponents have retained all but two of their players throughout the course of the game. Rumnif-Y is an asthmatic stable boy from the Upper People's Republic of Shericksway-Latvia. This is his first tournament and has yet to make a kill. He may have a special skill that has just come to light.

For some reason, you've become attached to the kid, even though he hasn't done much for your squad (your compensation depends on team stastics). He reminds you of your own son, Derriq-Pir, recently killed under mysterious circumstances. He's got something inside of him that convinces you completely, almost irrationally, that he can single-handedly win this game, killing the remaining 25 on the opposing team. You've just discovered this light inside of him.

For today, write a speech that will convince him that he is going to win, and suggest to him the best strategies for victories. Incorporate as many rules of the game as possible. And discourage Rumnif-Y from giving in to despair and resignation. Make him fight! Convince him, as you've convinced yourself, of the possibility that this might work out for him.

Send your pep talk to loganliterary@gmail.com

Some elements of the game, to give you a better feel for the rules:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #63

2011-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

For today, head to a nearby thrift store. Search through the garments manufactured for the opposite sex. Find one you like. Study it for a while and isolate what it is you like about it and how it makes you feel. Better yet, if you have the scratch, go ahead and purchase it.

Think of the previous owner with as much depth as you like. Imagine the circumstances under which they relinquished the article.

Next, fast-forward through your ownership and use of the garment and imagine its next owner with as much detail as you like.

Your mission is to write a short story wherein the two owners of this item immediately before and after you must join forces and track you down. The reasons for this are yours to decide. If the former owner is deceased, then feel free to get metaphysical. Create some sort of rationale that makes their search for you absolutely imperative. They must search for the figure (you) that connects them. If it helps, involve warlords, C-4 detonators, dreams, time travel, secret pockets, Gods and Goddesses, space things, the FBI, mental instability, Fox News, alligators, Rube Goldberg machines or whatever else gets you through the assignment. It can't be any worse than Sucker Punch. (zing.)

The epilogue to this story should concern the three of you being interviewed for a New Yorker piece based on this strange, eventually infamous, story. You are exempt from this if you end the entire world somewhere earlier in the story.

Send the story to loganliterary@gmail.com

SUBMIT!

2011-04-06T08:37:00.001-07:00

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #62

2011-03-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

For today, fashion a blindfold out of an old rag or necktie. Use it to cover your eyes. Now go to your window, preferably one facing the street.

For ten minutes or so, scribble down the phonetic spelling -- like they do in comic books -- that corresponds to the various sounds you hear. Try not to think of the objects making these sounds. Describe the noises as best you can using language. Come up with twenty or thirty.

Next take the sequence of your new words and use each of them as verbs in a short story about children playing G.I. Joe, as narrated by one of the children recently "killed" during an imaginary battle.

Get as poetic, nonsensical or political as you like. A combination of all three would be grand!

Send your story to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #61

2011-03-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

For today, call or text your best friend and ask them about the last dream they remember having. Next, do the same with a sibling, cousin or parent. (If you don't have any of those, then another friend will do.)

Consider these dreams alongside your own most recent dream.

Now, think of a real figure that is mutually known to you and both of these people.

Finally, rewrite each dream with the addition of this mutually known person. Try to obey the logic and rhythm of each respective dream, but include this new figure and try to situate them within these worlds.

If you'd like to go further, you could unite all three dreams into a master narrative starring your inserted figure. Your call.

Whatever the result, send it to loganliterary@gmail.com. We sincerely hope (for your sake) that it's less horrifying than this:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #60

2011-03-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

For today, please consider helping us out. You just might end up helping yourself.

See, we pride ourselves on being a writer-friendly publication. We love our writers and admire the tenacity and dedication their work requires.

Because of this sentiment, rejecting work is often painful and always uncomfortable. This is why we need a one-size-fits-all rejection letter that gives the author of each rejected piece a sense of closure. Yes, we could forgo the gesture altogether. Yes, we could certainly write it ourselves; it might be sufficiently sympathetic and encouraging. But wouldn't you rather hear from one of your own?

Please send us a brief rejection letter template. If we receive a real Blue Ribbon piece in response to this assignment, we'll adopt it as our Official Bearer of Bad News, giving the winner credit if she so desires.

This is your chance to craft the rejection letter you never received. What would you have wanted to hear?

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

Lastly, a look at the finest creation of John Kennedy Toole, our patron saint of rejected literature:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #59

2011-03-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

For today, let's a revisit an old LSLRWA favorite.

Consider the following twelve words, listed consecutively on page 635 of Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary:

- embedding
- embellish
- embellishment
- ember
- Ember day
- emberizine
- embezzle
- embiid
- embiotocid
- embitter
- Embla
- emblaze

Your task is to create, without consulting any reference material other than your own mind, a definition for each word.

If you're feeling especially ambitious, go ahead and complete a short story or poem in which each of these words is used as you've defined it.

Send your definition and your work of literature to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #58

2011-03-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

For today, help us salute Jessie Winslow.

Fantastically talented photographer, gifted poet and all around nice person, Ms. Winslow graciously assisted us during our recent fund-raising drive. To express our gratitude, we are dedicating today's writing assignment to her work, which makes its home at http://jessiewinslow.com/.

--- Fun facts: Her great-grandmother played an essential role in inventing Kodachrome film, and was consequently listed in the liner notes for the single version of Paul Simon's song of the same name. Her great-grandfather was a magician who moonlighted as a writer of educational childrens songs, including the original tune for "The Alphabet Song" (though his publishing company deleted several delightful passages during the revision process. But he was not an artist to dwell bitterly on such things.) Quite a creative pedigree. Winslow and her sister, Rachel, previously published a photograph in LSLR #4. -----

So, for today, slowly and carefully take in the following sequence of images, all brilliantly captured by Ms. Winslow's camera:

(our ability to reproduce these splendid images is hampered by our reliance on the blog's templates and capacities. The gorgeous originals can be found here. We apologize to Jessie for the crummy reproductions.)

Now, your job is to construct a short story or poem based on this sequence. Start with the elderly gentleman against the mountains and end your tale at the empty backyard table at sunset. In between, use each image to its fullest narrative potential, and pay careful attention to the emotional shifts (color, distance, texture, etc.) occuring between the photographs. Come up with something magical; something that these pictures deserve.

Send the result to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #57

2011-03-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

For today, imagine your name is J. Whitney and you are an MD who has done extensive research on the state of American well-being. You've been commissioned to write a 2,000-word editorial (to be published in the New York Times) about the federal policies regarding childhood obesity. The catch: your piece has been clandestinely sponsored by British Petroleum, who have been supporting you financially and underwriting your education since you were a toddler. They own you.... as well as the 200 other young professionals they've "sponsored" since the 1970s.

Now, BP is giving you $500,000 to subtly insert their propaganda in your piece without arousing suspicion. This has been their most aggressive demand on you thus far. Be as cunning and evil as possible without blowing your cover.

Send your editorial to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #56

2011-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

For today, we're going to cast off the shackles of propriety and immerse ourselves in the world of surrealist pop culture.

As many of you may have heard, the actor Charlie Sheen (the 5'10" star of Major League 2 and Terminal Velocity) has himself recently cast off the shackles of propriety in a most public fashion. In this media-saturated climate, he's going to need all of the help he can get. And so he is now looking to hire, to the tune of $180,000 per year (plus expenses), a personal Entertainment Czar. You are free to interpret the position however you like.

We are asking you to prepare a resume and cover letter that will convince Mr. Sheen that you are the right person for this job.

Send your materials to loganliterary@gmail.com

DEADLINE FOR ISSUE VI

2011-03-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

The submission deadline for ISSUE VI is TODAY. After 11:59 (CST) tonight we will no longer be accepting submissions for LSLR #6: Spring, 2011. Everything received thereafter will be considered for our summer issue.

So finish that last polish and get your work in before midnight: submissions@loganliterary.com

ISSUE V on sale now!

2011-02-28T11:52:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder, LSLR #5 is currently on sale. Featuring full color images from outstanding local artists. Inside the journal, you'll find a stories of innocence lost, cinematic chicanery, surreal encounters with strangers. Also featuring fantastic local poetry, a personal culinary guide to the neighborhood and an uncomfortably intimate recipe for brownies. And that's not all!

You can pick it up at any of the fine local retailers listed to right of this page as well as through us directly (inquiries to loganliterary@gmail.com)

Dig:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #55

2011-02-24T21:30:00.001-08:00

For today, imagine that reincarnation is very real. Also, imagine we live in a futuristic society in which time travel is possible.

Through a combination of experimental miscalculation and scheduling error, you find yourself in a small, windowless conference room with your five most recent selves. Each self was born the day that the previous incarnation died. You clearly have much to discuss. All of you are informed of this connection prior to entering the room.

The fifteen minute (the technology has yet to be perfected) group exchange culminates in a group hug.

Your job is to transcribe the conversation as best you can.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

RECEPTION!

2011-02-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,

Just a reminder that this coming Tuesday (Feb. 22) we'll be holding our Reception for Issue V at Cole's Bar (2338 N. Milwaukee) from 7-10PM. Come out and commiserate with an impressive collection of writers and artists who contributed to making this our best issue thus far. Check out the latest issue and unwind with an assembly of talented and enthusiastic supporters of community-based publishing!

.... and added to this, a bit of fun and unexpected news: We will be sharing Cole's that evening with 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colon's Election Day Party that night. We wish Ald. Colon the best and encourage all Chicagoans to take part in the future of our city and VOTE.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #54

2011-02-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

For today, imagine you've won an AVN award for "Best Gonzo Release". Your career began as a performer, but you've recently completed a string of increasingly ambitious films as director. You are 32 years old.

Write your acceptance speech in iambic pentameter. Don't leave any of your crew members out of your statement. Make sure it's from the heart, and announce at the end you are going to retire from the industry to join the military.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #53

2011-02-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

For today, imagine the emotional pull of a significant event in your life. Forget about the words and the images. Instead, focus on the inner sensations. Run through the event a few times in your mind.

Now, commit the event to paper using an idiosyncratic asemic writing style. This entails your approximating the general form of letters and words as you write, but the whole piece should be illegible in any language.

For example:

Send the result to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #52

2011-01-31T18:41:00.000-08:00

For today, pretend that a man named Christopher Jensen approaches you in your darkest hour.

Three hours earlier, the government shut down the avant-garde restaurant to which you had dedicated the past decade of your life. After months of surprisingly good attendance rates and a slow climb out of debt, you had just made a name for yourself in the burgeoning Chicago food scene with an eclectic menu, superlative customer service and charmingly warm ambiance. Yet your ex-spouse has a new squeeze, and this venal, ill-tempered person works for the Health Department. Strings are pulled, petty vengeance is swiftly wrought and your place is shut down indefinitely via the ice-cold machinations of a spurned lover and a corrupt wonk.

You mull your deadened future over a case of Natural Light on the front steps outside your mortgaged home. You've just come straight from the restaurant and you can't bear to ascend the stairs and face your significant other with the devastating news.

Enter Christopher Jensen. He is riding a bicycle and has apparently been riding for days nonstop to reach you. He gently asks for some water and a comfortable place to sit before he tells you something important.

After the two of you have settled, he nonchalantly agrees to help you solve your problem(s). You are humbled and a little embarrassed, but eternally grateful. What luck!

Decades pass, and your reopened restaurant has become an international sensation. George Clooney eats there alongside Turkish diplomats and the lady who invented chalkboard paint. They film a bunch of movies there; it's always very difficult to get a table. The whole thing is a dream. The current President of the United States, John Martinez, got his first summer job there as a server while in high school.

All along, one dish stands above the others: The Jensen Special. This is what George Clooney and the Turkish diplomats split after a Blackhawks game. It's a five-course array of culinary delights, exceedingly simple yet unquestionably brilliant in its confluence of flavors and consistencies. It inspires the fifth red star on the Chicago Flag after U.S. and Chinese officials broker a deal for total nuclear disarmament while splitting a Jensen Special.

As your restaurant prepares to serve its millionth Jensen Special, you decide to organize a special appearance by the man himself, but he has pursued a monastic path since your last encounter and is skeptical of making public appearances, especially after his legend has traveled to each corner of the world in light of this most famous meal.

For today, write Christopher Jensen a letter of extreme gratitude. Include reports from several dignitaries, celebrities and regular Chicagoans who have for years enjoyed the wonder that is the Jensen Special. Earnestly plead with him to attend the festivities. Describe the Jensen Special to him, and then elaborate on how this particular combination of foods represents an appropriate salute to the man himself. Ultimately, persuade him to cycle down from his secluded hill on a distant horizon to your restaurant in order to enjoy the millionth dish that bears his name.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #51

2011-01-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

For today, write a three-page rambling monologue, the would-be centerpiece for a prize-winning novel. The scene takes place during a foreclosure auction held to liquidate the assets of a failed commune.

Your character should hit the following targets:

- foods that smell better than they taste
- your character's recent divorce
- a possibly forged manuscript detailing the private fears and fantasies of a North Korean nuclear scientist
- a recurring dream
- a Joan Jett b-side so obscure that your character is the only living person to have heard it
- the election of Barack Obama

Punctuation is optional.

As always, send the results to loganliterary@gmail.com

A GENTLE REQUEST

2011-01-27T12:54:00.001-08:00

Hello All,

As you probably know, we are well into the process of creating Issue V (Winter 2011).

Despite unprecedentedly high sales for Issue IV, we recently experienced an unforeseen financial setback that has made the printing of Issue V precarious, to say the least.

Community-minded folks that we are, we have established a Kickstarter.com project page with the hope of generating enough funds to cover the printing for Issue V.

This should be a one-time operation, as our sales have traditionally been able to subsidize the entire cost of publication. If we raise enough funds to print this issue, the journal's financial state should reach a stabilized point of long-term self-sustainability.

We remain an ardently not-for-profit venture, so you may rest assured that every dime of assistance we receive is committed to putting the best, handsomest publication possible.

We have always relied on you, dear readers, to supply the journal's content. Now, we must rely on you, momentarily, for a different type of support.

ch-ch-ch-check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/loganliterary/the-logan-square-literary-review-issue-v-winter-20

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #50: SOLID GOLD EDITION

2011-01-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

50!

For today, write a playlet about twin sisters turning 50 on February 25, 1950. Each sister will be given 50 lines; each will line consist of 50 syllables.

One sister, however, did not survive the birth. The living twin, in this playlet, is driving along the majority of US Route 50, completing her annual visit to the other sister's gravesite.

She has always felt a cosmic connection with her deceased twin, occasionally lapsing into "inhabitations" during which she assumes the spectral (clairvoyant) identity of her sister.

During these spells, the channeled sister has often spoken of an " indescribably beautiful occurrence that I've seen that will visit you on our fiftieth birthday."

Your playlet will culminate with this event.

Send your work to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #49

2011-01-22T11:11:00.001-08:00

For today, write a short story that could be appropriately titled "Our Conceptions Were Recorded".

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #48

2011-01-16T16:45:00.001-08:00

For today, invent a robotics-themed replacement for each of the following American idioms:

"making a mountain out of a molehill"
"useless as tits on a bull"
"dead as a doornail"
"the grass is always greener"
"put the cart before the horse"

Send them to loganliterary@gmail.com

JOHN WILMES - DEFINITIONS

2011-01-15T08:05:00.001-08:00

[This piece was submitted in a response to Writing Assignment #47]

DEFINITIONS

By John Wilmes

- soapy: the bubbly sensation covering my washing hands daily and sometimes multi-hourly, germs a fear of the still-running mind when i awake unwarranted in the 3 AM winter, making sure that i'm okay and getting my paws all wet and warm.

- soar: high and winged, the sky blue and almost empty, the occasional white around there, too.

- Soares, Raphael: responsible for the invention of the monocle.

- soaring: like when I've told a girl I like her---regardless of whether she likes me back.

- soave: to cut in half, if food, and of a pale hue.

- sob: to be hurt and not realize it until weeks later, the guitar loud through the speakers in your room, your friends having just left, your limbs trembly and your face-skin renewing as the wet stuff pours over it.

- S.O.B.: a red-faced father, trying to make his son red-faced, too.

- sobeit: the shrug of acceptance when a necessary bad happens, like every day if you don't me doing saying so.

- sober: a typing-mooded condition, not for everyone.

- sober-headed: like how i am when i make myself a grilled cheese, cutting the tomatoes and peppers nicely, squarely and slice-like to put them strategically onto the melting dairy nourishment, the bread browning and my head looking to forward to un-bogging as i feel more fibrous and right, fed.

- suberize: to bloat into big, concrete-and-steel something with bodies running circadian through, green flying stacked from their hands into drawers and leather pouches.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #47

2011-01-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

For today, consider the following group of words, which are listed consecutively on page 1,810 of Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (Random House, 1996):

- soapy

- soar

- Soares

- soaring

- soave

- sob

- S.O.B.

- sobeit

- sober

- sober-headed

- suberize

Now, WITHOUT consulting a single reference source, craft a thoughtful definition for each word. Please use only your mind, we're not grading for accuracy.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

PRESENTING THE LSLR READY-MADE INTERVIEW

2011-01-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

[We hope that this project will become a standard feature on the blog and readers will regularly contribute interviews conducted according to these guidelines.]

Instructions [to be followed carefully]: Choose a cooperative person in your life. Present each of the following questions/prompts to your subject without elaboration. Record the full extent of their response. Upon completion, preface the interview with as much biographical detail (name/age/occupation/etc.) as your subject desires.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com.

When and why did you come to Chicago?
At what age did you first fall in love?
What do you read for pleasure?
Name your most essential "only in Chicago" moment/place/person/phenomenon
Are there secrets you have yet to share with another person?
What has been your biggest regret?
Where do you get your news?
What, if any, electronic device would you subtract from modern life?
Would you want to live in an alternate world in which both men and women could naturally bear children?
Describe your single most profound moment of creative inspiration.
Is there anything else you would like to add?

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #46

2011-01-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

For today, in honor of Georges Perec write a short story about the most important object in your life without using any words that contain the letter "e".

If you feel compelled to whine about the assignment's difficulty, remember that Perec composed an entire book using this strategy. Check it out.

We don't have anything against the letter, but it is the most-used in the English language.

Send your story to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #45

2010-12-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

For today, sketch a brief autobiography -- written in the second person -- detailing as many or as few years as you'd like.

Isolate your most influential decisions in your narrative and reimagine the story, using these choices as pivot points in a choose-your-own-adventure story.

We imagine that you are all familiar with the genre, but just in case:

At decisive moments within your narrative, the reader will be given two or more optional paths to follow. If they choose Option 1, they turn to page X. If they choose Option 2 (or 3, 4, whatever), they turn to page Y. The pages will dole out the alternate consequences of each respective choice and continue the narrative along a new, unique route.

An example:

You thank Jeremy for listening after you describe how awful and exhausting it was having to commit your sister Meredith and first-cousin Becky on the same day to two institutions fifteen miles apart. You tell him that you love him a totally hetero way. He pauses and looks down. In this moment, you dwell in the profound, quiet comfort of being understood. No more words are necessary. You put your cigarette out in Mrs. Cofield's long-dead potted plant and resettle into your fraying lawn chair. Jeremy turns to you and, in what seems like mere fractions of a second, leans in to kiss you.

In response, you.....

1) ....reluctantly accept a brief kiss with no tongue and terminate the friendship slowly over the next two weeks. Page 345.
2) ...passionately explore the kiss, and fall into the sublime tailspin of an intense affair. Page 190.
3) ...refuse the gesture outright and utter a litany of homophobic slurs. Page 64.
4) ...start coughing and excuse yourself to the bathroom. Page 32.
5) ...politely inform him that he must have misunderstood and that you don't share his feelings, but, even so, you're still BFFs. Page 2

..... and then you write corresponding results for each of the choices.

Sounds fun, right?!

While we don't consider ourselves qualified to tell you how to write, we will suggest that imagining options far outside of your perceived comfort zone might yield the best results.

Send your multitude of potential lives to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #44

2010-12-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

For today, completely forget every bit of historical or religious background concerning Christmas. Everything: Jesus, Germanic paganism, fourth century Greek saints, Saturnalia, and all the rest. Forget it all.

But let's preserve the exhibition. Keep in your mind the tree, the lights, the jolly fat guy with presents, the wrapping paper, the cards, the stockings, the calendar date, the mistletoe, the nog, the red and green everything, the candy canes, and anything else that comes to mind.

Now, your job is to come up with a Definitive Grand Unified Story of Christmas. All the details, from the red and green lights to the jolly fat guy and the egg nog should be folded into one completely original story, set wherever and whenever you'd like -- but give Western civilization enough time to adopt the celebration in a natural manner. Make it magical, make it sensible, or combine the two. We don't care. Try to include as many elements as you can without devolving into incoherence. Pull everything together into a happy holiday bow of explanation. Your Christmas gift to humankind will be a fresh start regarding the historiographical confusion and philosophical apprehension surrounding "the most wonderful time of the year". Get at it.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #43

2010-12-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

For today, indulge us as we try to class the joint up a bit.

First, devote your entire attention to this heartwrenching aria from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro:

Next, write suitable words to accompany the scene. Suit your words to the facial expressions and gesticulations of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. The lone stipulation: assume she is not singing about romance.

Essentially, you need to create a string of words that is somehow worthy of consideration alongside the music of Mozart.

You're good enough for this.

Do it.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #42

2010-12-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

For today, write a brief dialogue piece (little to no action cues, please) concerning a lovers' quarrel. Some household appliance provoked the dispute, which escalates to brutal violence. All other details are yours to decide.

Now separate the comments of each character (you'll need to remember which is which, so labeling them in some fashion will be helpful). Now, take the dialogue for Character #1 and feed it, line by line, into an internet translator. Convert it into a non-Western language. Choose a different internet translator (they are legion) and different non-Western language for the dialogue of Character #2.

Next, convert Character #1's dialogue back into English using yet another translator. Do the same for Character #2.

Finally, use these new strands of dialogue to reconstitute the sequence of the original piece. Lastly, take a moment to recognize how impossible the task would have been without the internet.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #41

2010-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

For today, craft a detailed Wikipedia entry for the sadly forgotten Swedish anarchist Lev Nyksson. He was the 19th century man who almost single-handedly brought a grand reception for the Stockholm Merchant's Association to its knees using a troupe of black-market circus animals and a network of well-placed explosives. A literary man, Nyksson finished fourteen novels and three books of verse before falling in with a group of Scandinavian radicals that helped him formulate his plan. He is also notorious in Sweden for claiming several well-known inventions as his own. Among these: the motion picture, the automated sewing machine, the grammar of Esperanto, the modern chimney, and the waffle iron.

Do some research and help create a place within our collective memory for this complicated and neglected historical figure.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #40

2010-12-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

For today, write a short story (maybe 600 words or so, but feel free to go over) about a plucky teenaged dragon named Ifans, who lives in a fantastical world of delight and magic and perpetual sunshine. He really loves garlic and was born with a noticeably weak breath of fire. You can imagine the hostility of his peer group regarding this last eccentricity.

So.... take your finished story and crack open your thesaurus. Sentence by sentence, replace each action verb attributable to Ifans with another verb taken from the thesaurus entry for the original word. Pick the most far-reaching, barely-synonymous entry for the best results.

Now you have a new, vaguely off-putting, story. Cheers!

BONUS ASSIGNMENT:

Take your post-Thesaurus roster of new verbs and use each of them sequentially in a story of similar length detailing an hour-long adventure of Tom Nichols, an account supervisor for Pensacola & Kollecki Business Machines, LTD. Today is the day he hopes to coax the Turkish government into severing its ties with IBM in order to sign up with P&K. It is the most important pitch of his life.

Send both stories (or just the one) to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #39.5

2010-12-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

BONUS ASSIGNMENT! (thanks to a major bummer in the world of music.)

Captain Beefheart died today. In honor of the legendary weirdo's passing, write a surreal piece of short fiction including the line "I'm gonna take up with a mermaid, and leave you land-lubbin' women alone." (a lyric from the Beefheart gem "Grow Fins".)

Fans of The Big Lebowski probably know this track better.

Send your tale to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #39

2010-12-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

For today, make your least favorite person (with whom you've actually had contact) into an unequivocably flawless superhero. Write a brief adventure for this superhero, who is admired the world over for his/her perfection. They don't need to have tights and the whole bit, but they must be a Hero to billions, and they cannot be merely concealing their imperfections and doubts from an adoring public. End your tale with a large group of assembled persons smiling in unison.

grudgingly send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #38

2010-12-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

For today, let's dig deep:

First, sit down with a sharpened pencil and at least 10 sheets of unlined paper.

Next, write a brief story (250-500 words) detailing your doings between waking up and eating lunch earlier today.

Then, sit for a few minutes and try to think of something other than words and writing.

After your mind has settled, take the next piece of paper and begin writing with great speed in a stream-of-conscious-style. Begin by describing what went on internally while you were crafting the brief story about your morning. From there, go wherever your hand takes you without lifting your pencil from the paper for a significant (more than a few seconds) period of time. Write until you run out of paper.

Finally, take the final product and scan and e-mail it to loganliterary@gmail.com

(We're aware this may seem a convoluted exercise, but the results should be worth it.)

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #37

2010-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

For today, write the bibliography for a short manual titled "More Effective Micromanagement: A Beginner's Guide."

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

As a refresher:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #36

2010-12-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

For today, set a two-character short story within a local art gallery. Food-processing company Kraft Foods has offered to purchase a new 12'x18' painting provocatively titled "Giant Corporations Have Ruined Our Digestive Tracts: We Ought to Be Angry (!!!)" Your story will feature the gallery owner and the artist, lifelong friends, ruminating over the ethical dynamics of the deal.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #35

2010-11-29T13:46:00.001-08:00

For today, translate your favorite English-language poem into wingdings.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

THE SERPENT'S CUPCAKES - a recipe by Sarina Liri

2010-11-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

THE SERPENT'S CUPCAKES

Җ

by Sarina Liri

Җ

It's a satanic twist on an old party favorite! My stupendously dotty great-aunt, Jennifer Kleven, claimed to have served these during Anton LaVey's first Magic Circle gatherings in the mid-sixties. Several relatives have since confirmed that Jen (now deceased) was indeed romantically linked at the time to LaVey's personal tailor, Harris Burton, though no evidence beyond an autographed copy of The Satanic Bible ever emerged to verify her involvement with the Church of Satan. All the same, Jen insisted that these cupcakes grew increasingly popular with LaVey's disciples, eventually becoming a fixture at Satanic wedding receptions as well as wakes and purification ceremonies. Among the devil-worshipers, as Jen never tired of jovially reminding our (otherwise traditional) Roman Catholic family, these cupcakes "were bigger than Jesus."

INGREDIENTS for MEATLOAF CUPCAKES

1 lb. / ground beef

1 lb. / ground pork

1 cup / chopped fresh basil

2 cups / panko bread crumbs

2 / eggs

2 cloves / minced garlic

1 / diced small onion

1 cup / milk

24 thin slices / prosciutto

1/2 lb. / bleu cheese

1 tsp. / salt

INGREDIENTS for CANDIED SWEET POTATO PUREE

4 tbsp. / butter

2 tbsp. / dark brown sugar

2 / sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed

1 tsp. / salt

1 cup / heavy cream

1 / diced jalapeno

DIRECTIONS

Boil potatoes until they become mushy. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar and simmer for two minutes. Next, add potatoes and salt, mashing the mixture in the pan. Stir in cream and continue to mash. If necessary, place mixture in processor or blender and puree thoroughly.

Bountifully grease cupcake tin with butter. Line the circumference of each compartment with a slice of prosciutto. If you have extra prosciutto, you can also line the bottom of each compartment, though this is not strictly necessary.

With your hands, thoroughly combine the pork and beef with the eggs and milk in a large mixing bowl. Gradually fold in panko, basil, garlic and onion. Ideally, these ingredients should be evenly distributed throughout the loaf.

Ball the loaf into cupcake-sized segments. Break your bleu cheese into nuggets about the size of gumballs. Bury a morsel of cheese in the center of each miniloaf. Place cakes in pan compartments. The listed amounts should yield between 26-30 cupcakes. Bake trays at 350 for 35 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

The prosciutto lining and miniloaves should fuse while baking, but remove each cake from the pan carefully. Using a pastry bag -- if you're careful, a knife can suffice -- top each cake with generous swirls of your candied puree. Garnish each cake with a few bits of finely chopped jalapeno.

You now have a delectable batch of prosciutto-wrapped meatloaf cupcakes, each with a cheesy center and topped with candied sweet potato frosting and jalapeno sprinkles. Hail Satan!

Sarina Liri is an Avondale-based personal trainer, failed restaurateur and avid meatloaf enthusiast. She dreams of returning to school for a degree in hospitality management. She posts anonymous LostBuffy fanfiction all over the internets. and

HEY LETTER 729 - a poem by John Selzner

2010-11-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

[Note: In the course of soliciting submissions on Craigslist and other online spaces, we receive an influx of spam in our mailbox. Rather than delete all of these bits, we've decided to commit a few toward honest work. We forwarded a particularly incoherent e-mail from "Miles" to our friend JD Selzner and told him to fashion from it something useful. He replied with the following poem. - PD]

HEY LETTER 729
Between Miles and C.R. Darwin

by John Drake Selzner

Җ

Two pieces of correspondence, each possessed by the same rarefied air of discovery. They've here been interlaced nearly line by line. The resulting profundities concerning technology and progress seemed at times eerily forethought. Idiosyncrasies of spelling and grammar have, in both cases, been preserved precisely. I consider myself more the discoverer of this conversation, rather than its author. - JDS

Let’s be honest with each other...
Besides a general interest about the Southern lands, I have been now ever since my return engaged in a very presumptuous work &which I know no one individual who wd not say a very foolish one.
Are you sick and tired of not getting traffic and making money online?
I was so struck with distribution of Galapagos organisms &c &c with the character of the American fossil mammifers, &c &c that I determined to collect blindly every sort of fact, which cd bear any way on what are species.

Are you sick and tired of trying every rehashed *old school* technique?
I have reaped heaps of agricultural & horticultural books, & have never ceased collecting facts --
Are you sick and tired of hoping *THIS* could work?
At last gleams of light have come, & I am almost convinced
Well ... for once I couldn't agree with you more.
- (quite contrary to opinion I started with)
So far starters this is what you need to do.
-that species are not
DON'T think anything ...
-(it is like confessing a murder)
Don't think about Google, Yahoo or MSN
Immutable.
Don't think about banner ads, social bookmarking, social networking, Facebook, Adwords, SEO, bloggi ng, article writing...
Heaven forfend me from Larmarck

Forget *EVERYTHING* that has come your way until now.
of a "tendency to progression" "adaptations from the slow willing of animals" &c, -
It's a time for a change!!
But the conclusions I am led to are not widely different from his-
I'm going to show you how to get a lot of traffic and make money online WITHOUT Google.
Though the means of change are wholly so-
YES!! Don't sound alarmed. I'm going to prove it to you.
I think I have found out
By now you must have realized getting traffic from Google just means ...
(here's presumption!)
Stress, more stress and then some MORE stress. Wouldn't you agree?

The simple way by which species become more exquisitely adapted to various ends.
How frustrated are you lately?

You will now groan, & think to yourself 'on what a man have I been wasting my time in writing to.'
In recession, endless bills to pay, loans piling up, job's a nightmare and the money ... well that's the BIGGEST problem...
I shd five years ago, have thought so. -
... and for years, that's exactly what happened to Mo Latif

I fear you will also groan at the length of this letter
For four long years ... that's 48 months, 1,461 days, 35,064 hours or 2,103,840 minutes...
Excuse me, I did not begin with malice prepense.
... and I bet, now he's glad he's out of that tortuorous cycle.

Believe me my dear Sir
But that's not all ... he wasted over $100,000 learning how to get instant traffic. That's $2,083 every month spent on learning.

Very truly your's
We don't have that kind of time or that kind of money lying around, as I know I surely don't!
Regards

John Drake Selzner is a native of Oak Park, Illinois. He is currently pursuing an MFA from Northwestern University. He has previously published poetry in Help Quarterly and Read Words! Review. He cites John Cale's lyrics, the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the cinema of Luis Bunuel as his primary literary influences. He is currently working on a "biography in verse" exploring the life of painter Francis Bacon. He lives in Logan Square with his fiancee, Brenna, and their dog, Jasper Johns. This is his first work composed on a computer.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #34

2010-11-25T09:28:00.000-08:00

For today, compose a work of free verse. Each line should contain at least one split infinitive, but you'll get bonus points for three or more per line.

We're taking back basic grammar. (Happy Thanksgiving.)

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

RECEPTION FOR ISSUE IV

2010-11-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

When: Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. 7-10PM. (The last day of the last full month of fall.... yup, we made it by the skin of our teeth.)

Where: Cole's Bar (2338 N. Milwaukee)

What: RECEPTION for LSLR #4: Autumn 2010

We'll have issues of the journal for sale alongside t-shirts and buttons and friendly smiles. Come support a great, exceedingly supportive local venue and a burgeoning local venture.

Bring your friends (21+), your cousins, your parents, your landlord, your barber, your librarian, your 4th grade English teacher or anybody else who'd enjoy a good time with a good read among great people in a great venue.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #33

2010-11-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

For today, you're given the potentially grisly task of detailing a day in the life of Terminator, one of Michael Vick's favorite fighting dogs. Terminator was present during the police raid on Vick's estate, and remains the record-holder for victories at Bad Newz Kennels. Your job is to describe his life, assuming his perspective, as it is today, a few years after his fighting career was abruptly ended. It'd be great if you'd give him a happy ending (it's looking like his former owner is getting one), but we understand if you want to cast the story in an entirely tragic (and probably more realistic) light.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #32

2010-11-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

For today, set a short story in a single-bed motel room over the course of three hours. You have five characters. Each has, at one point or another, slept with each of the others. Two are currently in a long-term relationship with one another. One has recently escaped from prison. Three are former members of the same erotic dance ensemble. One of them has a knife. Four of them are current members of the same fringe political organization. There is vomit in the toilet and blood on the bathroom tile. They are not ghosts or the alternate personalities of a mentally disturbed person.

This is not a comedy.

Send your story to: loganliterary@gmail.com

ISSUE IV IS NOW AVAILABLE! NOW!

2010-11-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

LSLR IV: AUTUMN 2010 is NOW AVAILABLE at these FINE RETAILERS:

Quimby's Bookstore
1854 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL (Wicker Park)

Wolfbait & B-Girls
3131 West Logan Boulevard (Logan Square)

Myopic Books
1564 North Milwaukee Avenue (Wicker Park)

G-Mart Comics
2641 North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, IL (Logan Square)

Also available on this very website: look for the Paypal button to your right ----------->

The pieces in this month's issue transport you to Nicaragua, the inner sanctum of a failing marriage, Abu Ghraib, Chicago's city corners, the top of a Ferris wheel, and a Logan Square rooftop.

A very sincere thanks to all of our contributors. A very talented group.

Details on our reception to be announced shortly....... stay with us.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #31

2010-11-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

For today..... write a last will and testament for a long-running (this detail is key) character in children's literature/television/film/entertainment.

Where will his or her money go? What shall be done with his or her likeness? What revelatory acknowledgments could be made only after death? What reflections might this character have on its creator? Regrets?

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #30

2010-11-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

For today, write a 200-word proposal for a brand new social networking site. Be careful to distinguish it from competitors. Describe in detail what the user will experience after joining. You'll need some sort of hook.

This might be your last opportunity to submit a proposal to a wealthy investor. Your inheritance is running perilously low. You dropped out of Stanford. You simply can't afford to fuck this up.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #29

2010-11-05T08:26:00.001-07:00

For today, imagine a new beauty/hygiene product called "IMALGINUS" as its being developed by Procter and Gamble.

You work in P&G's design department, and it's fallen on you to draft copy for IMALGINUS' label. They pay you a lot of money to do this. You love the work. You're the best they've got. In the past you've drafted award-winning labels for PHELLONI, SCOREX, MELLA, HERBENTA, ALTEGIN and SUTUQ.

For IMALGINUS, you must cover a few bases with your label:

1. Directions for use.
2. What to do if ingestion.
3. Possible side effects.
4. A description of what results the consumer may expect after using IMALGINUS for X number of days.
5. A brief description of your exotic ingredients

.... but feel free to add whatever other content you think may be helpful in persuading consumers to give it a try. Also, feel free to propose a list of potential spokesman or spokeswomen.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #28

2010-11-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

For today, write an autobiographical history (from birth to present) using only pronouns, verbs and articles.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #27

2010-10-30T10:35:00.001-07:00

For today, write a short newspaper obituary for a musician, aged 27 years, recently found dead in a hotel room.

Morbid, yes.... but there might be room in there for pathos, bathos and historical/cultural analysis.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #26

2010-10-27T07:59:00.001-07:00

For today, briefly interview a public/historical/famous person with whom you share a hometown or birthplace.

Send us your interview: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #25 (SILVER EDITION!)

2010-10-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Wow.

This is our 25th Writing Assignment! Can y'all believe it?! Neither can we! Yet, over the course of 24 previous assignments, we've received exactly one response. Timothy Charles Baker, you are an example for everyone.

Step up your game, people. This shit (most of the time) isn't really that hard.

Okay. For today, imagine yourself as mentally disturbed and struggling through painful cognitive-behavioral therapy. You believe that you've been married to former pop singer Debbie Gibson or roots rocker John Cougar Mellencamp (depending on your orientation) for 25 years.

As part of your therapy, your doctors instruct you, on this day, your 25th anniversary with Debbie or John, to write her or him a letter declaring that it needs to end in order for you to regain your sanity.

Be delicate. You're dissolving a quarter decade of bliss.

Send it to loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #24

2010-10-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

For today, imagine yourself as the newly appointed editor of a journal dedicated to the world of backyard wrestling.

Create a name for your journal. Then, write your mission statement (50 words) along with an Editor's Introduction.

Avoid irony.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #23

2010-10-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

For today, imagine a society of European academics known by the acronym J.I.M.M.Y.B.R.E.A.K.F.A.S.T. Create a plausible full name for the group using those initials as a guide.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #22

2010-10-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

For today, send us a writing assignment of your own design. We will respond to all so long as your prompts can be completed in a reasonable span of time.

Bring it.

Send us your assignment: loganliterary@gmail.com

Timothy Charles Baker - THE 'HOT BLOODED' APPEAL OF GLENN BECK

2010-10-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

A monumental occasion in the life of the LSLR:

After 21 tries, we've managed to snare our first response to a writing assignment. Let this be an inspiration to every one of you. These assignments are not just editorial wankery.

In response to WRITING ASSIGNMENT #20:

The 'Hot Blooded' Appeal of Glenn Beck
(based on the Foreigner song, "Hot Blooded.")

by Timothy Charles Baker

Well, I'm hot blooded, check it and see
My name is Chip Beck and I’m a neo-Nazi
Come on Barack, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded

You don't have to read my mind, to know what I have in mind
Barack you oughta know
Now you move so fine, let me lay it on the line
I wanna know what you're doin' after the mid-term’s votes are no

Now it's up to you, we can make a secret rendezvous
Just me and you, I'll show you hatin' like you never knew

That's why, I'm hot blooded, check it and see
My name is Chip Beck and I’m a neo-Nazi
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, hot blooded

If it feels alright, maybe you can debate with me all night
Shall I leave you my key?
But you've got to give me a sign, come on boy, some kind of sign
Tell me, are you hot Barack? you sure look that way to me

Are you man enough? will you be ready when I call your bluff?
Is my timing right? did you save your hate for me tonight?

Yeah I'm hot blooded, check it and see
Feel the hatred burning inside of me
Come on Barack, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded, I'm hot

Now it's up to you, can we make a secret rendezvous?
Oh, before we do, you'll have to get away from you know who

Well, I'm hot blooded, check it and see
My name is Chip Beck and I’m a neo-Nazi
Come on Barack, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded

Hot blooded, every night
Hot blooded, you're looking so white
Hot blooded, now you're driving me wild
Hot blooded, I'm so hot for you, child
Hot blooded, I'm a little bit high
Hot blooded, you're a little bit fly
Hot blooded, you're making me sing
Hot blooded, for your sweet sweet thing

DEADLINE FOR ISSUE IV SUBMISSIONS IS TOMORROW

2010-09-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

We've received a fantastic crop of submissions, but we're always eager for more, so please submit your.........

..................for our next issue. The deadline is tomorrow, September 30th.

We're also looking for artwork!

Please submit. We all owe it to ourselves.

Thanks,

The Editors

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #21

2010-09-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

For today, write a letter to the family members of the liquor store owner whom you murdered in the early 1990's. Now that you've been locked up for about 20 years (of a life sentence), it's time to reach out to your victims and express your thoughts on the crime.

Fill in whatever details you like, but be specific. Don't hold anything back. Pretend it's your only chance to contact them.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #20

2010-09-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

For today, rewrite the lyrics to a popular American song (your choice) so that they explain the appeal of Glenn Beck.

Send to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #19

2010-09-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

For today, let's pretend that we're inhabiting a future earth that, due to some gravitational disturbance, has a 13-month calendar year.

Your mission is to create an astrological sign for this 13th month, with a complete list of attributes and pairings with other signs and whatever else is important to have in a viable symbol like that.

For inspiration, check out Harvey Sid Fisher's Astrology Songs.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #18

2010-09-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

For today, turn the following passage into an anagram:

"McMahan’s analysis, if examined carefully and closely, may well have merit. But only a few percent of society has the thinking ability to look closely at philosophical questions."

You can delete up to 12 letters if need be, but the fewer you delete, the more greatly you will be rewarded. An anagram is a rearrangement of letters to produce an entirely different word/phrase/sentence/poem.

Send your anagram to: loganliterary@gmail.com

As an example:

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #17

2010-09-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

For today, write a tragic one-act play incorporating the following elements:

- A 19th Century setting
- Eight sisters
- A hand mirror that reveals how one's face will appear in exactly 32 months.
- An eavesdropping stable boy
- A gently used chamber pot
- A coarsely used chamber pot
- A stunning revelation
- Kepler's laws of planetary motion

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #16

2010-09-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

For today, pretend you are the estranged parent of an 11-year old child. This child is of the same sex as you, but lives with your former partner (who is of the opposite sex [sorry for the heteronormativity, but it's required for the exercise to work]). Distance prevents you from seeing the child regularly, but the relationship is generally warm, though not without its awkwardness.

The distance has the somewhat paradoxical effect of leading the child to trust you with the questions he/she has with regards to sexuality. Specifically, the child has recently been hearing about masturbation on the school bus from an untrustworthy source. Wikipedia explains the act clinically, but the child needs to hear from a parent what kind of social and moral implications this thing has. The child feels embarrassed broaching the subject with their opposite-sex parent, and, lacking mentors or helpful relatives, reaches out to you for guidance.

Basically, write your child a heartfelt letter in which you tell them what they need to know about this crucial experience.

Send the letter to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #15

2010-09-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

For today, vividly describe your own scent (as it is after 30 hours without bathing) using over 250 words. Please use complete sentences.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #14

2010-09-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

For today, write an open letter to Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the current head of Mexico's Juarez Drug Cartel. He has directly or indirectly been involved in over 1,000 deaths and is still at large.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #13

2010-09-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

For today, list the material items that you're comfortable possessing in amounts greater than 100. Make sure to list items that barely missed the cut as well.

For example: Books, DVDs, Shoes, Pez Dispensers, Family Photos, Beers, Pints of Ice Cream, etc.

Send your list to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #12

2010-09-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

For today, craft a haiku about the final moments of your most recent failed relationship.

Quick Reminder: A haiku (as written by Western elementary students) is a poem of three lines, the first and last containing five syllables, the middle containing seven.

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #11

2010-09-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

For today, write a sight-unseen, 150-word capsule review for Randall Brannis' new novel "Moneyed Worship."

Send it to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #10

2010-09-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Let’s imagine ourselves at a gala publishing event in 45 years. The soiree is being held in honor of “Miles and Miles: The Miley Cyrus Story,” which is former teen pop/movie star and current Defense Secretary Miley Cyrus’ eagerly-anticipated autobiography. Easily the publishing event of the year, insofar as print publishing still exists in 45 years.

The events of September 4, 2010 occur on page 213 of this 678 page book.

For today, send the contents of page 581 and 582 to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #9

2010-09-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

For today, carefully name each member of this family and describe the occasion that led to this photo.

Send your findings to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #8

2010-09-08T21:18:00.001-07:00

A word-game/thought-experiment classic:

Scientists identify an advanced race of alien beings on a distant planet. They are unaware of our existence, and seem to have developed both similarly destructive weaponry and significant milestones of art and thought. Basically, they’re close to us in many respects, but there are many question marks.

In less than 200 words, introduce the human race to these beings.

Send your message to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #7

2010-09-08T21:16:00.001-07:00

Complete the following question from an AP Civics course:

32) Between 1980 and 1999, several _____________________________________. Who/What was ________________________________?

a) “Ah, but she’s pure brick and hate, Clifton. Ain’t another type of surgery that’ll put Dolores back together.”

b) Bernard Trummler, chief fundraiser for Bob Dole’s failed Presidential campaign.

c) British Knights Sneakers.

d) Boise-based grungers Strained Stool.

e) The continued deregulation of advertising aimed at children.

….Send us a version of the question that somehow justified this group of answers: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #6

2010-09-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Put your pen where your mouth is:

Write a carefully worded, logically sound law that you’d want to see enacted by Chicago’s legislature. Make the city better; be wary of loopholes.

Submit your bill to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #5

2010-09-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Pretend you’ve been given a say in the matter and write to us with a detailed description of how you’d want to die.

Send your death wish to: loganliterary@gmail.com

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #4

2010-09-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

For today, create your own Catholic Saint. Give this canonized individual a holiday, a name, a patronage, special powers, a grand history and/or a series of idiosyncrasies. Make sure he/she is worthy of extreme veneration by millions of Catholics worldwide.

Send us your saint: loganliterary@gmail.com