Books

The Aloe of Evening by John Knoepfle. Indian Paintbrush Poets, 2015. In his 23rd book of poetry, Springfield poet John Knoepfle uses his voice – customarily cagey and perhaps even more intimate than usual – to deliver quietly crucial insights about what it is to be a thoughtful nonagenarian in the U.S. in the 21st […]

On the Rez and Other Stories by Barbara Wyatt Olson. AuthorHouse Publishing, 2015. Springfield author Barbara Wyatt Olson has completed her first short fiction collection. On the Rez and Other Stories is an anthology populated with ordinary people whose struggles stay with you long after you’ve finished reading about them. Previous to this latest work, […]

Before the Ivy: The Cubs’ Golden Age in Pre-Wrigley Chicago, by Laurent Pernot. University of Illinois Press, 198 pages. In the interest of journalistic disclosure, I confess that I am not a Chicago Cubs fan. Indeed those who know me understand that if there were a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for baseball […]

Lincoln and the Jews: A History, by Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell.Thomas Dunne Books, 2015. In the weeks preceding the controversial speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint session of Congress, Jewish Americans once again faced the dilemma of dual loyalties to the United States and Israel. It is a deeply […]

Rock Island Lines, by Dean Klinkenberg. Published by Travel Passages, 2014. 258 pages. Rock Island Lines, by Dean Klinkenberg. Published by Travel Passages, 2014. 258 pages. Reading mystery novels on a regular basis brings to mind the observation that “it’s not the wand that pulls the rabbit out of the hat, it’s the magic of […]

Only One Thing Can Save Us: Why America Needs a New Kind of Labor Movement, by Thomas Geoghegan. The New Press, 2014. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first six weeks in office have been an interesting time for Illinois citizens wondering what the next four years portend. His first formal appearance before the Illinois legislature, the State […]

This rainbow trout, in a mural by artist Julie Huvey, is enjoying coffee and the scent of lilies at the Trout Lily Cafe. The painting graces the cover of Tuesday Mornings at the Trout Lily Café, by John Knoepfle. A benign rainbow trout sits comfortably – as best a trout can – before its coffee […]

Jacqueline Jackson is professor emeritus of English at the University of Illinois Springfield where she specialized in teaching creative writing. Her poems appear weekly in Illinois Times. The Round Barn: Volume Three. Beloit City Press, 475 pp. $24.95 Upon finishing volume three of The Round Barn, a Biography of an American Farm, I am envious. […]

Widow, by Martha Miller. Bold Strokes Press, 2014. With Widow, her sixth book, Springfield novelist Martha Miller has created a page-turning mystery, suspenseful and moving. When Judge Bertha Brannon’s significant other, Toni, a police officer, is murdered in a shootout, Bertha must deal not only with her grief, but with a growing number of questions. […]

The Good News Chair: A simple tool for shaping a child’s positive behavior and self-image, by Harriet Arkley, published April 29, 2014. Available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Village Books. The author of The Good News Chair, and her granddaughter. PHOTO OF HARRIET ARKLEY COURTESY DOUG BASCAN PHOTOGRAPHY Many people in central Illinois will […]

Dr. Rosina Neginsky in her Paris apartment. PHOTO BY BORIS GESSEL Some philosophers and psychologists think we are “hardwired for beauty”: it “inspires and motivates us.” Rosina Neginsky has spent her lifetime learning about, experiencing and understanding beauty, and the role of beauty in reflecting the values of cultures across time and across political and […]