Who’s Writing What in Chicago
Three Chicago connections - female authors - earn places on our bookshelf this month
NewsLady by Carole Simpson
Starting in Chicago is what former broadcast journalist Carole Simpson describes as the best thing that could have happened to her. Why? Because it’s a great news town. “It continues to be a great news town,” she says. “You have Blagojevich for god’s sake!” Ms. Simpson’s 40-year career in broadcast journalism, including her start in Chicago, is documented in her new memoir NewsLady.
Ms. Simpson holds claim to many “firsts” for both women and minorities, including the first woman to broadcast radio news in Chicago when she was at WCFL, the first black woman to anchor a newscast for a major network while she was working for the local NBC affiliate, and, in 1992, the first woman and minority to moderate a presidential debate. Throughout her career in Chicago and beyond, she has covered major news events including the 1968 Democratic National Convention, parts of Martin Luther King Jr.’s northern campaign and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.
“I didn’t come from a small town with little small stories,” reflects Ms. Simpson. “I came from a big town with big time stories. I could go anywhere. I was comfortable covering anything after my experiences in Chicago.”
Ms. Simpson’s Chicago roots, she says, equipped her with everything from people skills to a “desirable” Midwestern accent to an understanding of racism and prejudice. From challenges she faced in her career to juggling life as a journalist and mother, from working to move more women and minorities into executive positions to feeling the need to have plastic surgery to maintain her position, Ms. Simspon covers it all.
By Cheryl Waity
Chicago Comedy: A Fairly Serious History by Margaret Hicks
Chicago comedy has a history, and although many people believe it starts with the building of Second City, Margaret Hicks, author of Chicago Comedy: A Fairly Serious History, points out that there was much more before that.
“Even the name of our city is an inside joke,” she says. Chicago is a French rendering of an indigenous word for “smelly, wild onion” and, she claims, rightfully deserved that name when first founded.
In Chicago Comedy, Ms. Hicks gives a quick overview of one of the city’s greatest attributes: the ability to tell a joke. She also gives credit to the various women who’ve played significant roles in building the strong history, such as Elaine May, who played a key role in making improv a vital part of Chicago’s comedy scene.
“This is a woman in the ‘50s, but everyone wanted to be onstage with her,” says Ms. Hicks. Fran Bailey from the televised puppet show, Kukla and Ollie, and Tina Fey, a Second City alum, are also highlighted in her book.
It’s a book dedicated to everyone who loves Chicago, the author says.
And anyone who loves a good laugh.
By Vanessa Valentin
How Would You Like Your World Today? by Hermene Hartman
It’s a woman’s book. At least that’s how Hermene Hartman categorizes her new book, How Would You like Your World Today? She wrote the collection of poems for friends and family; each poem represents a different, personal situation.
“They are about the people you have known,” Ms. Hartman, founder and publisher of N’DIGO newspaper, says. “The various experiences in your life. Those poems are observations.”
Although she’s been writing poetry for years, it wasn’t until she was cleaning out her desk files that she came across them all at once.
“As I went through them, I saw a book.” she says. Encouraged by friends, Ms. Hartman decided it was time to share her heartfelt words, which she had written as birthday cards, love letters and even in support of friends’ events.
For Pamela, for example, captures the Grant Park celebration of Barack Obama’s win in the presidential election and was written for a pottery event her friend held in Mr. Obama’s honor. The title poem (one of Ms. Hartman’s personal favorites) was conceived during her holiday shopping, as she looked for something to give her father and uncle.
Though she says that men have also found the book intriguing, Ms. Hartman admits it’s originally for women.
“It’s for women who have been barefoot in love,” she says.
By Vanessa Valentin. Pictured: Carole Simpson.
Tagged as: books, Hermene Hartman and Margaret Hicks
