Reading And Dancing At The Hideout

By Betsy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 12, 2010 9:00PM

Tomorrow night, music meets literature meets dance party at Chicago Translation, a collaborative reading event hosted by local publications Another Chicago Magazine, Requited Journal and Artifice Magazine. The event focuses on the idea of translating Chicago experiences and creating meaning from familiar Chicago spaces. Readings start at 10 p.m. and music and video from Magical Beautiful then DJ Kevin Smith will follow.

Plenty of small presses and literary journals across the city are publishing more and more experimental art and literature. “Lately, there are more and more opportunities to read a variety of unique, innovative work--work that might be considered less traditional or mainstream,” said Amanda Marbais from Requited Journal, one of the publications hosting the event. “I would even say it's a good time for work that experiments with form and narrative and for writing that is perceived as hybrid.”

But one small indie press can only do so much. We see collaborative events like Chicago Translation as key for exposure of both the publications themselves and the work inside. When one indie press hangs out with another indie press and invites everybody to hang out too, a lot of conversations and connections can happen that wouldn’t have otherwise. And when they throw music and video into the mix, a wider variety of artists will be part of the conversation.

Chicago Translation is Friday, August 13, at The Hideout, 354 W Wabansia Ave., 10 p.m., $10 via TicketWeb, 21+