Reading Under the Influence Gets Slutty

By Betsy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 2, 2010 7:30PM

We’ll be the first to admit we have trouble keeping track of all the reading series that happen regularly across Chicago. But the theme for this month’s Reading Under the Influence series, which just celebrated its fifth anniversary, sounds so provocative and enticing, we couldn’t possibly forget to put it on our calendar. All local writers and authors at tonight’s RUI will be reading work about “Sluts!” We assume the trivia questions will also be slut-related, but we aren’t sure about the prizes.

On the first Wednesday of each month, a handful of regular and guest writers gather at Sheffield’s to read both their own original work and a few lines from famous authors. All work must relate to the theme of the month. Sometimes the theme is a bit vague (such as “Openings” or “Envy”), and sometimes it’s more specific (“Snow and Whiskey.”) Did we mention the theme this month is “Sluts!”? And true to the series’ name, there is drinking. The folks behind the podium take shots before and after they read, although the shots don’t necessarily have to be alcoholic.

Tonight’s readers are Gina Frangello, author of Slut Lullabies, Zoe Zolbrod, author of Currency, and local writers Josh Alletto and Charlie Vlahogiannis.

RUI: Sluts!, Sheffield’s, 3258 N. Sheffield Ave, 7 p.m.., $3