Lit Be A Lady: Women Of The Word At Printers Row

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 7, 2013 1:30PM

This coming weekend’s Printers Row Lit Fest has lit junkies high on story anticipation. One of the many celebrations of the written word will include some of Chicago’s most talented storytelling mavens. Megan Stielstra, Kelsie Huff, Samantha Irby, Dana Norris, and Jen Bosworth will each perform a short reading of a personal tale, hitting that full range live lit crowds clamor for from vulnerable to hilarious to truth-telling. After they share, Jen Bosworth will moderate a discussion with this creative clan and they’ll tell how they got involved, what being a woman in the arts means to them, and why it’s important that they perform as well as write.

Megan Stielstra, literary director at 2nd Story, shared her thoughts on her companions on the bill, “I saw Dana at Guts & Glory, Jen at Write Club, Kelsie at The Kate's, Sam at The Paper Machete and was like, 'Oh my god. She just killed it. She KILLED it. If I want to pitch in her league, I have to go home and work harder, climb higher.' That’s the kind of art I want to see. The kind that challenges me to be better myself - better writer, better teacher, better human being on this planet. Also, they're all sexy as hell.”

And there it is, brains and beauty on a Saturday afternoon. Head out to the Printers Row Lit Fest this weekend, listen to and read tales that amaze, and maybe even share a few of your own.

Women of the Word: Megan Stielstra, Kelsie Huff, Samantha Irby, Dana Norris is Saturday, June 8, at the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest, 2 p.m., advance tickets are sold out

By: Jill Howe