CCLaP

Greetings, if this is your first time to the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography; my name is Jason Pettus, CCLaP's Executive Director, and I welcome you. I thought I would take a moment, for all of you who are new, to explain exactly what the center is all about, and what exactly we do. This information is also laid out all pretty-like in a PDF brochure, for those who would prefer reading it that way; simply right-click on this link and choose "Save Link As..." to your hard drive.

CCLaP's mission is to connect underground artists of outstanding quality with the audience eagerly seeking these artists; we do this by maintaining a uniquely personal relationship not only with our artists but with our audience as well. It's to both groups that we seek advice, project ideas, tips on who to feature, even hosts of our live events, workshops and clubs. And instead of maintaining separate membership and artist-development programs, CCLaP combines the two into one, bringing both artists and patrons together in not only a professional but social way.

CCLaP's specific list of products and services can be broken down into the dozens, but roughly fall under one of the following groups:

Live events: Those we usually charge an admission fee for, unless otherwise noted. Includes the weekly CCLaP Slam; monthly CCLaP Showcases; monthly CCLaP Sessions; as well as special events. All events, unless otherwise noted, are $3 for the general public, free for both Members and Fellows.

Creative work: A growing collection of artistic work on display, made by both Members and Fellows of CCLaP, as well as fans and audience members. This collection will also be turned into merchandise, starting later this year, that will be sold online and in general gift stores in the Chicago area; it is the main way our for-profit center plans on paying our bills.

Community events: Those that are usually free to the general public, unless otherwise noted, most also organized and run by our Members and Fellows. Includes workshops on both artistic and business issues; a series of discussion and hobbyist clubs; an entire series of intelligent family events; as well as our special "CCLaP After Dark" series, specifically for those over the age of 21.

CCLaP Online: Special online features we offer only at our website. Includes a regularly-updated podcast; an ever-growing collection of frequently asked questions; a collection of over 30 RSS feeds; as well as a special section called the Sandbox, where artistic work is released under a special Creative Commons license, for other artists around the world to use legally in "mash-ups." This section will also eventually include the "Cafe Network," a new social network CCLaP will sponsor, linking visual artists with the cafes and other retail spaces in Chicago that feature artists, as well as the audience looking for both these artists and venues. It will also eventually include a wiki, maintained by our Members and Fellows, entitled "The CCLaP Guide to Being a Self-Sustaining Artist."

Publications: Starting early in 2007, there will also be a publications section to the CCLaP website, where you will not only be able to download the latest eBooks for free, but also directly order and pay for our latest paper books, to be FedExed or mailed straight to your home. (CCLaP is currently seeking a publications intern for the 2007 winter semester; to get an early jump, contact us now.)

Regular events start in September 2006; CCLaP is currently hosting a series of special one-time events throughout the summer. To learn more about any of these products or services, please click on their category in the sidebar menu.

I'm happy to announce that CCLaP has its newest Fellow -- Scott Ridgway, a writer and visual artist in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Scott and I have known each other for a few years now, in fact; I'm a fan of his work, and am glad he's decided to get involved with the center. And as mentioned below, Scott is also the organizer and host of a fun new poetry open mic in Rogers Park, every Friday evening at a place called Ennui Cafe; I'm going to be trying to make this week's event myself, in fact, and will post photos and an audio report from it here on Monday if I do.

To qualify for our free Fellowship program, Scott has ended up giving CCLaP the right to publish several great pieces of his, both stories and visual work; we'll be posting that material here to the website, then, slowly over the coming months. (Scott's first poem will be appearing tomorrow, in fact.) Don't forget, Scott now has his own HTML page here at our site, for those who are fans of his and would like to track his work and news, as well as his own RSS feed for those who would like future entries delivered in real time. This is but two of the many free benefits we offer all CCLaP Fellows, along with free admission to all our events, a free t-shirt, the opportunity to organize and run events through the center, and much more.

Below is Scott's official bio; and then in a couple of days Scott will also be writing a guest entry here at the website, concerning what kinds of creative work he's into and what things at CCLaP he is most interested in. Welcome, Scott; the center is glad to have you aboard.

John Scott Ridgway was born in 1962 in Garrett, Indiana. At seventeen, after reading On The Road, he started traveling, living in Dallas, San Francisco, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bowling Green and Toledo, Ohio, and, finally, Chicago -- where he continued his studies after four years at The University of Toledo, attending Depaul, Columbia College, and Northeastern Illinois University, following a twelve-year education program that was laid out for him by the Beat poet Joel Lipman, an early mentor. He has published various short stories, edited the underground magazine Hypen, written for two television shows, and runs readings in the Rogers Park Community at Ennui Cafe, as well as writing his popular blogs, The Elves Attic and The Psycho Killer's Shit list. He has two published books: One War -- a novel that utilizes his classes in Military Intelligence to explore some of the dark underbelly of the real CIA, and his philosophy major to explain Wittgenstein's relevance to brainwashing and media manipulation by the Intelligence Community; and The Religious Psycho Killer's Shit List, a compilation of comedy and short stories.

Last night I got a chance to attend the weekly reading series at Cafe Ennui, in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, organized and hosted by CCLaP Fellow Scott Ridgway. I had a lot of fun, as a matter of fact, so thought I'd post a few photos from the event here at the site as well, plus a five-minute audio recording I did with Scott after the show. If the computer/device you're on has Flash Player, you should be seeing a little box above where you can listen to the audio right now; or you can right-click here to download the MP3 file. Remember, we post MP3s here in an open format; you can convert them to whatever format works best for you, own multiple copies, and transfer from one device to another.

I love going out to artistic events here in the city, and love doing little reports about them here at the site; if you'd like to let me and the CCLaP community know about yours, please feel free to add our email address (cclapcenter at gmail dot com) to your organization's mailing list.

I'm pleased to announce that CCLaP has its newest Fellow - it's Kathryn O'Halloran, our first international Fellow, joining us all the way from Melbourne, Australia. Kathryn and I go way back, as a matter of fact; she's been a participant in many of the projects I've put together over the years, all the way back to a lit mag I used to run in the '90s called seven stories. Kathryn is an immensely entertaining and talented writer, and I think you're going to enjoy reading her work here at the site over the coming months as much as I will.

Don't forget, Kathryn now has her own HTML page here at our site, for those who would like to track just the latest concerning her life, work and creative projects; as well as her own RSS feed, for those who would like future news about Kathryn delivered in real time. These are benefits we offer all our Fellows, along with free admission to all our events (or in Kathryn's case, free copies of our first 10 paper books, starting in 2007), the opportunity to run events in Chicago on CCLaP's dime if they want, increased opportunities to publish and tour, and a lot more. Working artists who are interested can learn more and start the application process here.

Below is Kathryn's bio; and then in a couple of days, we'll be publishing the first of the stories she's donated to the center, in return for receiving her Fellowship. Thanks for becoming a Fellow, Kathryn; I hope you have an enjoyable experience here because of it.

Kathryn O'Halloran is a writer living in Melbourne, Australia. Her chequered work history includes time as a phone psychic, a mystery shopper, a community television star, a maker of psychedelic fake fur handbags and wielding a machete on a vegetable production line. She currently ekes out a living, working in IT by day and writing at night. Okay, lets be honest, she writes by day and pretends to do IT work most of the time (intercepted with web surfing and spider solitaire).

Kathryn was once told to write what she knows; despite that, she now writes erotica. She finds the research gruelling but she goes at it with guts and determination. Currently she's working on her first novel -- a spicy chick lit adventure. So far it's taken over two years and she's not sure when it will finally be done. In between times, she has edited an erotic fiction webzine and sometimes writes short stories which have been published in places like Clean Sheets and various Australian journals. Her greatest literary achievement to date is winning a huge bundle of sex toys in a short story competition.

I'm very happy to announce that a Chicago writer named Daniel X. O'Neil has decided to become CCLaP's newest Fellow. And I'm very happy about this, of course, because this now officially brings the full cycle of the underground arts in my life into unity; Daniel, in fact, was the one who ultimately convinced me to self-publish my very first novel, way back in the mid-'90s when my literary career was just starting. I am a great admirer of Daniel, not only his artistic work but also how he conducts himself as a creative professional; needless to say that I'm very glad he's decided to get involved with the center.

Don't forget that Daniel now has his own HTML page, as well as RSS feed, for those who would like to track just his specific work here at the site. This is a free service we offer all Fellows, in fact; we appreciate you letting us publish some of your work here, in order to build awareness for our upcoming paid-admission events, and want to try to offer as many benefits as we can afford, to say thanks.

Here is Daniel's official bio, by the way:

"Daniel X. O'Neil is a poet and performer born in Pittsburgh, PA. Economics is his third book, following BRICKS: A New Book of Poems and Memo To All Employees. He has been continuously employed as an internet consultant since 1998. He buys things on sale whenever possible. He used to be a paralegal. The Chicago Bulls basketball team is personally responsible for at least 8 of the top 50 moments of his life. He teaches poetry in the schools, see poetryandtechnology.com for more. His two favorite people in the world are, by coincidence, the only two he's helped make: CXO, (4 & 1/2), and CJO, (2 & 1/2). They are parishoners at Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Chicago."

And then when I asked Daniel for some casual thoughts on the type of artistic work he's most into, he replied:

"I'm into 'derivative works,' which I practice here and define here; and basically is manifest in found poetry, internet collage and copy/paste crookery as seen here. Bottom line: we own our own experience and re-expressions of copyrighted work."

Right on, Daniel; once again, glad to have you on-board.

(Click the above image to see a larger [700-pixel] version.)

I'm happy to announce that CCLaP has its newest Fellow; it's Chicago-based visual artist and fashion designer Brian Heiser. Brian and I met at a local cafe where he works, through mutual friends of ours; I'm a big fan of his work, and am sure you will be as well. Don't forget, Brian has his own category page here at the site now, a central page where you'll be able to find all the latest news and work by him; he also has his own RSS feed, for those who would like to get the latest from him delivered in real time. This is a benefit we give to all Fellows, in fact, along with free admission to all our live events (or copies of our first ten books, for those who live out of town); those who are interested can click here to learn all the details.

I asked Brian if he would give us a few thoughts on the subject of art and creativity; here's what he had to say...

"Art is visual, something different, abstract, or unharmed. To define yourself as an artist is somewhat indifferent; everyone is an artist in and of themselves. It's the people who see things in an obscure way, making an environment look completely different in which no one else could see makes them specific in that understanding. People everyday say that they themselves are artists, but when in fact they are just replications of what someone else did, but I guess that could be defined as art as well. I don't want to pronounce myself in those limited terms, but I want my visual ideas to be out there for people to view. What I see in the world is raw and the naturalness thereof can be beautiful, through that I am inspired and use it to an advantage. I appreciate small simple things and with that my inspiration flows. I have no prerequisites to show for, all I have is myself. Simply look, take in, like or dislike. But in the end remember we are all the same, just some see things a little differently and through that art is made."

Well put! Brian's donated quite a bit of work to CCLaP, by the way, over 20 photographs altogether; we'll be slowly getting that work posted here to the site over the next few months. Thanks again for joining, Brian, and I hope you enjoy your Fellow experience.