Prominent Authors Read Censored Works to Benefit ACLU at Public House Theatre

ThirdCoastReview.com (3CR) and Kill Your Darlings (KYD) Live Lit present CENSORED! We Read Banned Books: An ACLU Benefit to raise money for ACLU Illinois and to conclude the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom's Banned Books Week, an annual celebration to support "the freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular" (www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks). In two acts, prominent local authors will read from famously banned books. Censored music will also be featured, and local booksellers, including 826CHI, Haymarket, Belt Magazine and Publishing, will host tables in the lobby. The Public House Theatre has generously donated the venue space.

The event will take place on Monday, October 2, 2017, 7-9 p.m. The first Monday in October was chosen to coincide with the new session of the Supreme Court, the judicial line of defense for the American Constitution's First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The Public House Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60613; full service bar. Free Clark Street parking (no Cubs game); CTA busses; Sheridan Red Line.

Tickets are Pay-what-you-can at the door; $10 minimum suggested. Pre-sale at 773-230-4770; http://thepubtheatre.com - net proceeds benefit ACLU IL.

Patrons can pre-purchase event tickets and/or just make a donation in these amounts: $10; $35; or $50.

Scheduled readers include Northwestern University's Bill Savage, Juan Martinez and Ignatius Valentine Aloysius; SAIC's Ruth Margraff; UIC's Mary Anne Mohanraj; former DePaul professor Ada Cheng; journalists Paul Dailing and Andrew Huff, whose Gapers Block site was the precursor to 3CR; ACLU of Illinois' Director of Communications Ed Yohnka; as well as 3CR's Editor Nancy Bishop, Literature Editor Emma Terhaar and Calendar Editor Julian Ramirez, and the evening's curator and emcee Karin McKie. Aloysius (on electric guitar) and Margraff (on accordion) will provide interstitial music.

Slated selections include Lolita, The Member of the Wedding, Persepolis, Tropic of Cancer, Lord of the Flies, Huck Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird.