Poetic justice
Kenneth Clarke, executive director of the Poetry Center, can now add record producer to his list of credentials. reVerse, a collaboration between Clarke and poet Richard Fammeree, is an intersection of poems, songs and poem-songs. "There are a lot of artistic talents who don't have the same opportunities as those on the coasts," says Clarke, whose idea was to introduce a range of emerging local poets and musicians along with established artists. The first volume features such heavyweights as Lou Reed, Li-young Lee and former Poet Laureate Mark Strand and was engineered by Wilco's Mikael Jorgensen, who contributed music for a couple of tracks. "Both [poetry and music] are separate institutions, but this blurs some boundary lines," says Clarke. "There isn't really a place for this in either industry." reVerse vol. 1 is available now at cdbaby.com.

Cerreal
If you believe in cereal's potential to satisfy at all hours, then Chicago will soon be your mecca. Buried at the end of a front-page(!) story in Sunday's New York Times was this nugget: Cereality, the first ever cereal-bar/café, has plans to open two franchises here at still-undisclosed locations in the near future. The café, which began life as a 200-foot prototype kiosk at Arizona State University, recently opened its first sit-down café in Philadelphia. The premise behind the restaurant stresses a simple motto, "all cereal, all day, all ways." The décor mimics this informality, promising a "Seinfeld-esque" kitchen setting (Seinfeld was a cereal enthusiast if there ever was one) featuring kitchen cabinets stocked with over thirty choices of cereal. As for neologisms, Cereality promises not servers but "cereologists" (note: already trademarked) and, rest assured, they'll be wearing pajamas. The most popular order is called "What's in YOUR bowl?" (also trademarked), which consists of two full cups of whatever cereals you want, plus a topping and milk, served in a signature Cereality bucket, all for under $3. Wilfred Brimley would be proud.

(2004-11-17)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment