Author Archives: Roger Wright

Tribute to Marvin Isley Continue reading →

30 times in 30 years they moved. Raymond Chandler and his wife Cissy. The story is from “The Long Embrace”—author Judith Freeman’s brilliant journey to know the Chandlers. Each time, packing up to head out to another apartment somewhere in … Continue reading →

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When Paul McCartney accepts the Gershwin Award in the East Wing of the White House, Aunt Terri Hemmert won’t be on the stage. But for thousands upon thousands of Chicagoans of a certain age she’ll be right up there in … Continue reading →

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That is oil on the wings of the dragonfly. Gulf breezes blow in like they always have. And the ghosts of Faulkner and Walker Percy and Thomas Wolfe just weep. Beyond blame and politics and really bad ideas. The dragonfly … Continue reading →

As Justice Sandra Day O’Conner walked out on to the green grass of Wrigley Field in Chicago on a cool May night and handed baseballs to the circle of umpires, she told them to be fair. And coming from her. … Continue reading →

The first report of his death left out the crayons. On a gray Saturday morning in May, the man ran out of the CVS drug store in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood with a stolen tube of toothpaste and was killed … Continue reading →

“And you are? . . . . .” asked the first of what looked like many receptionists standing guard on the outer reaches of the Oval Office of President Barack Obama. It was raining hard in Washington DC. I didn’t … Continue reading →

When they circled the chain link fence around the old brown ramshackle house across the street, a preparation for the demolition to come, I could still hear Brother Bones whistling “Sweet Georgia Brown,” and remember that mixture of laughter and … Continue reading →