Author: D. A. Hosek

  • New poem: Chicago Sonnet #26

    New poem: Chicago Sonnet #26

    My poem Chicago Sonnet #26 is out in the newest issue of Rat’s Ass Review. This is a rare bit of reported poetry in that I went out and talked briefly to one of the people in a homeless encampment (not the one that’s in the poem though) wondering how he ended up living in…

  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Gregory the Great

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Gregory the Great

    I had commented recently that it seemed like there was an inverse relationship between how traditional a church’s architecture was and how traditional the liturgy was. St Gregory the Great apparently decided that they should prove me wrong. I think probably the biggest indicator of traditional liturgy is the presence of lace: Lace mantillas on…

  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Giles

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Giles

    Saint Giles is my home parish, I guess. I’m actually registered elsewhere in Oak Park, but this is the parish where I do music, although for the Mass that’s held in the church hall or gymnasium, not actually in the main church. St Giles himself was a hermit who lived in the woods with his…

  • Writerly resolutions: August status

    Writerly resolutions: August status

    My writing progress this month has been, to be honest, pretty miserable. A week on vacation with my kids plus a week of being sick have led to almost no progress. That said, I did finish a workshoppable draft of a new story plus of a chapter of the novel that’s been in progress most…

  • Upcoming reading: Friday, 5 September, Chicago

    Upcoming reading: Friday, 5 September, Chicago

    I will be reading at the After Hours 25th anniversary celebration/issue 50 release party on Friday, 5 September at RLM Studio, 4042 N. Pulaski. Ste 1, Chicago. The event begins at 6p and runs until 8.30. Featured readers for the evening are poets Simone Muench, Virginia Bell and Molly Sturdevant. I’ll be reading my poem from…

  • A visit with my younger self: 20 September 1998

    A visit with my younger self: 20 September 1998

    I still had some plans for my epic poem about the selection of the mayor of Chicago at this point, apparently: For “the king is dead”: white selects its kingly candidate with a poker game (seven card stud, no doubt). [illegible] Theͯ déck iͯs cút, men círcleͯ aͯroúnd.Fiͯftý-twͯo cárds [illegible] foͯr thé choͯice óf a…

  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Monica

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Monica

    The normal tradition in the Catholic church is that saints are commemorated on the anniversary of their deaths, which makes the fact that the feasts of Saint Monica and her son Saint Augustine occupy consecutive days seem a bit suspect, although apparently, the day was shifted from May in 1969 so it’s not merely coincidence…

  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: St Mary of Częstochowa

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: St Mary of Częstochowa

    The icon of St Mary of Częstochowa¹ is one of a number of black Madonnas, showing both Mary and Jesus with dark skin. Tradition says that it was painted by the evangelist Luke and rediscovered by St Helena during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem, although there is no attestation of its existence before the fourteenth century.…

  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage (a day late): Saint Patricia

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage (a day late): Saint Patricia

    Saint Patricia is an early saint about whom little is known and much is contradictory. She apparently appealed to Pope Liberius to be allowed to become a nun to escape a marriage arranged by Emperor Constans II and was granted her wish after which she distributed her personal wealth to the poor. Later, she attempted…