One Book, One Chicago - The Coast of Chicago - Further Reading

One Book, One Chicago Spring 2004

Brass Knuckles (poems)
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1979
Childhood and Other Neighborhoods (short stories)
Viking, 1980
The Coast of Chicago (short stories)
Knopf, 1990; published with six selections from Childhood and Other Neighborhoods, Faber, 1991
I Sailed with Magellan
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003
Streets in Their Own Ink
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Fall 2004

Dybek’s works also appear in various anthologies, including The Ploughshares Reader: New Fiction for the ’80s, Prize Stories 1985/The O. Henry Awards and Our Working Lives: Short Stories of People and Work. He is also a contributor to literary journals and periodicals, including Antaeus, Antioch Review, Atlantic Monthly, Chicago Review, New Yorker, North American Review, Paris Review, Ploughshares and Poetry.

Web Resources

Ploughshares: The Literary Journal at Emerson College
Provides brief biographical information, as well as a link to the edition he edited and a list of articles by or about Dybek that have appeared in Ploughshares over the years.

An Interview with Stuart Dybek
By James Plath
1991
This interview, conducted by James Plath, appeared in The Cream City Review in 1991. It focuses on the elements and practice of writing.

Michigan Writer’s Series—Stuart Dybek
2003
Offers sound clips of Dybek’s April 2003 visit to the Michigan Writer’s Series, a program at Michigan State University recognizing the work of important writers who live and/or work in Michigan. Includes a 20-minute interview, approximately 30 minutes of Dybek reading from his own work and an audience question-and-answer session.

“Pet Milk”
2002
Visit Chicago Public Radio’s (91.5 FM) Stories on Stage Audio Library to listen to “Pet Milk” read by Mike Nussbaum and directed by Steve Scott. Originally broadcast November 23, 2002.

For Kids and Teens:

Big City Cool: Short Stories About Urban Youth
Edited by M. Jerry Weiss and Helen S. Weiss
Persea Books, 2002 (Ages 12 and up)
Fourteen fantastic authors have contributed stories to this great collection about the heaven and heartaches of growing up surrounded by skyscrapers and sirens.

Cuba 15
By Nancy Osa
Delacorte, 2003 (Ages 11-16)
Chicagoan Violet Paz, who is half-Polish and half-Cuban, describes her family, school and budding romantic life as she makes plans for her quinceañero with her grandmother and, in the process, learns more about herself and her heritage.

DeShawn Days
By Tony Medina, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Lee & Low, 2001 (Ages 7-10)
This poetic romp through a boy’s exciting and diverse life in the big city is accompanied by brilliant and joyful urban illustrations.

The Education of Robert Nifkin
By Daniel Pinkwater
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998 (Ages 12 and up)
In his application to St. Leon’s College, Robert recounts his hilarious high school experiences in 1950s Chicago.

Finding My Hat
By John Son
Orchard, 2003 (Ages 11 and up)
From a windy Chicago street to the far corners of the country, Jin-Han and his Korean family search for a place in America where they belong.

The Journey
By Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001 (Ages 5-10)
Hannah, an Amish girl on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the city, fills her diary with comparisons of her Chicago experiences and memories of home.

The Mysterious Cases of Mr. Pin
By Mary Elise Monsell
Atheneum, 1989 (Ages 7-10)
This is the first of many books you can enjoy about a gumshoe penguin who moves from the South Pole to Chicago to solve mysteries.

Sahara Special
By Esmé Raji Codell
Hyperion, 2003 (Ages 9-13)
Sometimes it takes a special teacher, like Miss Pointy, to show you just how special you are, as this Chicago story by a local author points out.

The Windy City Mystery
By Gertrude Chandler Warner
Albert Whitman, 1998 (Ages 9-13)
In this entry in the popular “Boxcar Children” series, the Aldens stumble across a very mysterious treasure hunt that leads them across Chicago in search of clues.