Chicago's Bohemian Pupil Press Debuts Multi-Media Literary Picture Show South Side Trilogy 7/23

South Side Chicago writer John Hospodka and his Bohemian Pupil Press will publically launch the free on-line, multi-media “literary picture show” South Side Trilogy at www.bohemianpupil.com, featuring a collection of fictional works which also utilizes sound and images. The public is asked to click in to read and experience the internet content, then purchase a PDF of the text (available to the media on request), and/or other items in support of the site, if desired.  Hospodka defines the “literary picture show” as a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound, images, and a sequence of literary techniques, giving the illusion of continuous movement.

Chicago artists contributing to the project include Mierka Girten, A Red Orchid Theatre ensemble member and founder of Mookie Jam Foundation, performing "That One Sentence" in Book I’s Hardscrabble Monologues; veteran Chicago actor Nicholas Cimino performing "Mr. Man Monologue #4" in Hardscrabble Monologues; Steven Badauskas, self-taught artist and owner of Bridgeport’s 40-year family-owned institution Bernice’s Tavern, rendered the character portraits within Hardscrabble Monologues; The Additives, Bridgeport-based band headed by Joe Ryan, "Looking Out" is the soundtrack within Book I’s "Soliloquy at Hi-Fi;" Eric Winzenried, LA-based actor and leader of LA-based Winzenried aka Hollywood Drunks, is Sonny Kidd in Book II’s The Basement Tape; Eric Smith, Chicago artist, illustrated Book III’s An Epitaph Grows Out of Hardscrabble; and Jimbo-Delta, Bridgeport-based Jim Parks’ "There's No Wrong Way To Go," the soundtrack within the Postscript’s "Ain't Here to Apologize."  

A third-generation Chicago Bohemian, Hospodka’s grandfather, Rudolph Hospodka, arrived in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood from Caslav, Czechoslovakia, and his grandmother Caroline Matias’ family played a role in the founding of the Bohemian National Cemetery.  Hospodka was inspired to name his publishing venture Bohemian Pupil after his father’s pride in, and stories of, being a true Bohemian, and having a Bohemian sensibility.  His motto – Publishing for the Clear-Sighted Imbiber – is Hospodka’s nod to the intellectual and creative vibrancy of the traditionally eloquent Bohemian pilsner session.  He selected July 23, 2009, as the public launch date to bring attention to the Chicago Bohemian experience, and three dates in July that have significantly shaped this experience, which has in turn informed Hospodka and Bohemian Pupil (outlined below).

Chicago Bohemian Dates of Note:

July 24, 1915, Eastland Disaster - hundreds of victims of this tragedy were Bohemian and are buried in Bohemian National Cemetery.

July 25, 1876, Marie Silhanek’s death, which forced the Bohemian Freethinkers of Chicago to found the Bohemian National Cemetery.

July 26, 1877, Battle of the Viaduct - during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, the federal government marched the 22nd Infantry to 16th and Halsted Streets in the then Bohemian neighborhood of Pilsen, where they beat and killed 30 area laborers, also injuring 200 (including women and children), many of them Bohemians.

Praise for South Side Trilogy:

In 2004, Hospodka released an early edition paperback version of South Side Trilogy (Greetings from Hardscrabble, Chicago) Book I, which received these accolades (copies are available on request):

“John Hospodka’s work is passionate, strong and true. Here is a powerful new voice from Chicago's hardscrabble South Side. I only wish Nelson Algren were alive to read and encourage Hospodka. He's clearly a chip off the old Algren block. Watch this guy. Read this guy.”  John Callaway, host “Friday Night” on WTTW TV11

“Hospodka is my favorite kind of artist: unapologetic. He bangs out both the unsavory and the sweet with the fervor of a country preacher.”  Tracy Letts, playwright, August: Osage County

“Hospodka’s work crackles with verbal energy and city-street smarts. John Hospodka’s collection of poems and prose sketches is full of surprises and wise turns. A favorite piece is the elegant ‘Hotel Hardscrabble.’ Get in early on the first work of this intriguing new writer.”  G.E. Murray, poet, Arts of a Cold Sun

Born in 1966, Hospodka was raised in Roselle, IL, and educated at Ohio Wesleyan University. A former columnist for the Chicago web magazine Gapers Block, his writings have appeared in such indie venues as Retort Magazine, decomP, and Barfly. A 20-year resident of Chicago, Hospodka and his wife have called Chicago's south side neighborhood Bridgeport home since 1999.  “My Kind of Paranoia, Chicago Is,” a feature article about his formulation of Bohemian Pupil Press and the genesis of South Side Trilogy is available on request.

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