MFA Fiction Alumnus Ignatius Valentine Aloysius Shares Insights on His Work as a Reading Series Curator
Sunday Salon Chicago is an affable twenty-year-old literary reading series, confident of its identity and clear about the company it keeps and attracts. As its current host and curator, I often see this successful series (aka SuSa) as an embodiment of something tangible that grows, gets hungry, stumbles, wants sleep, and demands attention.
But I’m proud of what I do to keep SuSa functioning and healthy. First, some context: SuSa was started in New York City by Nita Noveno. Her MFA classmate, Melanie Faranello, ran the first readings in Chicago at the Charleston Bar in Bucktown with author Michael Zapata. Over time, both moved on and other volunteers took over, including the SPS MA and MFA program’s faculty director Christine Sneed. The series always had two or three curators to share the workload. I now manage SuSa on my own. There will doubtless be others.
What unfolds: SuSa takes place at Roscoe Books (an independent bookstore in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago). Readings were once held at the Riverview Tavern, a few blocks east (near the Paulina stop on the CTA’s Brown Line). Each reading features three to five traditionally published authors of prose and poetry (with the exception being self-published books). The reading lineup aims for a perfect blend of literary genres, genders, and persons of color, and the lineup could change depending on the availability of confirmed authors, when they cannot participate. In which case, I’ll reach out to authors on the waitlist. Authors with new books will make first contact through SuSa’s website (www.sundaysalon-chicago.com), via email, or via recommendations, and I’ll reach out to authors, too. Guest readers return a year or more later when they can.
Starting each January, readings happen on the last Sunday of every other month (January, March, etc.). I make date adjustments for standout holidays, with no readings in December. I also hold Zoom readings in the in-between months (February, April, etc.) to make space for out-of-town authors who can’t attend in person. When doable, I reserve August for Pop-Up readings with local organizations, like Rhino Poetry and Hypertext Magazine.
For each month’s reading, I welcome the group of readers with an initial email, requesting materials (author bio and image, book cover pics, ISBNs, website URLs and social media handles), after which I begin designing the poster, update the SuSa website, create the MailChimp eBlast, begin posting on social media sites, and send relevant ISBNs to Roscoe Books for preorder. Readings begin at 7 p.m. and the event generally ends after 8 p.m., followed by book sales and signings. We take photos, socialize. It’s a fun time for all! The physical challenges for running and funding SuSa remain, but the rewards are plenty. Everybody wins! I’m happy to contribute my efforts to SuSa as it continues its long tradition as a leading curated reading series in Chicago, a city with its vibrant and active literary community. Come join us!
(SuSa lineup from September 2024.)