Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind

By: Vicki Quade Trade paperback

$20.00

Journalist/Playwright Vicki Quade’s stories about everyday people she meets in her hometown of Chicago.

Author

Vicki Quade

Vicki Quade has written and produced a lot of theater in Chicago, including comedies, bluegrass musicals, improv, and magic. She is best known for co-creating the one-woman show, Late Nite Catechism, which opened in 1993 in Chicago and holds the record for the longest running religious comedy not only in Chicago’s theater history, but also off-Broadway in New York. She created four other religious comedies: Put the Nuns in Charge! (a look at modern sins), Sunday School Cinema (a look at religion & Hollywood), Saints & Sinners (about church fundraising schemes) and a holiday show, Mother Superior’s Ho-Ho-Holy Night. She... Read More

“I love observational journalism. When a writer simply listens and watches, and interprets a story through their senses. Chicagoan Vicki Quade is that kind of writer. She beautifully captures the small nuances of movement and conversation that make Chicago what it is—a city of people, a city of neighborhoods, and a city of a million stories, big and small.”

— Tracy Baim, publisher, Chicago Reader
“Vicki Quade is a Chicago treasure with an abiding curiosity about the world around her, and sprinkled among these fly-on-the-wall stories are some valuable tips on things to see and experiences to have in our great city.”

Will Clinger, Producer and Host of WILD TRAVELS, a TV show that airs nationally on PBS.

Summary

For years, Chicagoan Vicki Quade has been telling stories as a journalist, playwright, theater producer, and performer. So it’s not surprising she has a way of connecting with quirky characters during mundane, everyday occurrences.

Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind is a compilation of those stories, examining the lives that brush past her on city streets, in banks, at the grocery store or in restaurants. With a sharp wit and empathetic skill, Quade colorfully recreates brief scenarios that range from the comic to the bizarre to the dangerous – and all are unique to the spirit of the Windy City.

Reviews

“Call Vicki Quade the anti-quotidian. There is nothing ‘everyday’ about her experiences, her interactions and especially her keen, well reported observations. She is an oddity magnet. More odd things unfurl before her on almost every outing than happen to most of us in a season–funny things, sad things, sometimes even dangerous things, or just plain odd things. That’s in part because she is a hyper-curious buttinsky, often launching conversations with strangers our mothers warned us against, emerging with priceless stories and anecdotes. You will find yourself amazed, amused or just drop your jaw but it’s all true. I swear it is.”

Don Rose, veteran political consultant, Chicago journalist, food writer, jazz aficionado.
“Like the best Chicago journalists from Mike Royko to Rick Kogan, Vicki Quade takes us into the surprising lives of the people whose paths cross ours in parking lots, banks, parks, hotels, dark alleys, and in memories. All the while, we get glimpses of Vicki herself, a Chicago phenomenon with a heart as big as the former Sears Tower or, as we Chi-town folks now call it, ‘The Big Willy.’”

--Lori Andrews is an expert in law and technology, and author of 14 books including Immunity, a Dr. Alexandra Blake novel.
“I love observational journalism. When a writer simply listens and watches, and interprets a story through their senses. Chicagoan Vicki Quade is that kind of writer. She beautifully captures the small nuances of movement and conversation that make Chicago what it is—a city of people, a city of neighborhoods, and a city of a million stories, big and small.”

— Tracy Baim, publisher, Chicago Reader
“If one were to put Vicki Quade’s book into a time capsule, the lucky discoverers would learn more about human behavior than poring over a century’s worth of academic research. In a relaxed conversational tone, this pre-pandemic chronicler of warts-and-all everyday encounters navigates across a city populated by Seinfeld- and Lanford Wilson-esque characters capable of absurdly enlightening wisdom.”

Lucia Mauro, former Chicago theater/dance critic & arts writer
“Vicki Quade is a Chicago treasure with an abiding curiosity about the world around her, and sprinkled among these fly-on-the-wall stories are some valuable tips on things to see and experiences to have in our great city.”

Will Clinger, Producer and Host of WILD TRAVELS, a TV show that airs nationally on PBS.
“Vicki Quade takes you back to a time when human interactions meant something, where being on the street and stopping to chat was an event, and listening was an art unto itself. These vignettes are literary gems, taking the ordinary lives of others and showing us how extraordinary we all are. Vicki writes with humor, and a deft poignancy that allows us to revel in the everyday moments of our lives. I truly enjoyed this book–it is a respite of reflection during the current period of information overload.”

Jay Paul Deratany, Chicago human rights lawyer, writer, and filmmaker.
“Vicki Quade’s new book reminds me of Martin Buber’s quote which was always a favorite of mine: All real living is meeting. Anyone who loves or wants to know Chicago will enjoy Vicki’s keen humor and vivid memories. They invite us to find new ways to live and laugh, especially during this pandemic isolation. Maybe it will encourage some to write their own memories of human encounters!”

Sister Patricia Crowley, O.S.B., Benedictine Sisters of Chicago

Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind

Author

Vicki Quade

Summary

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