Rhymes on the Range
Baxter Black heads the cowboy poet pack. Recognized by the New York Times as “the best-selling poet of all time,” Black has made a name for himself through successful forays into various fields—as a rancher, a writer, and a radio host. He appears as part of the Poetry Center’s 32nd Annual Reading Series at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Ballroom (112 S. Michigan Ave.) on April 13th at 6:30 p.m. (Visit the Web site for tickets, $20, members free.) Although he spends much of his time on the road—both writing books and touring to promote them—his heart is at home on the range. Black spoke to us from his Arizona ranch about his poetry, his cattle, and the life of a cowboy entertainer.

Marquee: You write poetry, books, and a weekly syndicated column; have your own radio show; are a commentator for National Public Radio; and make appearances across the country—how do you fit it all in?
Baxter Black: I also have two children, a few cows, and a company with one, two, three, four, five full-time employees. And that’s not counting my wife. . . . We just keep the wheels rolling. We’re always working on something, we’re all trying to sell things I’m thinking up. That’s my job, to think up stuff. We’re working on a television deal now.

M: You’ve been doing this for more than 20 years. What keeps you going?
BB: I started writing in my mid-30s. I would never have done it if I hadn’t been let go from the last job I had. So I write about wrecks: horse wrecks, cow wrecks, financial wrecks, tyrannosaurus rex, anything that stands as a pothole on the cowboy’s path to glamour and success.

M: Why do you think your work has become so popular?
BB: It’s funny. The secret is that I can talk funny. I learned that if I wrote like I talked, then I could be funny on paper, too.

M: What does it mean to be a cowboy?
BB: My definition of cowboy is someone who can deal with a uterine prolapse in a range cow standing on a 3,000-acre pasture with nothing but a horse and a rope. Range cows are like K-Mart employees: you can’t approach them. You’ve got to know what to do, and there’s nobody there to help you do it. It’s a life or death situation. Cowboys see black and white, they see right and wrong. They don’t bluff because they don’t know how. They have the same mentality as a cow.

M: You say on your Web site you don’t own a cell phone or a TV and that your idea of modern convenience is Velcro chaps. Is there really such a thing?
BB: No, but I think they’ll invent them. They would help out a guy like me.
—Jenna Kennedy

Farewell to a Hometown Hero
The life and times of Nobel laureate and prolific novelist Saul Bellow, who died April 5th at the age of 89, are well documented by Patrick T. Reardon and John Blades in the Chicago Tribune and Mel Gussow and Charles McGrath in the New York Times.

Things to Do
• Those who fancy themselves to be the next Sophia Coppola or Quentin Tarantino might find like minded souls at Split Pillow’s kick off for Challenge 3.0 at the Improv Kitchen (3419 N. Clark St.; 773-868-6423) on April 14th at 6 p.m. The evening is an opportunity for teams of filmmakers to register for the challenge, a three-day filmmaking extravaganza, to be held May 27th to 30th, during which each participating team writes a script, shoots a film of a script written by another team, and edits yet another film shot by yet another team. Confused? So were we until we read more about the event.

• Tune into CAN-TV, Channel 21, when the curators of “Robert Amft: Paintings for Particular People,” the current exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center (5307 S. Hyde Park Blvd.; 773-324-5520), take viewers on a walkthrough of the show. The tour, along with an interview with the artist, will air on April 10th at 6 p.m. and April 11th at 1 p.m.

• David Alan Moore’s In Times of War is one of the five new plays featured in Stage Left Theatre’s Leapfest 2, the second annual edition of the company’s challenge to playwrights to take a leap with innovative ideas for socio-political theatre. Directed by Drew Martin, the play addresses notions of patriotism and justice as seen through the story of a secret military tribunal that takes place during World War II. The show premieres at Stage Left Theatre (3408 N. Sheffield Ave.; 773-883-8830) April 9th at 7:30 p.m.

The Party Circuit
Design icon Eva Zeisel gamely makes an appearance at the early preview of the Chicago Modernism Show and Sale (1418 N. Kingsbury St.) on April 8th. The 98 year old legend will be in attendance from 5 to 6 p.m., although the gala, which benefits the Architecture & Design Society of the Art Institute of Chicago, extends until 9. Call 312-443-4751 for party tickets (5 p.m. entry, $125; 6 p.m. entry, $100). The show will be open to the public April 9th and 10th. Admission is $10 for both days. . . . John Malkovich performs in Steppenwolf’s latest production, Lost Land, at 5 p.m. and then he and the audience will adjourn to the famed company’s annual black tie gala at its home (1650 N. Halsted St.; 312-335-1650) on April 9th. Gary Sinise leads the party’s after-dinner dancing with his Lt. Dan Band; a live auction features items such as walk-on roles on popular television shows and dinners with Steppenwolf ensemble members. . . . The Bubble Bash, held at the Newberry Library (60 W. Walton St.) on April 14th from 5:30 to 9 p.m., will benefit the Enterprising Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that aids and empowers low-income women. Dining, music, and a silent auction contribute to the revelry. Call 773-506-3880 for tickets ($100) and information. . . . The 21st Chicago Latino Film Festival opens with a gala at the Thorne Auditorium (375 E. Chicago Ave.) on April 8th. Cocktails and refreshments at 6 p.m. will be followed by a screening of Cachimba, a Chilean film about an art lover vigilante, at 8. Director Silvio Caiozzi will be present at the event. Call 312-431-1330 for tickets ($65).

Around Town
African singer Malouma makes her Chicago debut with the Sahel Hawl Blues Band in a free concert at the Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.; 312-744-6630) on April 11th at 7 p.m. . . . Ten galleries in the Pilsen East Arts District (located around the intersection of South Halsted and 18th Streets) will be open on April 8th from 6 to 10 p.m. . . . Brendan Benson take the stage of the Abbey Pub (3420 W. Grace St.; 773-478-4408) on April 8th.

PLEASE NOTE: Events may be postponed or simply cancelled. Please call ahead to make sure they are still scheduled to take place.

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