Common Languages: A Visit to the Front Table

On this episode of Open Stacks, a circle around the Co-op’s Front Table: from a post-war pioneer of Afrofuturism ¹ on Chicago’s South Side to the complex communal powers of games like spades, mahjong, and pickup soccer.

Thanks to Bryce Lucas for taking us on a tour of the Front Table this time. In this episode, you hear fragments of archival recordings of Sun Ra, including brief excerpts from his film Space is the Place ² and the track "If You Are Not A Myth" ³ from his album The Sub-Dwellers. You also hear Aleksandar Hemon reading at the 2012 Grand Opening ⁴ of the Co-op's current location. If you'd like to hear more from Hanif Abdurraqib, you might start with his appearance on Open Stacks ⁵ in May of 2019, and then check out his own podcast, Object of Sound ⁶ , or his 1980-focused season of the KCRW show Lost Notes ⁷ .

This episode's passage of the week comes from Philip Roth, by way of Alex at the Co-op. Have you read something recently that moved you, surprised you, made you laugh, or that you couldn't stop thinking about? Tell us about it, or just read it aloud. ⁸

Open Stacks is hosted by Alena Jones and produced by Jackson Roach. This episode features music by Daniel Birch ⁹ and Blue Dot Sessions ¹⁰ .

Find a complete list of every book mentioned in this episode on our website ¹¹ .

This content originally appeared on Open Stacks ¹² and was authored by The Seminary Co-op Bookstores & UChicago Podcast Network.