Keith Lewis has spent much of his life surrounded by books. He owns Bookie’s New and Used Books in Beverly, teaches English and recently started his own publishing imprint, Broken Nose Books.
At the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Lewis showcased his upcoming book, “Peculiar Wilderness: A Chicago Alphabet,” featuring his words and artwork by Dmitry Samarov.
The exhibit featured original paintings and text from the book, which will be released through Broken Nose Books.
The idea for “Peculiar Wilderness” goes back years to a Sunday book club at Bookie’s.
“Many years ago, Bookie’s had a second Sunday Book Club and one time we were meeting just happened to fall on October 8th, the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire,” Lewis said.
Lewis selected Nelson Algren’s “The Man With the Golden Arm,” a gritty 1949 novel about life in Chicago. The book won the inaugural National Book Award for Fiction in 1950.
The book proved difficult for the club members to get through.
“We had a difficult time with the book,” Lewis said.
Then Bill Savage walked into Bookie’s.
Savage, who holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, teaches and conducts research in 20th and 21st century American literature and literary criticism. He would ride his bike from Rogers Park to Bookie’s, and one day he and Lewis began talking about the book club and Algren’s novel.
“He would ride his bike to Bookie’s from Rogers Park and we got to talking about the book club and Nelson’s book,” Lewis said.
Savage agreed to attend the book club and help explain some of Algren’s references, including Chicago terms and slang that were unfamiliar to the group.
The discussion made an impression on Lewis.
“It’s the most beautiful prose about the worst stuff imaginable,” he said.
That appreciation for Algren’s writing and Chicago’s less polished side eventually became the inspiration for “Peculiar Wilderness: A Chicago Alphabet.”
Lewis started Broken Nose Books as a Chicago-rooted imprint focused on stories that do not shy away from the city’s rough edges or everyday realities.
The name reflects that philosophy. Lewis sees a broken nose not as a symbol of violence, but as a mark of resilience and something that shows what a person has been through.
Broken Nose Books draws inspiration from Chicago writers including Algren, Gwendolyn Brooks and Richard Wright. Its focus is on the Chicago that exists beyond postcard images, from neighborhood streets and diners to bars, pawn shops and the people who give the city its character.
“Peculiar Wilderness” follows that same idea through an alphabet of Chicago words, observations and stories.
Samarov’s artwork adds a visual interpretation to Lewis’ writing.
“His gestural style fits perfectly for this book,” Lewis said.
The paintings and text displayed at the Beverly Arts Center gave visitors a preview of the upcoming book and a look at the creative partnership between Lewis and Samarov.
The exhibit also carries a personal connection to Bookie’s.
A dedication page in Lewis’ book honors Rich Wojcikowski, the longtime operations manager at Bookie’s who died in a fatal automobile crash in September.
Wojcikowski was a familiar face at the store and an important part of its connection with the community. He helped organize school book fairs, worked with customers and authors, and became someone many people associated with the neighborhood bookstore.
His death came as a shock to the Bookie’s community, making the dedication in Lewis’ book especially meaningful.
Lewis has spent years building Bookie’s into more than a place to buy books. The store has supported local schools through book fairs and literacy efforts, and Lewis founded the nonprofit For Access and Inclusion in Reading Fund Chicago to help make books more accessible to students.
His work as an English teacher has also kept him closely connected to literature and the importance of a good story.
“Peculiar Wilderness: A Chicago Alphabet” brings those interests together. The book grew from Lewis’ love of Chicago literature, his experiences at Bookie’s and a conversation that began with a challenging Algren novel.
That book club experience became part of the inspiration for “Peculiar Wilderness: A Chicago Alphabet.”
Now, Lewis’ words and Samarov’s artwork offer readers a chance to look at Chicago from A to Z, through the places, language, people and rough edges that make the city what it is.