“People with Passion” Series with Rick Telander

Eye on Chi, a blog featured on ChicagoNow, rolled out a new interview Wednesday with Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander for the series “People with Passion.” Telander’s interview is the fifth installment of oral historian Jack M Silverstein’s Chicago journalism series that runs every Wednesday. Other notable Chicagoans Silverstein has featured include Rick Kogan and Mary Schmich from the Chicago Tribune, Alex Kotlowitz, author of “There are no Children Here” and Mick Dumke from the Chicago Reader. Coming up next week is freelance photographer Clayton Hauck.

Here is a snippet of Telander and Silverstein’s interview:

Did reading Dr. Seuss and knowing “This is an adult writing for kids,” did that influence your perspective on how to reach your audience and how to keep your readers in mind?

You know, it might have. I’ve never put that much thought into that part of it, but I think it’s probably true. I also thought that if this is an adult writing this stuff, he’s got to be writing it for himself too. It was the first time I realized that an adult could think like a kid, and maybe there’s nothing wrong with continuing to think like a kid. Not childishly, but childlike. I think that has to do with the delight that he took in words…