The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame
Posted: 10/5/2009 12:48:06 PM
Web site launched, nominees announced
Who are Chicago’s all-time literary stars?
That’s the question the newly launched Chicago Literary Hall of Fame is trying to answer.
"Chicago has such a deep and rich literary tradition, and we felt that it was long overdue to properly honor the literary heavyweights whose words best captured the essence of this great city," said Randy Richardson, president of the nonprofit Chicago Writers Association, which is spearheading the project.
The group kicked off the project with the unveiling of a new Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Web site, www.chicagoliteraryhof.org, and announcement of the 27 writers nominated for induction into the inaugural class, scheduled to take place a year from now, in the fall of 2010.
Out of those 27 nominated, six will be inducted. The job of whittling it down is in the hands of the five-member selection panel consisting of some of Chicago's greatest living writers and scholars including Achy Obejas, Haki Madhubuti, Stuart Dybek, William Savage and Rosellen Brown.
Thirteen leaders of Chicago's literary community chose the writers who are in the running for induction. The only criteria were that the writers could not be living and must have had a strong connection to Chicago.
"We wanted this first induction class to honor only those writers who have completed their lives and careers," said Donald G. Evans, chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee. "The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame plans to host an annual induction ceremony to honor selected writers, with the ceremony expanding each year to include living writers, popular writers, children’s writers, and other important contributors to the city’s rich literary heritage.”
On the list of nominees this year are names synonymous with Chicago. They have streets and awards and foundations in their names.
Gwendolyn Brooks received the most support among all nominees, being named on eight ballots. Nelson Algren and Saul Bellow were next (seven ballots each), and then Richard Wright (six). Studs Terkel, Harriet Monroe and Mike Royko each receive five nominations, with Carl Sandburg and Lorraine Hansberry garnering four and Ben Hecht three. Shel Silverstein, Jane Addams, Leon Forrest and Theodore Dreiser and Ernest Hemingway each received two nominations.
Rounding out the nomination class of 2010 were 12 writers, each receiving a single nomination: James T. Farrell, Ida B. Wells, John Callaway, Edna Ferber, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edgar Lee Masters, Sherwood Anderson, Franklin Rosemont, Fenton Johnson, Oscar Brown, Jr., Cyrus Colter and Norman Maclean.