Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Announces 5th Class

This, to me, was the most exciting selection process of the five.

When we started in 2010, there were any number of no-doubt-about-it candidates. Candidates like Saul Bellow, who has a street named after him; candidates like Gwendolyn Brooks, who has a bunch of schools named after her; candidates like Nelson Algren, who has literary awards named after him; candidates like Sherwood Anderson, who has foundations and literary centers named after him; candidates like Ben Hecht, who has book publishers and blogs dedicated to his work; writers like Carl Sandburg, who has an entire apartment complex named after him.

I was discussing the future of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame with Stuart Dybek a year or two ago, and he wondered, "What happens when we're out of writers who have their own stamps?"

Stuart suggested that sometime soon we might consider decreasing the number of annual inductees. Each of the first four years, we inducted six writers: all dead, all with strong Chicago connections. I think Stuart's right: we will soon probably induct smaller classes. Just not now. Not yet.

Tomorrow night, Thursday, June 19, we will announce our newest class of six writers at Roosevelt

Chicago literary and historical scholar Paul Durica will share
his thoughts  on this year's selection process at Thursday night's
announcement, 7 p.m. Roosevelt University's Angel Reading Rm. 

University's Angel Reading Room. The program, which includes a discussion with selector Paul Durica, nominator Robin Metz and Roosevelt University's English director Lawrence Howe, starts at 7 p.m. and will run approximately one hour. The Angel Reading Room is located in the 10th Floor Library at 430 S. Michigan Ave.

The Class of 2014 is, in my opinion, an outstanding group of writers and literary contributors. What made the process so exciting this year was the very dearth of literary heroes featured on stamps and street signs. The writers ultimately selected are highly deserving of induction. Their work, across the board, was important and lasting, their contributions to literature gigantic. But their legacy, in some cases, has faded over time, excluded by literature's gatekeepers from the cannon. In other cases, their reputation never spread enough beyond Chicago to gain the kind of attention they deserved. And in still other cases, they've just been gone so long that not enough people remember, certainly not the youngest generations.

Paul, Robin and Larry will share some insight into the process that resulted in the selection of these six writers. They will also talk a bit about the merits of the inductees and the thought process that led to their inclusion over other worthy candidates. Please come out to the event; we're especially eager to hear your thoughts on future nominees, as well as suggestions regarding the ceremony itself, which will take place Dec. 7 at Roosevelt University's Ganz Hall, 7-9 p.m.

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Donald G. Evans is the founder and executive director of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. He is the author of the novel Good Money After Bad and short story collection An Off-White Christmas, as well as the editor of the anthology Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year. He is the Chicago editor of the Great Lakes Cultural Review. He serves on the American Writers Museum's Chicago Literary Council and the committee that selects the Harold Washington Literary Award.

donaldgevans@hotmail.com