This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of author Saul Bellow, born on June 10, 1915. During his lifetime, no Chicago author achieved more national and international prominence than Bellow. He is the only American writer to have won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, and to have been awarded the National Book Award three times. Bellow’s social and political views remain controversial, and I am sure that there are many Bellow disparagers reading this post right now, but it is incontrovertible that Bellow was one of the most significant American writers in the twentieth century.
His life and work will be recognized and discussed this year with events throughout the Chicago area. The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, Chicago Public Library, Highland Park Library, the Cliff Dwellers Club, Chicago Jewish Authors Literary Series and the Chicago Jewish Historical Society have already scheduled events. I will soon post a full schedule of these, but please note that the Bellow Centennial launch event is Friday evening, February 27, at the Cliff Dwellers, 200 South Michigan. There will be a stimulating program that evening, with a dinner following. The particulars will be posted soon.
aliteraryreeder 