Willa Cather

Chicago's Growth in sixty years from frontier outpost to the second largest city in America embodied for writers and artists the sudden and even violent transition to what we call the modern period. Among the themes in Smith's study are the place of art int he new city, the representation of women trying to succeed on the city's "male" terms, and the conception of the businessman as artist. *

<p>Discover the Windy City that has attracted and nurtured writers, editors, publishers, and book lovers for more than a century. Trace the steps of literary figures who called Chicago home, incorporated cityscapes into their writing, and put a uniquely Chicago stamp on their work. People like novelists Ernest Hemingway and Richard Wright, poetry pioneers Harriet Monroe and Gwendolyn Brooks, playwrights Charles MacArthur and David Mamet, journalists Ben Hecht and Mike Royko, and documentarians Jane Addams and Studs Terkel.</p><p> Visit the historic dwellings of writers such as Carl Sandburg, Edna Ferber, and Saul Bellow. Stroll through the neighborhoods of such characters as Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan, and Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski. Glimpse into present-day Chicago through the insights of resident authors like Ana Castillo and Scott Turow.</p> <p> <em>Literary Chicago</em> combines anecdotes and excerpts drawn from the city's rich literary legacy with walking tours that guide readers to historic sites, settings from Chicago classics, past and present literary hangouts, and current events for readers and writers.</p>