This annual prize, awarded separately for fiction and nonfiction, recognizes recently published works “embodying the spirit of the nation’s heartland.” The prizes are part of the Chicago Tribune’s ongoing dedication to reading, writing, and ideas.
Please note: the 2012 Heartland Prizes will be awarded at two separate Chicago Humanities Festival programs, both taking place on November 11, 2012.
Ernest Hemingway, son of Oak Park, man—and writer—of the world, looms large in our literary pantheon. From the frontiers of the 20th century’s greatest wars to the expatriate literati of Paris, his characteristic prose and colorful personal life, which included marriages, torrid affairs, and crippling depression, have secured his place in our collective imagination. It is only now, more than 50 years after his death, that a definitive biography has emerged to deepen our understanding of this complex man. Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson was published in 2011 to rave reviews. “Through painstaking reporting, through conscientious sifting of the evidence, and most of all, through vivid, heartfelt, luminous writing, Hendrickson gets to the heart of both Hemingway and his world,” writes the Chicago Tribune’s Julia Keller. Chicago reporter Rick Kogan will be in conversation with the author. Hendrickson is the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Heartland Prize for his previous book, Sons of Mississippi. He is a senior lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania.
This program is presented in partnership with the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Live! series.
Photo Credit: Michael Lionstar
