Results tagged “aleksandarhemon”

Bookworms, unite! The Printers Row Lit Fest, the self-billed largest literary event in the Midwest, descends on the South Loop this weekend with world-class authors, quirky booksellers, wine tastings, kiddie events, and beyond.

Chicagoist fully admits we get a bit weak-kneed over Aleksandar Hemon, but the MacArthur Foundation genius stands alone with a spirited voice that embodying his adoptive city.

Last year, we spoke with local author Aleksandar Hemon on the eve of the release of his novel The Lazarus Project. We expected big things of that excellent tome, but nothing could have prepared us for the widespread acclaim and awards heaped upon Lazarus, including but not limited to National Book Critics' Circle finalist (2008), National Book Award finalist (2008), and the Trib's Heartland Award (2008).

The Society of Midland Authors is kind of like the literary Mensa of the Midwest. Since its founding in 1915, members have included Poetry magazine founder Harriet Monroe, founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement Jane Addams, social theorist Daniel J. Boorstin, and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg.

Between now and Wednesday, we're counting down the top 8 local stories that captivated us in 2008.

GQ Magazine has named Chicago its 2008 City of the Year, concentrating on four different categories: Film (Batman, check); Literature (Aleksandar Hemon, check); Architecture (Spire, um...); and Politics (Mayor Daley? Seriously). Okay, so maybe we have a few issues with some of the things they picked. Hizzonah is not exactly high on our happy-with list right now. Still, what with Obama's election and the Olympic bid, we guess we understand the focus on our fair city right now. At least it's better than that New York Times story.

Of all the things that popped into our inbox last night while we waited for the debate to start, perhaps this was the one that made us most excited: Chicago's Aleksandar Hemon has been nominated for a National Book Award (fiction) for his recent novel The Lazarus Project. Now's a good a time as any to check our interview with him from this spring.

In 1992, Aleksandar Hemon was offered a chance to fly from his home in Sarajevo to the United States and participate in a journalist cultural exchange program, spending a month visiting American writers and universities. Seeing the chance to escape the brewing war in Bosnia, Hemon took the offer. While visiting, war finally broke, stranding Hemon in Chicago. With only a basic grasp of the English language, Hemon settled in Chicago and set a goal to learn English within five years. Just three years later, in 1995, he had successfully written his first story in English. He would subsequently see his stories published in The New Yorker, Granta, The Paris Review, and the Best American Short Stories Collection. Besides numerous awards, he's also a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2003) and a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant (2004).