Lit 50 Matters

By Margaret Lyons in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 3, 2004 8:47PM

NewCity announced its Lit 50 today, a list of the top 50 “literati who help make our city as vibrant as possible by hosting readings and festivals; the bestsellers who flex Chi pride when they're meeting with their New York publisher; the writers whose prose we've always admired.”
No shockers with Studs Terkel coming in first and U of C professor and Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee came in second, but they are really appropriate choices. Chicagoist was happy to see Ira Glass, host of “This American Life,” make the list at number 17; a talented journalist and storyteller, Glass is someone whose prose we most definitely admire. We were a little surprised to see Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy come in at 29—big ups apparently for his book of poems, but Wilco’s pretty good too, so no complaints. (via Gaper's)