Ragtimes to Riches

By Margaret Hicks in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2006 4:23PM

We here at Chicagoist want to give the Harold Washington Library a shout-out for booking some really great authors. Last week it was David Mamet; this week, partnering with Nextbook is none other than E.L. Doctorow.

E.L. Doctorow (full name Edgar Lawrence Doctorow, named after Edgar Allen Poe) is one of our generation’s greatest writers. He is known for historical fiction novels like “Ragtime,” “Billy Bathgate” and his latest book “The March” (not to be confused with “March” by Geraldine Brooks, poor General Sherman wouldn’t be able to handle it when all those little women became big ones). He is a prolific writer and teacher and has won three National Book Critics Circle Awards, the PEN/Faulkner Award and a National Book Award.

Literary awards aside, we think any book that includes both Houdini and Freud should have a musical made out of it … oh …wait …

You can see E.L. Doctorow on Thursday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Harold Washington Library Center. Tickets are $8; to order call 888-219-5222, or visit www.nextbook.org