Conglomerations and Creative Ripples

Some moments make creative ripples in the Universe.

They may be quiet affairs of a half dozen or less people. They may be large gatherings, well-publicized and documented for posterity. Sometimes all we have are whispers, hints of an evening in letters and diaries.

• In the 1930s, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and the other “Inklings” met on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College. They also met on Tuesday nights at the Eagle and Child pub (affectionately known as the “Bird and Baby”) in a private back room for conversation and drinks.

• In Paris in the early 1900s , Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo hosted Saturday night dinner parties at their home. On any given Saturday, Picasso, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemmingway, Alice B. Toklas, and others gathered.

• In Taos, New Mexico, Mabel Dodge Luhan and her husband welcomed poets and writers into their home for the second half of the twentieth century. Their guests included D. H. Lawrence, Ansel Adams, Willa Cather, Georgia O’Keeffe, and more.

• The Algonquin Round Table was the infamous setting for the wisecracks and witticisms of Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Robert Benchley, Edna Ferber, and 24 other members.

• On June 11, 1965, American and European beat poets performed at the Royal Albert Hall for an impromptu event – the International Poetry Incarnation – that some argued marked the birth of London’s gestating counterculture.

Creative ripples.

Sketch of Gene Wolfe by Murray Ewing

On March 17, 2012, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame will present its first-ever Fuller Award to Gene Wolfe, a brilliant writer whose work engages the imaginations of readers all over the world.

At the Sanfilippo Estate, guests are coming from all over the country to honor Gene Wolfe. In attendance will be: Neil Gaiman, Peter Sagal, Gary K. Wolfe, Audrey Niffenegger, Peter Straub, Michael Swanwick, Michael Dirda, Luis Urrea, and more.

There will be writers, artists, dancers, musicians, photographers, journalists, chefs, knitters, sculptors, and patrons from around Chicago—steampunk to hippy, gothic to folk, some in college and others well into their retirement. It’s going to be an incredible gathering of creative people, and you are invited.

When people talk about the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s first Fuller Award Ceremony, will you be able to recount your memory of Gene Wolfe receiving the award statue from Neil Gaiman? Or share a snippet of your conversation over the sweet table with one of your favorite living writers? Or recall the moving speeches and witty toasts given by some of Gene’s closest friends?

When people talk about an Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe at the steampunk mansion with the living marionettes and Gene’s words brought to life on stage and accompanied by the world’s largest restored five manual Mighty Wurlitzer, will you be able to say that you were there?

I hope you will.

Because like the musical machines collected by Jasper Sanfilippo at his “Place de la Musique,” this event is made more remarkable by the diversity of its parts, an audience coming together not only to honor a brilliant writer, but also to celebrate the whimsy and delight of art and imagination.

Join us for an evening that is sure to be wonder-filled.

Register for An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe at the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington Hills, IL  on Eventbrite

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu has been making magic with food and words for more than 20 years, incorporating folklore from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. She’s a writer, content developer, instructor, and mother of three teenagers. Valya is the author of MOTHER CHRISTMAS, THE SILENCE OF TREES, and the founding editor of CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character. Along with Stephen H. Segal, she is the co-author of FORKING GOOD: An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of The Good Place and GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family (Quirk Books), and co-founder of the Wyrd Words storytelling laboratory. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her poetry and prose have been published in anthologies and magazines that include, The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Kenyon Review, Culture, Gargoyle Magazine, Gone Lawn, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium. You can find her on Twitter @valya and on Mastodon.social @valya

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