Class Description
Before he became a highly acclaimed playwright, screenwriter, and controversial journalist, Ben Hecht was a journalist for the Chicago Daily News. He wrote a daily column called “1001 Afternoons in Chicago” in a highly engaging and hyperbolic style. Sixty-four of these columns, vignettes of people and places in post-World War One Chicago were published in a book of the same name. Participants will learn about the lives of everyday Chicagoans, as well as significant cultural and political figures and institutions of that time. Some of these stories are humorous, others tragic. Hecht describes the complexity of human emotions with imagination and vivid imagery No better book captures the Zeitgeist of this particular time in Chicago history than 1001 Afternoons in Chicago. The magnificent illustrations of Herman Rosse accompany each vignette.
Richard Reeder is an author and active in the Chicago-area literary scene teaching, organizing events, and moderating book discussions. Two of his books, 1001 Train Rides in Chicago and Chicago Sketches have been influenced by Hecht's 1001 Afternoons in Chicago.
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
Required
- Ben Hecht, 1001 Afternoons in Chicago. The University of Chicago Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780226322742
- Other Instructor-Distributed Materials
First Reading
- Please read, in consecutive order, the first thirteen short vignettes of the book.
Cost and Registration
5 Sessions, $255 ($229.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($255), Community Supported ($235), and Sponsor ($275). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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