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Nelson Algren Boosters Ring in 25th Year at Lottie's Pub Saturday Night

By Alisa Hauser | November 21, 2014 5:18am
 A limited number of Nelson Algren items such as this coffee mug will be available for sale at the 25th annual party celebrating a commitee devoted to the famed Chicago writer.
A limited number of Nelson Algren items such as this coffee mug will be available for sale at the 25th annual party celebrating a commitee devoted to the famed Chicago writer.
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Nelson Algren Committee

BUCKTOWN —  Furthering the legacy of one of Chicago's most famous yet under-appreciated writers, the Nelson Algren Committee will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding on Saturday.

Scheduled for 7-11 p.m. Saturday, the group's "One more look at where it began" celebration will take place at Lottie's Pub at 1925 W. Cortland St. in Bucktown.

Formed in December 1989, the Nelson Algren Committee, made up of  "local literary types, including the legendary Studs Terkel," first met in the basement of Lottie's Pub to host a party to celebrate Algren, the "poet of Chicago's slums," according to the group's website.

Algren, the author of "The Man With The Golden Arm," "Walk on the Wild Side," and "Chicago: City on the Make," among many other books, short stories and magazine articles, lived in the 1900 block of West Evergreen Street in Wicker Park in the 1950s.

Much of Algren's Chicago-based work dealt with Poles in the area and were mostly out-of-print and unavailable in most local libraries when the committee formed.

Over the years, the group has been among the dead writer's biggest fans, helping to resurrect his literary works and advocate to rename the fountain in the Polish Triangle to the "Nelson Algren Fountain."

Among the festivities on Saturday will be a tribute to the group's late founder Stu McCarrell, performances by local musicians, and a sneak preview of a new documentary, "The End Is Nothing, The Road Is All," named for the epitaph at Algren's grave site.

Coffee mugs, which feature Algren's mug shot, courtesy of the Chicago Police Department, will be sold for $20 each. Admission is $10, while students and seniors pay $5. There will be a cash bar, free pizza, snacks and door prizes.

For more information, visit the group's website, nelsonalgren.org or call 773-235-4267.

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