The Nelson Algren Committee hosts the 24th annual Nelson Algren Birthday Party at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Bloomingdale Arts Building, 2418 W. Bloomingdale (just west of Western Avenue). The gathering celebrates the writer who depicted mid-20th-century urban America with a cool eye and a compassionate heart, as seen in such masterpieces as "The Man with the Golden Arm," "Neon Wilderness, Never Come Morning" and his prose poem, "Chicago: City on the Make." Tickets are $10 at the door; $5 for students and seniors with ID. For more information, call 773-960-8895.
