His works include a walk on the wild side, the neon. It was published in 1951 and wasnt warmlyreceived by chicagos upper crust. A city on the make upset civic boosters for pointing out the citys corruption and conformity. He also caught with poetic skill the mood of the citys underside.
But algrens prose poem is a heartbroken love letter to chicago, as ardent as james joyces passion for dublin. Chicago, city on the make in first printing dust jacket by algren, nelson seller about books published 1951 condition very good condition edition no edition statement but see below. At the outset, one might even think that, despite all its deficiencies and bad actors, algren had a deep love for the city, which he compared to loving a woman with a. He was particularly pleased that ernest hemingway, whom he regarded with gusto, recommended his. In this sixtieth anniversary edition, algren presents 120 years of chicago history through the lens of its nobodies nobody knows.
Upon its original publication in 1951, algrens chicago. Loving chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose. An important character in wisniewskis biography is chicagos most famous bookseller, stuart brent. Initially greeted with scorn by critics and newspaper editors in the city of. Born nelson ahlgren abraham in detroit, michigan, nelson algren grew up in chicago, a city he would make famous through his depictions of its poor, working, and criminal classes. Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good.
Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. Algren looks back fondly on chicagos history with an emphasis on the rougher parts of town. City on the make, filled with language that swings and jabs and stuns, lives up to those words. Book overview ernest hemingway once said of nelson algrens writing that you should not read it if you cannot take a punch. City on the make is a booklength essay by nelson algren published in 1951. City on the make was scorned by the chicago chamber of commerce and local journalists for its gritty portrayal of the city and its people, one that boldly defied city halls business and tourism initiatives. His booklength essay of 1951, chicago, city on the make, begins with some fairly standard colorful bits about old chicago characters, hinky dink, mickey finn, bathhouse john. Other works, also published posthumously, include nonconformity 1994, america eats 1992, he swung and he missed 1993, and the texas stories of nelson algren 1994.
The man with the leaden ear joseph epstein, commentary. He wooed the city with a lyrical intensity that made comfortable chicagoans uncomfortable. This 50th anniversary edition is newly annotated with explanations for everything from slang to. This 50th anniversary edition has been newly annotated by david schmittgen.
Bill savage is a senior lecturer at northwestern university. Nelson algren project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The hustlers to the east were moving waters, as far as. City on the make by nelson algren and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Chicago, city on the make by nelson algren alibris. City on the make 1951 is a booklength essay by american writer nelson algren.
An alternate subtitle would have been i love this dirty town a line burt lancaster delivered in sweet. City on the make, i may have to declare nelson algren as one of my top five favorite authors. City on the make, im as impartial as an 11th ward democrat deciding whether to vote. Like chicago itself, this short, powerful book is a sport, a mottled. Nelson algren 190981 won the national book award in 1950 for the man with the golden arm. As coeditor and annotator with david schmittgens of the 50th anniversary edition of nelson algrens chicago. In 1951 the chicago daily news greeted it as a case for rant control, but fiftyone years. Nelson algren and the pathologies of life in the usa. City on the make by nelson algren, 1951 transcribed by jack m silverstein 1.
Algrens affinity for the underside of american society marked his entire career. Nelson algren, original name nelson ahlgren abraham, born march 28, 1909, detroit, michigan, u. Many critics and readers regard nelson algrens chicago. Never sleep with someone whose troubles are worse than your own. City on the make, a prosepoetry essay about algrens home town, was ignored or suppressed until a translation into french was made by jeanpaul sartre.
Algren also declared his love of the city as a lovely so real. His works include a walk on the wild side, never come morning, the devils stocking, the neon wilderness, and his urban portrait, chicago. Nelson algren used to write books in and about chicago. Nelson algren 19091981 won the national book award in 1950 for the man with the golden arm. They also collaborated on many projects, including algrens book, chicago,city on the make. Once youve become a part of this particular patch, youll never love another. In life, nelson algren and chicago were starcrossed lovers. Chicago, city on the make book chicago public library.
City on the make 60th anniversary edition by nelson. Algrens next book, chicago, city on the make 1951, was a scathing essay that outraged the citys boosters but portrayed the back alleys of the city, its dispossessed, its corrupt politicians and its swindlers. Fifty years after its initial publication, the essay continues to win praise for capturing the essence of. They were published in a book, nelson algrens chicago. This book length prose poem originally published in 1951 tells the 120year history of chicago as algren saw it through the perspective of those overlooked. Nelson algren, the author of man with the golden arm, was a no bull writer from a no bull city. City on the make could be called a prose poem, a personal essay, a jeremiad or outsider history. What virtually reading chicago city on the make nelson algren.
First published in 1951 in holiday magazines special issue on chicago, algrens piece stood out for its honesty among a laudatory chorus elsewhere. This is nelson algrens impressionistic essay about his hometown. The secret faces of inscrutable poets in nelson algrens. But city on the make, written shortly after algren received the national book award for the man with the golden arm, took the romanticization of chicagos street smart sharpsters and corrupt politicians to heights achieved by no one else. Though his name and reputation have diminished over the last decades, he lingers in the shadows. Nelson algren quotes author of the man with the golden arm. Algren grew up and lived most of his life in chicago, the city he is closely associated with, thanks to his most famous novel, the man with the golden arm 1949, about a card dealer with a heroin. This thesis examines the symbolic and structural elements within the text that have produced those. City on the make was scorned by the chicago chamber of commerce and local journalists for its gritty portrayal of the city and its people, one that boldly defied city hall s business and tourism initiatives. City on the make is short 87 pages and more poetry than essay. City on the make doubleday 1951 88 pages nelson algrens chicago.
Fifty years after its initial publication, the essay continues to win praise for capturing the essence of the city. In this prose poem or lyrical essay, algren satirizes 120 years of. This 50th anniversary edition is newly annotated with explanations for everything from slang to chicagoans, famous. Yet the book captures the essential dilemma of chicago. It remains one of chicagos most popular local books. Like chicago itself, this short, powerful book is a sport, a mottled offshoot, with trailers only in swamp and shadow. His works include a walk on the wild side, the neon wilderness, and chicago. Algren won the first national book award in 1950 for the man with the golden arm, a novel set on chicagos northwest side and, like much of his work, concerned with the citys quasicriminal underbelly. This 50th anniversary edition is newly annotated with explanations for everything from slang to chicagoans, famous and obscure, to what the black.
City on the make by nelson algren, university of chicago press, ch. His works include walk on the wild side, the neon wilderness, and chicago. Ernest hemingway once said of nelson algrens writing that you should not read it if you cannot take a punch. Open books is a nonprofit social venture that provides. Published by university of chicago press 1987 isbn 10. Lit feature, greatest ever chicago book, studs terkel, working book, isabel wilkerson, the warmth of other suns, nelson algren, chicago.
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