Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (In-person)

Join us for an award ceremony honoring the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Class of 2020: Harry Mark Petrakis, Era Bell Thompson, and Lisel Mueller. The ceremony will feature presentations and readings by Maria Karamitsos, Beverly Cook, Elizabeth Metzger Sampson, and Raquel Flores-Clemons. Lucy Mueller and John Petrakis will be among the family members on hand to accept the induction statues. The official induction of this class was postponed due to the pandemic.

Harry Mark Petrakis, a prolific prose author for more than a half century, received CLHOF’s Fuller Award in 2014; upon his passing the CLHOF board unanimously voted his ascension to this canon of important historical writers. 

Era Bell Thompson was a memoirist and trailblazing journalist; she worked for Negro Digest and Ebony, among other prominent publications. 

Lisel Mueller was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. 

Please note that some performers may choose to perform without a mask. Poetry Foundation’s events are completely free of charge and open to the public. This reading will include live captioning and ASL interpretation. If you require any other accessibility measures, please contact us by emailing [email protected].

All guests over the age of two must wear a mask inside the Poetry Foundation building. Guests over the age of five must show proof of vaccination and booster up to the level to which they are eligible for their age group. Guests over the age of 18 must show ID alongside their proof of vaccination. If you cannot meet these requirements, you will not be granted entry to the event. All in-person events will be made available online for free at poetryfoundation.org/video.