Essay Fiesta

July 21st is not only the date of our next Fiesta, but it’s also the day that Ernest Miller Hemingway punched his way out of his mother’s womb in Oak Park, Illinois. Whether or not you were enchanted with his prose when your high school English teacher made you read The Sun Also Rises, you have to admire the man’s ability to divorce wives. So let’s all give thanks for our weird Uncle Ernest, and celebrate his 115th birthday the way he would want us to: with bullfights, mojitos, veiled allusions to getting an abortion, and many, many cigarettes. We can’t all jet off to sit in a Parisian cafe, but The Book Cellar is pretty much the next best thing. Hosts Karen Shimmin and Willy Nast (who has been working on his Hemingway beard since last summer) kick off a Lost Generation-style celebration at 7:00 pm, with a lineup that includes:

• 2nd Story Podcast Powerhouse Ozzie Totten
• Writer and Young Chicago Authors Board President Debbi Welch
• Pushcart Prize Nominee Sarah Michael Hollenbeck
• Inland Mag Founder Britt Julious
• Our Man In Chicago Scott Smith

Unfortunately, the Book Cellar is not byo-cat.