Blue Island, Illinois - Writers and Literature

Writers and Literature

Over the years, Blue Island has provided the setting for the works of at least a couple of writers. In 1935, for example, the Pulitzer Prize winning author Margaret Ayer Barnes wrote the novel Edna, His Wife, an American Idyll, using Blue Island as the first locale of the four that make up her story (the other three being Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York City). The book is the story of the life of a simple country girl who was raised in Blue Island but becomes increasingly unhappy as she becomes older and leads a more sophisticated life elsewhere. The book was later adapted into a play by Cornelia Otis Skinner. It is not known if Barnes had a personal connection with Blue Island, but it is clear to anyone who knows the town and has read the book that if she didn't, she researched its history and makeup thoroughly to give the reader an authentic view of life in Blue Island in the early years of the twentieth century.
Twenty-two years later, Gus the Great, the Book of the Month Club selection for September 1947, was published. The book was a run-away best seller, and its author, Thomas W. Duncan, is reputed to have earned $250,000 in royalties from it, including $100,000 from Universal Studios for the movie rights. It is the story of the life and adventures of Gus Burgoyne, a circus owner of questionable character. Duncan was a college friend of Hill Lakin, the editor of the Blue Island Sun-Standard, and, after a visit to the town's industrial section, he was inspired to use it for several scenes for his book.
Several writers of distinction have had their roots in Blue Island. Noted author Michael A. Black graduated from Eisenhower High School. Black writes short stories and has written a number of books on various subjects, including a critically acclaimed series of mystery novels. His book A Final Judgement won a Lovey Award (formerly the Reader's Choice Award) in 2007. One of his later works, I Am Not a Cop, was co-authored with Richard Belzer, who plays Detective John Munch on NBC's police drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The book was published by Simon & Schuster and was released on October 14, 2008. A second book in the series by the duo, I Am Not a Psychic, was released by Simon & Schuster in 2009.

Another graduate of Eisenhower High School is the noted financial author and editor Andrew Leckey. He is best known in Chicagoland as having been the financial editor for WLS-TV in the 1980s before going to New York to be a financial anchor for CNBC. He has either authored or edited ten books on finance, and for the past 20 years has written a nationally syndicated investment column for the Chicago Tribune Co..
Blue Island was the hometown of well-known Chicago author and sportswriter for the Chicago Sun-Times Taylor Bell, and of Dave Nightingale, who wrote for the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Tribune.