Write in Chicago Trivia Quiz

Answer: Carl Sandburg

"Chicago Poems," published in 1916, was one of Sandburg's early poetry books. Born in Galesburg IL, Sandburg spent much of his adult life in the Chicago suburbs of Evanston and Elmhurst. Although he ultimately moved to an estate in North Carolina, he still maintained his warm feelings for Chicago and Illinois.

Answer: Nelson Algren

Although he was born in Detroit, Nelson Algren became a Chicagoan at age three. Algren was a prolific writer of short stories as well as novels and won many recognitions. However, he never achieved widespread popular recognition as an author, possibly due to the nature of the characters about whom he wrote.

Answer: Mike Royko

During his 30-year newspaper career in Chicago, Mike Royko covered the local political beat first for the "Chicago Daily News" followed by the "Chicago Sun-Times" and finally the "Chicago Tribune." Noted for his forthrightness, Royko had no qualms about criticizing those in government who failed to serve the people.

His biography of Mayor Richard J. Daley tells the unvarnished story of the achievements and shortcomings produced by Daley's rise to power.

Answer: Scott Turow

A Chicago native, Scott Turow became an Assistant US Attorney in Chicago and prosecuted some notable cases including the "Operation Greylord" corruption cases in the 1980s. Turow left the US Attorney's office and wrote a series of crime stories in which lawyers and the legal system play a central role. Several of his bestsellers including the two in the question have also been made into movies.

As of 2013, Turow remains a partner in a Chicago law firm.

Answer: Studs Terkel

Although born in New York, Studs grew to love his adopted city. An unabashed liberal, Studs had a law degree from the University of Chicago. His specialty was talking with people. Many of his books are compilations of interviews with ordinary people about their experiences. Terkel's book "Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression" won a Pulitzer Prize.

In addition to writing, Studs hosted a daily hour-long radio interview program for 45 years.

Answer: Daniel Burnham

At the beginning of the 20th century, Chicago was a crowded, industrial city. Burnham's plan, modeled after Paris, envisioned Chicago as a beautiful city with wide boulevards, numerous parks and a lakefront open for all the people. Burnham's work was not limited to Chicago but included significant structures in New York and Washington DC and city plans for Cleveland, San Francisco and Manila in the Philippines. Throughout his career, Burnham maintained his home and offices in Chicago.

Answer: Roger Ebert

The first person to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, Ebert's reviews reflected his love of the cinema and his deep-felt preferences of what is good and bad on the screen. Ebert also demonstrated his enthusiasm through his frequent participation in lectures, seminars, essays and other public forums, even after suffering cancer of the thyroid and salivary glands. Ebert continued writing until shortly before his death in 2013.

Answer: Sara Paretsky

After growing up in rural Kansas, Paretsky attended the University of Chicago where she received both a PhD in History and an MBA. Paretsky's novels have been influential in transforming the image of women in mystery novels into one more equal with their male counterparts. Likewise, Paretsky has been active encouraging other female mystery writers and helped found the organization "Sisters of Crime."

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway lived a colorful life. After he was wounded driving an ambulance on the front in WW I, he lived as an expatriate in Paris. He worked as a journalist in both the Spanish Civil War and WW II. Hemingway turned his experiences into novels establishing a terse, journalistic writing style in his fiction.

Injuries from two plane crashes while on an African safari resulted in chronic pain and deteriorating health. Ultimately Hemingway took is own life at his home in Ketchum ID in 1961.

Answer: L. Frank Baum

Originally from upstate New York, Baum had a wide variety of jobs including making barrels for Pennsylvania oil, breeding exotic species of poultry, selling fireworks and operating a store in South Dakota, all with varying degrees of success. Moving to Chicago as a reporter, Baum began writing children's stories.

In 1900 Baum published his most famous work "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," which became one of the most popular movies of all time. Over the next two decades it was followed by nearly 20 sequels which are nearly unknown today.