The Chicago Literary Club is a

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

founded in 1874 at which members orally deliver

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

s they have written, and listen to the essays of other members. All members must be skilled in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, though most are not

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

writers. The Chicago Literary Club is one of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's two oldest surviving literary clubs (the other being the Fortnightly Club). The club was originally for

men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

only, but today accepts both

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

and men.

References

External links

*
Chicago Literary Club Records
at th
Newberry Library
* Frederick William Gookin
''The Chicago Literary Club: A History of its First Fifty Years''
Chicago: Printed for the Club, 1926. Organizations established in 1874 Organizations based in Chicago American writers' organizations 1874 establishments in Illinois Clubs in Chicago {{Chicago-stub