St. Charles to host Chicago author

Author Henry Kisor, who retired as the book editor of the Chicago Sun-Times in 2006, lost his hearing at age 3 to meningitis. He recounts the story of his life as a deaf person in a hearing culture in his engaging memoir, “What's That Pig Outdoors?”

The book offers a fascinating perspective on both worlds. He will discuss his memoir at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. Books will be available for purchase and autographing following the presentation.

Kisor also is the author of two other nonfiction books, three mystery novels, and co-author of one children's book. His series of mystery novels, set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, include: “Season's Revenge” (2003), “A Venture into Murder” (2005), and “Cache of Corpses” (2007).

His nonfiction works, in addition to “What's That Pig Outdoors?: A Memoir of Deafness” (1990 and 2010), are “Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America“ (1994) and “Flight of the Gin Fizz: Midlife at 4,500 Feet”(1997). He currently writes two blogs, The Reluctant Blogger and The Whodunit Photographer.

Kisor has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The Friends of Literature awarded him the first James Friend Memorial Critic Award in 1988 and the Chicago Foundation for Literature Award for Nonfiction in 1991 for his memoir.

In 2001, he was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame. Educated at Trinity College (B.A., 1962) in Hartford, Conn., and Northwestern University (M.S.J., 1964) in Evanston, Kisor began his newspaper career in 1964 with the Evening Journal in Wilmington, Del. He and his wife live on the North Shore in winter and summer in the Upper Peninsula.

The program is free and you do not need a library card to attend. For details, visit st-charles.lib.il.us or call (630) 584-0076.