Authors who took readers from the deserts of Mars to the snows of Kilimanjaro and from Chicago’s streets to Africa’s jungles were named the top Illinois authors by voters participating in the Illinois Top 200 project. Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway led the voting, followed by Galesburg’s poet Carl Sandburg and Waukegan’s Ray Bradbury. Two poets rounded out the top five: Gwendolyn Brooks, who chronicled life in Chicago, and Edgar Lee Masters, who brought to life a small-town cemetery. Voting in the next category, heartbreaking moments, is underway at www.IllinoisTop200.com. You can choose from floods, fires, riots and gun battles as they try to determine the most tragic moments in state history.
