Oak Park's Hemingway Foundation is in search of what could be the next great writing talent.
The Ernest Hemingway Foundation has restored the Victorian-style home where Hemingway was born in 1899 and spent the first six years of his life so it looks very much like it did way back then.
The attic, where Hemingway spent much time playing as a child, is under construction and is being converted into a room for a writer. An artist who is looking for space to create will move in on Hemingway's birthday July 21.
"We want to have a writer," the foundation's chair John Berry said. "A thoughtful creative person to come and spend some time here and do some writing."
When it is finished, the writer's room will be furnished in Hemingway-era furniture, and perhaps even the spirit of good old Ernest will appear, it could be the perfect place to break that writer's block.
"We're not looking for a Hemingway mimic," Hemingway Foundation Executive Director Allison Sansone said. "We're looking for someone who's approaching writing seriously and who is interested in drawing inspiration from this space."
The Hemingway Foundation is accepting applications for this free creative adventure until June 1. The winner will not get to live here but will get to write in the shadow of the man who captured so many readers with his simple style.
"Mostly they'll spend time in their heads doing their own work-creative writing," Berry said.
There are no age restrictions on the application. The writer could be a kid or it could be an old man who could see out the window where the sun also rises.
"The writer will be creating a poem or a novel or a long form journalism piece or a series of short stories. Something like that. It's really a space where they can retreat from their other responsibilities," Sansone said.
