Help Kickstart fundraising on a new Nelson Algren documentary

With the aid of Kickstarter, Chicagoans are rallying together to shed some much-deserved light on the life and works of local legend Nelson Algren. Funds raised will go directly to producing Algren, a feature-length documentary on the influential writer.

Algren devoted much of his work to illuminating the lives of those overlooked in society, from pimps and drunks to prize fighters and delinquents. He received the first National Book Award for Man With A Golden Arm (published in 1949, awarded in 1950) and is considered a precursor to the Beat generation and Gonzo movement. The film will feature interviews with a diverse array of creatives including photographer Art Shay, journalist Rick Kogan, directors William Friedkin and Philip Kaufman, not to mention Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Henry Rollins. Incentives for pledging range from a DVD to an exclusive signed Art Shay photo print of Algren.