Professor Elliot Engel spoke at the 15th annual author dinner.

WARSAW — Kosciusko Literacy Services hosted their 15th annual author dinner Thursday, April 20, at Noa Noa Wood Grill & Sushi Bar, Warsaw. The featured speaker was Professor Elliot Engel.

Engel, an author, scholar and lecturer, is originally from Indianapolis. He currently resides in Raleigh. North Carolina. Engel lectures on literary topics throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, using his knowledge and humor to give insight into the lives of literary legends.

Last night’s event, “The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway,” was sponsored by the Dr. Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, The Papers Inc., Michael and Rebecca Kubacki and NIPSCO.

Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) is regarded as a great American novelist. His works include A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. Engel kept the audience engaged with his presentation of Hemingway’s life. He discussed Hemingway’s childhood, marriages, writing style and tragic ending.

Engel stated that most English professors agree that, of all the novelists who wrote in 20th century America, there are only  four great ones: F. Scott Fitzgerald,  John Steinbeck, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, with most professors agreeing that William Faulkner was the greatest. Engel said his goal for the evening was to convince the audience that, in some senses, Hemingway is more important to the 20th century and how we think about reading novels than any of the other three.

According to Engel, the genius of Hemingway’s work is that Hemingway figured out you could write a sparse novel, using almost no adverbs or adjectives, and not end up with a sparse novel because you make the reader do the hard work of figuring out what those adverbs and adjectives are.

“It’s all the more moving because it’s not all spelled out,” said Engel. This style of writing is now known as the modern prose style of the 20th century. 

The author dinner included a silent auction featuring vacation packages and items donated by Smith Appliance, Warsaw, Penguin Point, Fort Wayne Tincaps, Indianapolis Colts, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Chicago Cubs, South Bend Cubs and the Indiana Fever.

The annual dinner event raises much needed funds to provide literacy services.

Kosciusko Literacy Services is a community-based, nonprofit organization, incorporated in the state of Indiana. Governed by a volunteer board of directors, KLS provides literacy programming in Kosciusko County.

During the event, it was announced that last year KLS was able to place 6,600 books with over 760 children.