Photo Flash

Stephen Sondheim Receives 2015 Carl Sandburg Literary Award

The iconic Broadway composer and lyricist was the 16th recipient of the annual honor.

Event cochairs Robert Wislow and Dina Yaghmai Payvar pose with award recipient Stephen Sondheim.
Event cochairs Robert Wislow and Dina Yaghmai Payvar pose with award recipient Stephen Sondheim.
(© Dan Rest)

The Chicago Public Library Foundation and the Chicago Public Library honored iconic Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim on October 21 with the 16th annual Carl Sandburg Literary Award.

"Stephen Sondheim’s love of language and his insights, so beautifully expressed in his songs, make him a perfect recipient for the Sandburg Award," said Bob Wislow, board chair of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, in a statement. "Sondheim’s work is robustly represented in various areas of the Chicago Public Library, on recordings, video and the written word. While his work was written to be showcased in live performance, his creativity, insights and ideas, as expressed in detail in his two books Finishing the Hat and Look I Made a Hat, are so rich that they resonate with audiences in any form."

The Carl Sandburg Literary Award is presented to writers in honor of their collective body of work. The evening will feature an onstage conversation with Sondheim, moderated by National Public Radio host and author Scott Simon. The event will conclude with a dessert reception.

Winner of nine Tony Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, Sondheim's musical-theater repertoire includes West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park With George, and Assassins, among others. The Disney film adaptation of his musical Into the Woods, for which he composed a Tony Award-winning score, was released this past Christmas.

Foundation President Rhona Frazin joins Stephen Sondheim for a photo.
Foundation president Rhona Frazin joins Stephen Sondheim for a photo.
(© Dan Rest)