Masters’ Back Porch Chautauqua July 2024

Herbert K. Russell is one of the foremost authorities on Masters’ life and works. His 2001 Edgar Lee Masters: A Biography published by the University of Illinois Press is the first book-length biography of the poet and is widely considered the definitive story of the poet’s life. Russell is the retired Director for College Relations at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL. He edited The Enduring River: Edgar Lee Masters’ Uncollected Spoon River Poems and authored numerous books on the nature and history of Southern Illinois, where he currently lives with his wife.

Russell will speak on “Writing the Biography of Edgar Lee Masters,” which he describes as a labor of love that began in the winter of 1962 when he met Editor Shaw, of the Petersburg Observer, and ended in 2001 when the University of Illinois Press published the book.

Tom Irwin is one of the Springfield area’s premier songwriters. His career spans over four decades and 10-plus studio albums, including his 2017 All that Love, produced by John Stirratt of indie-folk band Wilco, and Sangamon Songs (2012), which, Irwin describes “chronicles through songs, the actual diary of Harry Glen Ludlam, a 16-year old boy in 1893 who lived on the farm now owned and occupied by Irwin’s family.” Irwin has performed theatrical versions of Sangamon Songs at both Salem on Seventh and The Theatre in the Park in Petersburg in recent years. Irwin will bring to the Back Porch Chautauqua his original music recounting his life and experiences in the Springfield area and beyond. Like Masters, Irwin captures the essence of the region through well-crafted and poignant songwriting.

Please Note: all of the Masters on the Back Porch Chautauqua performances will take place on the 2nd floor of 1st & 3rd Boutique and Wine Bar, which does not have an elevator.