Literary Hall of Fame

Next week diehard baseball fans from around the country will gather in Cooperstown, New York, to watch as Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are inducted into the Hall of Fame. It’s quite possible that some of these fans and those who visit Cooperstown throughout the year will stop at other halls of fame on their journeys. There are such shrines around the country honoring everything from basketball to barbed wire from racquetball to rock and roll.

Strangely, however, there is no national Literary Hall of Fame. Considering all the heavy hitters in the history of American literature, that’s disappointing…and surprising. You would think some enterprising city would recognize the tourist-drawing potential of such an endeavor. That’s the inspiration for this week’s episode on www.ampolo.com, where we ask: if there were such a hall, what five American writers—living or dead-- would you like to see inducted into its inaugural class? We are getting some interesting responses. So check out the video and post your fab five there...and here on ampolotalk, too.