321 CHRONICLESnThe fourth annual Ingersoll Prizes, presented during annawards banquet on November 21, 1986, at Chicago’snRitz-Carlton Hotel, recognized the achievements of V. S.nNaipaul and Andrew Lytie. The T.S. Eliot Award fornCreative Writing went to V. S. Naipaul, while Andrew Lyticnwas honored as the recipient of the Richard M. WeavernAward for Scholarly Letters. Inaugurated in 1983, ThenIngersoll Prizes (each carrying an award of $15,000) arensupported by The Ingersoll Foundation, the philanthropicndivision of The Ingersoll Milling Machine Company, andnare administered by The Roekford Institute.nAttending the banquet were nearly 100 scholars, writers,nand community leaders, including former Weaver laureatenRussell Kirk; the directors of The Ingersoll Foundation,nClayton Gaylord, Edson Gaylord, and Robert Gaylord Jr.;nRoekford Institute directors Norman McClelland, GeorgenO’Neill Jr., and Clyde Sluhan; as well as several Chroniclesnregulars, contributing editor John S. Reed and the redoubtablenM.E. Bradford. Also in attendance were BritishnConsulate General R.J. Carrick, Newberry Library PresidentnCharles Cullen, Henry Regnery, and the president ofnNorthwestern University, Arnold Weber.nBoth of this year’s Ingersoll laureates spoke to thenassembled guests, and their remarks will appear later thisnyear as feature essays in Chronicles. Also speaking as part ofnthe program were John Howard, president of The IngersollnFoundation and counselor to The Roekford Institute, andnThomas Fleming, executive secretary of The IngersollnPrizes and editor of Chronicles.nV.S. Naipaunphotograph.nand Andrew Lytie pose for a collegialnTHE INGERSOLL PRIZES 1985nV.S. NaipaulnAs an unflinching explorer of a troubled world, V.S.nNaipaul has no peer among contemporary writers. Both innhis novels and his reportage, he has been a relentiess enemynof political and ethical illusion. His books have clarified thenprinciples of humane civilization while at the same timenreminding us of their fragility. He has traveled the worldnwith an independent mind, resisting every reduction ofnthorny realities to ideology or formula. In works of satiricncomedy and of profound tragedy, he has illuminated thendilemmas of modern life with patience and vision. Ournconfidence in the future is bolstered by the honesty andnstrength of his imagination.nyr-i^’, •• •4?v:>tSi-‘^n1 ”.WS^n••ycn:S>5SS’^”mfeW –.••.n* •.’-:^f?. -nMr. Naipaul listens patientiy to an off-the-cuff editorialnfrom Thomas Fleming.nAndrew LytiennnA leader of the Southern Renaissance in American thoughtnand letters, Andrew Lytie has left a lasting mark on thencultural history of 20th-century America. With his eloquentndefense of agrarian principles, he has helped tonsecure the literary and intellectual traditions of the South asna precious heritage for the entire United States. As annacclaimed novelist, Lytie has given imaginative shape to hisnmoral vision of family, place, and tradition. He hasnchallenged and fostered the genius of promising youngernwriters in his work as a teacher, critic, and editor. In annincreasingly mechanized age, he has given expression to thenhighest aspirations of human life.n