Who, you ask, was Fallon McPhael? What murky details have emerged about his scandal-ridden life in literature? Is it true what they say about his fight with Norman Mailer, or his numerous affairs? What of his alleged public indecency on the site of Chicago’s famous Picasso sculpture?

“The Wake of Fallon McPhael” memorialized the passing of a fictitious Chicago poet. Mourners gathered to read works about the poet’s life in a presentation that included burlesque, poetry, and song.