Chicago Opening American Writers Museum

Chicago is planning a new museum, set to open this spring, which will bring to light the rich cultural history of American writers.

Called the American Writers Museum, the facility will be based in the Windy City and will be the first national museum to celebrate the influence of writers on the American historical and cultural landscape. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about the most important literary figures in history, as well as get inspired to rediscover or deepen their appreciation for reading and writing.

The museum is planning special galleries that will display historic artifacts from writers’ homes for a behind-the-scenes look at each author’s process. There will be a wing dedicated to Chicago writers, and a Children’s Gallery. Interactive aspects like word games and vocabulary tests will be incorporated into the exhibitions.

In addition to a permanent collection, the museum will have a variety of rotating exhibits focusing on themes like villains, beat poets, banned books and Native American writers.

“There is a void in the American museum world,” said Jim Leach, former chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities. “We collect in central points the artifacts of civilization and honor politicians and soldiers, athletes and artists, inventors and entrepreneurs, but we neglect our writers. In a country established as an idea explicated in written documents and embellished by generations of poets, novelists, and critics, the case for commemorating the written word is self-evident.”