Volume 5, Number 4

 

The mission of the American Writers Museum Foundation is to establish the first national museum in the United States dedicated to engaging the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, our culture and our daily lives.

 

 

 

Learn more about plans to establish the American Writers Museum

 

See what other people are saying about the American Writers Museum

 

Learn more about the Executive Planning Team and National Advisory Council

 

Fill out our online survey and tell us what you want to see in the American Writers Museum

 

Read the 64-page museum design plan 

 

Add your name to our mailing list and receive updates about the American Writers Museum

 

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"I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in human beings."

 

- Pearl S. Buck

There is a significant underlying principle here in Iowa: that the literary arts are for everyone at every age, in every walk of life. We believe an American Writers Museum would serve to keep alive our stories for generations to come.

- Sally Mason, President, University of Iowa

 

 

 

Dybek has received much critical praise for his work, with the New York Times recently describing him as "not only our most relevant writer, but maybe our best." His awards and honors include a PEN/Malamud Award as well as Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships. 

 

To see Newcity's complete list of the Top 50 Writers in Chicago, please visit the following link, and to read the New York Times review of Paper Lantern: Love Stories and Ecstatic Cahoots please click here. 

 

 

Amaze Design, a Boston-based company which specializes in creating innovative and engaging museum exhibits, has been selected to design the American Writers Museum's First Edition. The Amaze Design team, which has also developed projects for the Chicago History Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, has worked closely with the American Writers Museum Foundation since its establishment, helping to develop early concept plans, the Power of the Word online exhibit, and the From Our Neighborhoods travelling exhibit.

 

The company's founder, Andy Anway, has more than 30 years experience in the industry and has worked in the development of national museums in Malaysia, Qatar, Australia, and the United States. He and his team are beginning the curatorial process by assembling teams of subject matter experts, which will offer invaluable expertise as the exhibits are created.

 

For more information on Amaze Design, including examples of their past work, please visit their website here.  

 
nytComing Soon: New Merchandise Available in Time for the Holidays

 

The American Writers Museum's official merchandise store will be opening shortly, in time for the holiday season. Products available for purchase will include mugs, t-shirts, posters, tote bags, and much more, all emblazoned with the American Writers Museum logo and quotations from writers to be featured in the museum.

 

Customers will be able to make purchases online, via the AWM website, and all proceeds will go to the American Writers Museum Foundation to support the formation of America's first national museum dedicated to writing. 

 
horanAWM Founders Council Adds New Members Ronne Hartfield and Paul Ruxin

 

The American Writers Museum's Founders Council has added Ronne Hartfield and Paul Ruxin to its roster this month.

 

Ronne Hartfield is an international museum consultant and former executive director of museum education for the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2004, her biographical memoir, Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family, was published to critical acclaim, with the Chicago Tribune describing it as "graceful, intelligent, full-hearted, and searching". Her many honors and awards include an Honorary Doctorate from DePaul University, a University of Chicago Alumni Award, and a fellowship at Harvard University.

 

Paul Ruxin is a noted bibliophile, with his personal collection of the works of Samuel Johnson and James Boswell being praised as among the most comprehensive in the world. In addition, Ruxin serves on the Board of Trustees at the Newberry Library of Chicago, and the Board of Directors at The Poetry Foundation. During his 41-year legal career, Ruxin was regularly listed in The Best Lawyers in America and in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business.    

 
franden
Robert Franden Joins AWM Board

 

Robert Franden joined the American Writers Museum Foundation's Board of Directors earlier this month. Franden originally hails from Chicago, but has had a successful career in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he has practiced law for over 40 years. He also serves as an Advisory Council member at the Harry Ransom Center, a library, archive, and museum at the University of Texas which houses the manuscripts of Carson McCullers, Norman Mailer, David Foster Wallace, and many others. In addition, Franden has served as a commissioner on the Tulsa City Commission; on the boards of the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority, the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Authority, and the Tulsa Energy Resource Recovery Authority; and as a Trustee of Holland Hall Preparatory School.

 

 

The American Writers Museum's first travelling exhibit, From Our Neighborhoods: Four Chicago Writers Who Changed America, has been booked into four new locations as part of its ongoing tour in and around Chicago. The exhibit will begin the New Year at the Evanston Public Library, before moving on to the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, the Oak Park Public Library, and the Highland Park Public Library. Plans are also in motion for a collaborative project involving the exhibit in the summer of 2015 - stay tuned for more details.

 

From Our Neighborhoods is currently installed in the DuSable Museum of African American History, and will be on display there until October 1.

 

The exhibit is funded through the generous support of The Chicago Community Trust and the S&C Electric Company, and is co-sponsored by the Chicago History Museum. The exhibit was developed by the American Writers Museum in partnership with the Chicago Literary Council, Chicago Public Library, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, Guild Literary Complex, American Library Association, Third World Press, DuSable Museum of African American History, and Chicago Park District Department of Cultural & Natural Resources.

 

To find more information on the From Our Neighborhoods exhibit's touring and programming schedule please click here.

 

 

All things are possible until they are proved impossible - and even the impossible may only be so, as of now.
                                                                       - Pearl S. Buck, A Bridge For Passing 

 

The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace is located in Hillsboro, West Virginia, and offers visitors a glimpse into the early life of this Nobel Prize-winning writer, interpreting the influence her childhood had on her later writings. The home was purchased to preserve its historical value in the early 1960s, and underwent a series of restorations to return it to its original design. It now houses exhibits on the life of Pearl S. Buck, and a large collection of artifacts associated with the home.

 

In Perkasie, Pennsylvania, stands another historical home preserved to honor Pearl S. Buck. The Pearl S. Buck House focuses more heavily on her later life, including her humanitarian work. Visitors can take a guided tour of the home and view a number of fascinating archival documents, including some of Pearl S. Buck's personal correspondence.

 

For more information on the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace please visit their website here, and for more information on the Pearl S. Buck House please visit their website here.     

 
foundersAWM Trivia Contest - Enter to Win $25

 

Which poet and novelist, who headed one of the most significant movements in 20th century American literature, spoke French as his first language and, it was recently discovered, even wrote an early manuscript for his most famous work in the language?


 

Submit your answer here for the chance to win $25.  

 
Thanks to all our donors, patrons, affiliates, and friends for your ongoing support!
 
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