A Visit to a Place Where Men and Women of Letters Are Honored

By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)

Perhaps it’s somewhat ironic that the following post, which contains ten images and captions but just a few paragraphs as a narrative, centers on a place here in Chicago that honors and celebrates those who are recognized for their role in literature of all types.  Perhaps there should  be lots more words. 

And, perhaps referring to these authors as “men and women of letters” is a trifle outdated and more appropriate for decades past — certainly in this digitally-driven place and time.  But from this perspective, we still employ letters to construct words, sentences and paragraphs, despite the growing proliferation of emojis, images, and video in communications today.

So, without further ado (a phrase that emerged from another era), here’s the background. On April 4, I had the pleasure of attending “Ink + Impact,” a social gathering and casual discussion hosted by the Better Government Association. The theme of the conversation was “A Celebration of Journalism,” and while I didn’t take notes, one topic addressed certainly resonated: The continued dramatic loss of newspapers, especially in rural parts of the nation, and its impact on modern society across America. The BGA team recorded the conversation, which you can access from this link. 

(The decline of newspapers certainly has been prevalent in recent years, and it was addressed in this space with a post published in February of 2023.)

But it was The American Writers Museum, the venue for the BGA evening event, that I focus on below.  Full disclosure: I had not previously visited the museum, even though I certainly knew of its existence and its location in a vintage office building on North Michigan Avenue. Plus, a friend who works there gave me a comp admission pass a few years ago!  As a “writer” of sorts, I should have made multiple pilgrimages over the years.  Rest assured, I will return. 

In the interim, please enjoy this “travelogue” to honor those Americans committed to the written word. 

The “Ink + Impact” event drew a capacity crowd for the discussion on the state of journalism and access to the Museum.

Not much to add to the message on this panel; to employ a cliché — it speaks volumes.  

One of the many way cool features of the Museum: An interactive display that provides a blueprint of sorts on how literature is made.

Somewhat fitting that a copy of the masterful prose poem by one of Chicago’s most revered writers — one who maintained he never received the respect he deserved — was found in a somewhat disheveled conditioned.

Both Chicago icons from the same era. We received the Chicago Sun-Times while I was growing up, so I certainly was familiar with Ann Landers. And, back in the 1980s, while working at a PR firm located in the 303 E. Wacker Dr. office building, I shared an elevator ride with Studs Terkel; I was somewhat stunned and could only say, “Hello.”

Next to Nelson Algren, Bellow is my favorite Chicago author. Like Algren, he set many of his fictional works in and around Chicago. One commonality between Algren, Bellow and myself: We all lived for a time in or around the former Eastern European immigrant enclave of what’s defined by the city as West Town.

This display features the tool many writers employed since its invention some 150 years ago. Those of us who used to compose on a typewriter — whether in a noisy newsroom or alone — can perhaps still hear the somewhat symphonic sounds.

This main gallery features interactive profiles on American writers representing all genres and spanning the early years of the nation to today.

Well said. And, let me add from cities and towns from north to south, from east to west and everywhere in between.

This colorful display highlights a current exhibit, “Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice,” housed in the Meijer Gallery and Roberta Rubin Writers Room. (Try to say that last name fast five times!)