Breaking Barriers
From marital infidelity to mental breakdowns, women writers have been breaking barriers with their novels [...]
May
Madelyn Pugh Davis: Girl Writer for “I Love Lucy” – Part 1
To my amazement, I recently learned that “Vitameatavegamin” was written by a sister-writer from Indiana. [...]
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May
Excerpt: A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun: The Life & Legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks
Before America had an official poet laureate, the functions of that office were performed by [...]
May
The American Writers Museum is Open!
The mission of the American Writers Museum is to engage the public in celebrating American [...]
Writing the Darkness: American Writers and Mental Illness
In his 1936 essay for Esquire, “The Crack-Up,” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote loosely, as if [...]
“Toto, I Don’t Believe We’re in Illinois Anymore:” L. Frank Baum’s Chicago Connection
In October of 2016, the Smithsonian Museum of American History began a Kickstarter campaign to [...]
Welcome to City Lights
“Welcome to City Lights. A literary meeting place since 1953.” So reads the hand-painted sign hung [...]
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May
Five Books That Can Help Us Find Hope
There’s no doubt that it is a dark and divided moment in American society—one that [...]
Siri Hustvedt and Atul Gawande: When Science Meets Art in Literature
We’re all amazed by people who have skills we don’t. It’s part of the magic [...]
A Recommendation for Rereading
I am someone who is always buying new books or asking for them at birthdays [...]