American Writers Museum gets a design plan
The people working to turn the dream of an American Writers Museum into a reality have created a more detailed plan about what the museum would look like and the exhibits it would contain.聽
As we reported earlier, the American Writers Museum Foundation released a concept plan for the museum almost a year ago. The newest document is a prospectus for the 鈥渇irst edition鈥� of the museum, according to AWMF president Malcolm O鈥橦agan. The 鈥渇irst edition鈥� would be the first exhibits in the planned museum and will be housed in an existing structure in Chicago, with a planned opening date of 2015. The full museum is expected to be completed by 2020.
Per the current plans, the First Edition version will include a Hall of Writers, which would include figures from Thomas Jefferson to Ralph Ellison, as well as a section called "Writing Chicago," which would explore the literary history of the Windy City. Other sections will include a gallery titled "Creating an American Literature," which would discuss how authors of the US developed a distinctive national voice, and also a gallery titled "Mysteries, Dark Tales, Western Adventures," which would center on whodunit, Western, and horror titles.聽
A Children鈥檚 Gallery and a section titled "We Will Be Heard," which would explore how groups such as women and minorities have struggled to carve out a place in American literature, would also be part of the First Edition exhibits, according to the prospectus.
The prospectus also includes endorsements and a business plan. Check out the full document .
鈥淭here is a void in the American museum world,鈥� Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, said within the text of the prospectus. 鈥淚n 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.鈥�
