Okay, so it’s also the very first crowd-sourced Chicago History Museum Exhibit, but it really is fantastic. Reading is typically a solitary and silent activity, so presenting literature in the context of a public exhibition is no easy task. But with its café-style space and multimedia approach, the “Chicago Authored” show makes enjoying the work of writers from Gwendolyn Brooks in the past to Tara Betts in the present to the anonymous writers of postcards over the years lively and alive. Each multifaceted aspect reminds visitors of how writers like Nelson Algren have created and continue to create our perception of our complicated city as “a lovely so real.” 1601 N. Clark, 312.642.4600, chicagohistory.org/planavisit/exhibitions
