Events › Englewood in the Life and Times of Willard Motley

Join us for a presentation that will highlight the impact of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood on novelist Willard Motley, who grew up and came of age in Englewood until the time of the Great Depression. Together, we will explore the joys and struggles of this writer in Englewood and discuss his literary reflections on life on
Chicago's South Side with his personal diaries, his teen-age writing career writing columns in the Chicago Defender and his portrayal of the City of Chicago in his debut urban novel: Knock on Any Door. Our discussion will be led by Agnieszka Tuszynska who was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2024. She will share some highlights from the research she has done so far towards her biography of Willard Motley and how Englewood shaped the literary works of its own native son, Willard Motley.

Accessibility
Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.

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