On Wednesday, May 15, the City of Philadelphia proclaimed May 12-18, 2019 as Literary Arts Week in Philadelphia. The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy established Literary Arts Week to honor Philadelphia’s literary legacy and recognize the local organizations who support our city’s emerging writers of all ages. The Literary Arts Week celebration included live music, an artist reception, and a poetry reading by special celebrity guest, Walt Whitman. Read on for more about Philadelphia’s first ever Literary Arts Week.

Three honorees holding City proclamations, and a group of young students from Mighty Writers.

Honoring Philadelphia’s literary leaders

Literary Arts Week honored Tim Whitaker of Mighty Writers, Joshua Demaree of Blue Stoop, and Lisa Nelson-Haynes of the Philadelphia Young Playwrights. These local organizations continue Philadelphia’s literary tradition by supporting local emerging writers of all ages. These honorees received Literary Arts Week Proclamations from Mayor Jim Kenney.

 

Man poses with City CitationRecognizing a local literary milestone

The first ever Literary Arts Week was created to recognize a milestone of a prominent literary arts organization. One of the nation’s longest-running independent fiction workshops, the Rittenhouse Writers’ Group, celebrated its 30th Anniversary. Over the past three decades under the leadership of founder, James Rahn, the Rittenhouse Writers’ Group has fostered the development of emerging writers in Philadelphia and has been devoted to helping writers strengthen their stories according to their own unique vision.

 

Celebrating the connection between the literary and visual arts

Literary Arts Week was planned in conjunction with the 200th birthday of Walt Whitman, one of the world’s most important literary artists. As part of Whitman at 200, a region-wide initiative organized by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Whitman’s literary legacy is celebrated visually at City Hall through the Visual Democracy exhibit. The Art in City Hall exhibit features the work of 30 artists who were inspired by Whitman’s poem Song of Myself and capture many of Whitman’s themes, including universality, diversity, and more.

Left: Woman and young child look at art in glass case. Right: Group of women look at and take photos of artwork on a wall.

Continue the celebration of Literary Arts Week by visiting the Visual Democracy exhibit at City Hall, Room 116 through July 12, 2019.