Artist, rapper, singer, actor and now writer; Janelle Monáe is a multi-hyphenate talent, and she’s heading to the Windy City to speak with fans and share from her latest passion project.
Monáe is set to host the American Writers Museum’s fifth year anniversary celebration on Friday, April 22, at 7 p.m., and in so doing, she’ll share important themes and shed light on the inspiration behind her book, The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer.
The anniversary will take place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance where Monáe will be accompanied by Sheree Renée Thomas and moderator Theaster Gates. This will be the award-winning artist’s only Midwest tour stop.
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The event is held in conjunction with the AWM’s exhibit and education intuitive Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice. The exhibit opens June 2022 and explores racial injustice in America through the worlds of Black American Writers, spanning from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement.
The impact and themes explored by the powerful writers mirror those in Monáe’s work, and can also be explored during the American Writers Festival at the Chicago Cultural Center and the AWM on May 15.
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“We’re thrilled to bring Janelle Monáe here to Chicago for this special evening,” AWM President Carey Cranston states in a press release, “and to continue to have our programming and exhibits represent the breadth of the American voice.”
With contributions by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, Eve L. Ewing, Yohanca Delgado and Sheree Renée Thomas, The Memory Librarian is a collection of short fiction that brings the rebellious and Afrofuturistic world of Monáe’s critically acclaimed album Dirty Computer to the written word.
In a world where memories can be controlled, and lives are lived in the heart of totalitarian order, The Memory Librarian combines brave themes that have made Monáe an influence around the world. The book addresses battles of gender identity, political violence and sexuality alongside themes of space, time, love, and the thing that keeps us whole: memory.
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 18, at 12 p.m. and can be purchased at HarrisTheatreChicago.org. Each ticket comes with a copy of The Memory Librarian, and a limited amount of signed copies will be available for an additional cost.
Photography by: Mike Pont / Getty
