About this Event
Caring Across Generations and the Chicago Reader, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, invite you to Writing With Care, an evening of care, storytelling, and connection featuring MacArthur Fellows Jason Reynolds, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Ai-jen Poo in conversation with the Chicago Reader's Malik Jackson, and introductory remarks from John Palfrey, President of the MacArthur Foundation.
Almost everyone will need or give care at some point in their lives — whether it’s taking care of aging or sick family members, children, disabled loved ones, or themselves. Yet care remains largely invisible in our popular art and culture. Join us for a probing conversation with the authors to explore how care and caregiving are woven through their art, relationships and writing. They will draw connections between care, love, grief, and vulnerability, and explore the relationship between making art, surviving disintegrating systems, and caring for one another across generations.
Afterwards, meet your fellow neighbors in attendance and talk about your own experiences with care as part of 1 Million Care Conversations, an ambitious deep listening effort engaging one million people across the country around the reality of caregiving in America and what our families need for the future.
Defying Boundaries: MacArthur Fellows at 45
This moment calls for creative courage. For 45 years, MacArthur Fellows have expanded the boundaries of possibility by questioning conventions, crossing disciplines, and driving collective progress.
Throughout 2026, the Foundation is celebrating the ground-breaking work of the Fellows and inspiring public dialogue through a series of nationwide events and conversations. Learn more at macfound.org/fellows-45.
Meet the Speakers
Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His newest release, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House, 2024) was a New York Times Bestseller and longlisted for the National Book Award in nonfiction. His previous book, A Little Devil In America (Random House, 2021) was a winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and the Gordon Burn Prize. In 2021, Abdurraqib was named a MacArthur Fellow, and in 2024 was named a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient. He is a graduate of Beechcroft High School.
Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning books, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Long Way Down, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi), Stuntboy, in the Meantime (illustrated by Raúl the Third), and Ain’t Burned All the Bright (with artwork by Jason Griffin). The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, and various media outlets. He is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC.
Ai-jen Poo is the President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Executive Director of Caring Across Generations. A veteran organizer, advocate, and cultural strategist, she has spent more than 25 years building a movement to change the way our country values and supports caregiving and care work. A widely recognized expert on the care economy and the future of work, Poo has been named a MacArthur Fellow, one of Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People. Her acclaimed book, The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America, was published in 2015. Poo earned a B.A. in women and gender studies at Columbia University and holds honorary degrees from CUNY and The New School. She is currently a Trustee of the Ford Foundation and a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute of Global Politics.
John Palfrey is the President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Palfrey is a well-respected educator, author, legal scholar, and innovator with expertise in how new media is changing learning and education. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as Head of School at Phillips Academy, Andover. Palfrey is the board chair of the United States Impact Investing Alliance and serves on the board of the Fidelity Non-Profit Management Foundation. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and serves on the governance council. He is the former board chair of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Palfrey holds a JD from Harvard Law School, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an AB from Harvard College. Palfrey is an accomplished author; his most recent book is Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces: Diversity and Free Expression in Education. A revised and expanded version of his book Born Digital: How Children Grow Up in a Digital Age, which he co-authored with Urs Gasser, was issued in 2016.
Event venue & nearby stays
Claudia Cassidy Theater, 77 East Randolph Street, Chicago, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.