The Literary Map of Detroit is not your typical, predictable map of the Motor City. It looks at Detroit through the eyes of writers, poets and storytellers.
The map is actually a website, with locations that are mentioned in literary works by Detroit authors.
Frank Rashid, an English professor at Marygrove college and lifelong Detroiter, created the map.
Rashid created the map to challenge the belief that Detroit’s economic and social problems stem from one simple cause, such as a politician or Detroiters themselves, by providing works from writers that provide an inside look of the city and its history. The literature of Detroit, in combination with economic and historical studies, can help understand the where the issues originate.
Rashid said the map differs from the superficial treatment of the city in some current literature. He hopes to inspire viewers to see and think about Detroit in a new way.
The map incorporated works from Detroit writers in the description of the location. Each location on the map has literary significance.
You can view the map at this link.
View Detroit Literary Map in a larger map
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-Bre'Anna Tinsley, Michigan Radio Newsroom
