She Gathers Me: Networks Among Black Women Writers, a banner-style traveling exhibit, is on display at the Charles D. Switzer Public Library, 266 Roswell Street in downtown Marietta, through January 20.

In partnership with the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University, Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) is touring the exhibit to libraries statewide through the summer of 2023. The exhibit opened December 16 at Switzer Library.

She Gathers Me explores contemporary Black writers through photographs, letters, journals and calendars. The exhibit features Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, Pearl Cleage, Tayari Jones, Natasha Trethewey and others. Find a reading list here:

The exhibit was curated by Rose Library’s Instruction Archivist Gabrielle M. Dudley. She is hopeful that the exhibition will raise awareness about Rose Library and increased use of the Black women writers’ collections, Dudley said.

“Through the exhibition, viewers will witness the ways that writers seek community with one another that may not always be apparent through published works,” said Dudley. “While close friendships can be seen throughout, viewers will also see how these women respectfully challenged and shaped each other’s ideas and perspectives.”

Rose Library is located in the Robert W. Woodruff Library at 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta 30322. Rose Library is open for in-person appointments 9 am - 5 pm Monday through Friday. For information on Rose Library, visit rose.library.emory.edu or call 404-727-6887.

“Whether people have a burning research project or general interest in their favorite writer, we welcome them to our reading room,” Dudley said.

The exhibit in Switzer Library is on display near the entrance to the Georgia Room, the library’s genealogical and historical Special Collection. For information on the Georgia Room, visit cobbcat.org or call 770-528-2333.

Switzer Library is open Monday-Wednesday, 10 am to 8 pm; Thursday-Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, and Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.

The exhibit program is supported in part by a grant to GPLS from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).