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News & Reviews
WORD:
NEA launches the ‘Big Read’ with 100 grants across America
In a time when Web surfing, movies and television pushes literature on
the back burner, The National Endowment for the Arts is upping their
efforts at bringing back reading to American public culture with the
Big Read, a new national program slated for 100 cities across the U.S.
The NEA said it would award grants from $10,000 to $20,000 to 100
communities to conduct month-long community-based programs that
encourage Americans to read for pleasure and enlightenment. The NEA,
which is presenting the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, hopes the Big Read will counter an ongoing
trend in which Americans read much less than past generations.
The Big Read comes in the wake of an NEA report Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary
Reading in America (2004) that documented a dramatic decline in
literary reading - among all age groups, ethnic groups, and education
levels - and galvanized a national discussion. The Big Read was
developed to help reverse this trend by giving citizens in more than
100 communities in all 50 states an inviting opportunity to read and
discuss great books.
"The Big Read aims to revive literary reading in America," said NEA
Chairman Dana Gioia. "We want
people of all ages across the country to enjoy the social aspects of
reading and the enthusiasm that’s generated by discussing a good book
in a library, with a neighbor, a classmate, or a co-worker. I’m not a
betting man, but I’d wager those who join the Big Read, will be hooked
on the joys of great literature."
Each selected city or town is required to produce a comprehensive
community-wide read that involves collaborations with libraries,
schools, local government, and the private sector. Each community will
develop a program of activities related to its chosen novel, such as a
keynote session, special events, and book discussions aimed at a
diverse range of audiences.
IMLS is supporting the Big Read with a contribution of $1 million for
the first year of the national program.
Big Read Book Selections
The initial books available for the Big Read, which launches after all
100 cites are selected, include: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; My
Ántonia by Willa Cather; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott
Fitzgerald; A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway; Their Eyes Were
Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper
Lee; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck; and The Joy Luck Club by
Amy Tan.
In addition to
direct grants, the NEA offers each community a library of resources,
including reader's and teacher's guides for each novel; CDs for each
book with commentary from renowned literary figures and educators; an
online organizer's guide for running a successful Big Read Program, and
a comprehensive website. In addition, the NEA has produced promotional
materials to encourage broad participation, including television public
service announcements, and radio programming.
For more information, or to find out how your organization can submit a
proposal to join the Big Read, check out the program’s section at the NEA website.
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