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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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