|
The Big Read Northern Chautauqua was launched last month in Reed Library with a lecture and exhibit to promote this year’s Big Read novel, Willa Cather’s “My Antonia.” The Big Read will continue at SUNY Fredonia with a selected reading of “My Antonia” in the Japanese Garden area of Reed Library.
The reading, which will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 23, will be done by Professor Aimee Nezhukumatathil of the department of English.
In conjunction with the reading, the Willa Cather Gender and Sexuality Exhibit has been mounted in Reed Library, offering an in-depth exposition on the gender and sexuality of Cather and the novel. Sketches from Professor Dixon Reynolds' Costume Design I class will also be on display in this area.
Additional guest readers will also be invited to share passages from an author who has been influenced by their gender or sexuality either on or off the page.
The Big Read is a nationwide program to promote literacy which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. For the third year in a row, SUNY Fredonia's Reed Library has received a Big Read grant from the NEA, in conjunction with Arts Midwest.
The grant enables Reed Library to purchase books for distribution to public libraries and reading groups in both counties. New participants this year include readers in the Cattaraugus County Jail, the Chautauqua County Youth Incarceration Center, and the New York State Shock Incarceration Facility.
The event is open to all students, faculty, staff and local community members. Anyone interested in participating as a reader at this event should contact Dawn Eckenrode.
