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'Mockingbird' takes flight in February
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Published: December 29, 2008
In February 2009 everyone in Iredell County will be invited to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and attend events based on the ideas and themes expressed in the novel.
Dozens of people have already put in hundreds of hours planning February's Big Read activities. Why? What is so important about involving our community in a literary discussion?
Studies indicate that people who read literature are more likely to be involved in their communities — to perform volunteer and charity work, to attend performing arts events, even to attend sporting events. But literary reading has drastically declined in the past decade.
According to a 2004 report released by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), there has been a dramatic decline in recreational reading across all segments of the American population. A decline in literary reading may parallel a withdrawal from participation in civic and cultural life. Participating in Big Read is one way our community can help reverse this trend. The Big Read program aims to restore reading to the center of American culture.
The Big Read is about big literature — about classic works that embody the unique power of narrative fiction. Reading works like "To Kill a Mockingbird" can help us to empathize with others and to build a common ground that may lead to more community engagement.
It is also just plain fun to read a good book and then to be able to talk about that book with others who have read it. Dana Gioia, chairman of the NEA, writes: "The purpose of The Big Read, like the purpose of literature itself, is pleasure. Not necessarily an easy pleasure, but a deliciously rich and complex one. A great book combines enlightenment with enchantment. It awakens our imagination and enlarges our humanity. It can even offer harrowing insights that somehow console and comfort us."
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.
The Iredell County Big Read partners hope to encourage more Iredell County citizens to make reading for pleasure a part of their lives. They have planned events related to "To Kill a Mockingbird" for nearly every day in February. A calendar of events will be available at all public library locations in Iredell County in January as well as at other locations throughout the county. Check this newspaper for updates.
The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County is also planning Big Read events based on "To Kill a Mockingbird" beginning in January.
For additional information, please call (704) 878-3098.
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