By Teri Blair
The Big Read, all photos © 2010 by Teri Blair, all rights reserved.
Have you heard of The Big Read?
I found out about it completely by accident. I was perusing the CDs at my library, and saw one entitled The Big Read: An Introduction to My Antonia by Willa Cather. I took it home, and was enraptured by the 25-minute program. Ted Kooser talked about the significance of Cather to Nebraska, Garrison Keillor read excerpts from her book, and Colin Powell talked about the immigrant experience. What was this? The Big Read?
The Big Read began in 2006 by the National Endowment for the Arts, and is the largest reading program in American history. Their mission is simple: to restore reading to the center of American culture. Communities all over the country can apply for grants to explore one of the 31 Big Read titles. In addition to reading the book, related events are planned to last approximately one month.
When I plugged my zip code into The Big Read’s website, I was happy to find there was an event within an hour 
of where I live. On a Saturday in February my friends and I jumped in my Subaru and headed east to the small river town of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. As Thornton Wilder was from the Badger State, this community had chosen Our Town and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. We walked into a packed house at the Scenic Riverway Park building. The local organizers of the program spoke, a representative from the National Endowment talked about what is happening with The Big Read across the country, and we heard from Wisconsin author David Rhodes. 
He read excerpts from his book Driftless, talked about Thornton Wilder’s writing, and led a group discussion about what Wilder accomplished in his work. At the end of the program, we were all given two new books, a CD audio guide (just like the one I had found at the library), bookmarks, and a reader’s guide.
We were invited to join book discussion groups, and to come back for follow-up events. Wisconsin Public Radio will be performing a reader’s theater, and the local community playhouse will present Our Town.
I love to read, but like most readers, I get worried about the future of books and people to enjoy them. A faster and faster world makes a luxurious afternoon with a good book harder to claim. I am happy to support a program that is doing something tangible…something to bring reading back to the people.
To find out more about The Big Read (and to plug in your own zip code) go to:
Thornton Wilder, David Rhodes, From The Big Read Series, all photos © 2010 by Teri Blair, all rights reserved.
About Teri Blair: Teri Blair is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis and founder of the Poetry & Meditation Group of which QuoinMonkey fondly and frequently writes. (See Letter From Poet Elizabeth Alexander for the latest post on that group and Teri’s piece titled Desire And A Library Card — The Only Tools Necessary To Start A Poetry Group for a step-by-step on how to start your own.)
Teri has written many posts on red Ravine. Her first guest post, Continue Under All Circumstances, was written on the road during a 2007 trip to Holcomb, Kansas. She journeyed back to Holcomb early this year and wrote a follow-up piece published on red Ravine in March, Back To Holcomb, One Last Time.
redravine.wordpress.com 
Teri, thanks for another great post! I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I knew you had written it.
I, too, worry about the future of reading, or, rather, the future of great authors from the past and classic books. I know young people today still read these books; Dee has in school read several great authors but I worry that if given their own druthers, would they go to these same books or would they only read contemporary stuff about vampires and zombies?
So it’s exciting to me to think about the idea of supporting these books in community, like a book club but on a grander scale. I also like that there are various approaches to learning about the works and the authors–plays, discussions, audio, interviews, etc.
Unfortunately I missed two Big Read events in NM last year: Fahrenheit 451 and Bless Me Ultima. If I want, though, I think I can still access resources that were produced for the various events on these two books, so in that way The Big Read is something that keeps on giving. I will also contact the bookstores who participated last year to see if anything is planned for 2010.
Teri, I couldn’t help but notice that the event you attended was about an author who you’ve written about on red Ravine. I wondered if you felt well-prepared to participate in the discussion on what Wilder accomplished with his books. What did you have to say on that question?
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BTW, my comment didn’t work on the first attempt (I lost the entire thing) and the second time I tried I actually copied it before hitting submit. That was a good thing because that one didn’t work either. Third time it finally took. Hope others don’t have any trouble with commenting, but if you do, you might want to copy your comment before submitting, just in case the system loses it.
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ybonesy,
As we near the summer, The Big Read for this year will slow down. But next Fall, the grant winners will begin their programs in force. We overheard some people talking in St. Croix Falls about next season, and I hope to return to the same spot next year for a new book.
As it turns out, I didn’t say a word during the discussion of Thornton Wilder’s books, even though I’ve read them both several times. I just want to absorb and listen. I did feel a sharp ache when hearing the discussion about The Bridge Of San Luis Rey, however. When the 35W Bridge went down in Minneapolis two years ago, it was so similar to what happened in the book. David Rhodes talked a lot about the spiritual implications for people left behind when there is a tragedy–the exact theme Wilder explored in the book.
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Good to know, Teri, about the peak timing for The Big Read. I’ll definitely be tuned in for fall.
Hey, prompted by your comment about 35W, I just went and read that post you wrote and all the conversation that followed. It was quite an interesting read. I never did pick up Bridge of San Luis Rey. Well, a bookstore visit is in the cards for later today as it is (girls are on spring break, and I have today off) so I am definitely going to get it this time.
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“Bridge” is a short book, but deep. For anyone who has ever questioned God or this exercise we go through called life, Brother Juniper is waiting in the pages. He’s out for answers.
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It is a short book. Got it from the library. Looking forward to reading it. Also checked out Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, since I missed that one in a NM 2009 Big Read event. Cool. Now to fit these two in between the memoir I’m reading. 8)
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Teri, I loved this piece, thought it was really inspring. I hope our readers remember to type in their own zip codes and see what’s happening this year at the Big Read in their local areas. I had the same question yb did about David Rhodes and what insights he had into Thornton Wilder’s books and him as an author. It says a lot that he also brought up the implications of tragedy in relationship to Wilder’s book The Bridge of San Luis Rey. I remember well your piece on that when the I-35 bridge collapsed in Minneapolis (others can read Teri’s piece in the link in the piece). And given that author David Rhodes suffered a personal tragedy that changed the course of his life, including his writing life, it says a lot about how Wilder’s book resonates with people. That’s what makes a classic.
I wish I could have gone to this Big Read in Wisconsin. I was scheduled to go with you but ended up getting sick. So it’s really great to read about the experience and see your photographs. I think the photos turned out great and add a lot to the piece. They kind of explode off the page! I wanted to ask about the books that you received from the Big Read event. They were free, right? Gifts of the Big Read. I think they are the ones in the last photograph. I think it’s amazing they gave out free books at this event. And that is all thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts.
Were people receptive to the books? Do you think it’s part of the reason that people came, a kind of draw? Or would they have come anyway. The reason I ask is that I think I saw on their website that they are going to go more toward steering people online to read the books in order to cut costs. Do you think that would have an impact on attendance at all?
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Oh, I just thought of one other question I wanted to ask, about the Poetry & Meditation Group you founded here in Minneapolis. It was the Poetry Group that really was inspired to want to go with you to the Big Read and jumped on it when you asked the question. I wondered if you had anything to say about where your Poetry Group is at right now, after nearly two years together. And do you see the Poetry Group going out to more events like The Big Read?
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yb,
I’ll be anxious to hear your check-in about “Bridge.” David Rhodes said he thinks it impossible to read that book and not be changed by it. I think the same thing about the graveyard scene in “Our Town.” I don’t know how anyone can watch what Emily experiences looking back at her life and not be changed.
Thornton didn’t shy away from the difficult and unanswerable questions. I love that about his work.
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Teri,
This is so great! Thanks for telling this story. I entered my zip code and there are a number of events around Boston in the 2009-2010 Big Read event around Fahrenheit 451. I LOVE that book. Tough to get to many of them via public transit but it’s great just to know about this movement so I can keep one ear to the ground.
I remember being sort of devestated when I read Fahrenheit 451 and considered the future of books. That’s why I’m glad that things like The Big Read exist, to remind us of that thing we’ve always loved- that afternoon with a book- and to help us learn to let literature speak in profound ways to our lives.
Anna
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Anna,
I’m glad to hear you found events around Boston. During the next “Big Read” season, I’ll be curious to hear if Beantown gets another grant.
Yes, Fahrenheit 451 presents a sobering possibility–a world with no books. A world where reading and the written word are forbidden. Did you know that books burn when they reach 451 degrees? That where Bradbury got the title.
Thanks for reading my post. I’ll think of you spending an afternoon with a good book.
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Quoin,
Well…I don’t want to give away too much of the story…but…
In Peru a famous and well-traveled bridge collapses from one moment to the next. Five people are on the bridge and plunge to their death. Brother Juniper believes that if he finds out about these five people, he will understand something of the moving of God’s hand or life or why we’re all here in the first place. The conclusions he makes by the end of the book are what David Rhodes talked about. Though the story takes place in the year 1712 (or something like that), in the end, we have to ask ourselves the same questions Brother Juniper did, and make decisions about how we live our lives accordingly.
I hope that’s just enough of a tease to get you to read the book. haha
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Yes, I think the book giveaway is a big draw. And you can see (by the photos) how they had them so appealing displayed and wrapped with big ribbons. Everyone was quite excited to get their packet of books! You’d think we’d never had a new book. I think it *will* impact attendance if they don’t give them away. Everyone likes something free. It’s just how we are.
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Started “Bridge” last night. I love this edition. It is a Pocket Edition, which according to the copyright page they did three printings of, all in 1939. And there are 10 plates, illustrations, although I can’t find out who did them. This book cost 25 cents new. Here’s a shot.
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ybonesy,
Don’t you just love those old covers? I can just imagine that book in my hand with the slightly bent cover. I see Fahrenheit 451 is tucked underneath, waiting to be read next.
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QuoinMonkey,
About the Poetry and Meditation group…
When I started it, it didn’t occur to me to think about how long it would last. I’m pretty sure I didn’t think it would be going strong two years later. And last Wednesday, when I gave everyone the chance to check in about whether to continue, I was actually very surprised to hear people give voice to how attached to it they are. I’m humbled, and deeply grateful that I’m able to do something that matters.
After that night, we put two field trips on our calendars to go hear authors who are coming to the Twin Cities this spring. And before the one at the Fitzgerald, we’ll be going to eat at Mickey’s Diner, the railroad car on the National Register of Historic Places. Literature and history. I’m in heaven.
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Teri, I think it’s great how the Poetry & Meditation Group has evolved. That’s what practices are supposed to do — take us where we need to go. And, in this case, there is your practice with the Poetry Group, and the Group’s practice and evolution. I like following and being a part of it.
How cool, yb, that you are reading the Wilder book. Now I want to read it, too, after hearing you and Teri discuss.
It’s amazing when things happen in our lives that make it totally change course. Most times it’s unpredictable.
Teri, I think not getting the books would change The Big Read, too. I hope they keep that part funded. Go books!
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Quoin,
I think one of the reasons the National Endowment for the Arts is offering fewer grants next year is so they can keep offering books. It’s a huge draw.
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The Kansas City MO Public Library BIG Read starts on April 6, with some Pulitzer Prize guy coming to the Central Library to discuss Marilynne Robinson’s book, Housekeeping, which is the book the metro is reading this year. Those who RSVP receive a free copy of the book and a chance to join discussion groups.
The first one I knew anything about the one where we received copies of Ernest Hemingway’s, A Farewll to Arms.
yb, don’t think it matters what the kids read in terms of vampire books versus “heavy” stuff. To instill the joy of reading in children is the important thing. They will gravitate to the “heavy” books as they mature or not. Most importantly they will read. Reading opens up the world for many people. I know it did for a little boy in a small town in northwestern Missouri.
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Teri, this is a great post. I went right away to the site and plugged in my zip code. You wrote in such a compelling way about the Big Read that I wanted to find out immediately if I could join in, too. Unfortunately, no towns in Wyoming are participating. The closest places are in Colorado, a couple hours away.
Thanks for writing this post. It is a very positive effort for the good to address your worry about the future of books and already you’ve peaked the interest of many to pick-up books they haven’t read yet … including me. I’m adding The Bridge of San Luis Rey to my “must read” list.
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Bob,
I’ve heard about “Housekeeping” for a few years, but haven’t read it. It’s one of those books like “Lit” that everyone talks about lately. I must read.
If you go on April 6th, I hope you’ll check in about it. I am curious if what I experienced in St. Croix Falls is the norm. How was the “Farewell to Arms” Big Read? That’s my favorite Hemingway book.
You bring up a great point about reading and young people. When I was a teacher, we struggled with that as a staff. There was always some new series coming along that made us cringe (Captain Underpants comes to mind), as well as some that had more literary merit (Junie B. Jones). I don’t have an answer. But I love when I see kids reading.
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breathepeace,
I’m glad you checked the website for possibilities in your region. Perhaps next year a town in Wyoming will be one of the new grant winners. Next year, I’ve decided to try to attend two events, and I suspect at least one will require a few-hours drive, as your drive to Colorado would be.
This week I went to a bookstore and bought books for gifts. I can’t remember the last time I did that. A book used to be a normal thing to buy someone, but lately I feel compelled to buy gift cards. Anyway, it felt wonderful to support an independent bookstore in the process.
Please let me know what you think of “Bridge of San Luis Rey.”
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Teri, I didn’t care for “A Farewell to Arms.” I think it was because I had finished “A Moveable Feast” which I enjoyed. It made Hemingway more human when I hadn’t cared for his machismo in his other books. Hemingway writing about war didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t like the writing as it seemed impersonal (I know that may sound odd) compared to the first book. Of course it was fiction and not his real life.
I may one of the few people who didn’t care for the writing in “Lit.” The story fascinated me. I read “Cherry” which I enjoyed both for the story and her writing. “Lit” had moments where I re-read sentences several times and still couldn’t make sense of them, the syntax was off (or, of course, it could have been me). I’ve never read, “The Liars Club.”
That’s the great thing about writing: different authors speak to different people. Also, reading different pieces by authors allows me to see many facets of them as writers. I usually try to read several works by the same author to get a more balanced view of what they write.
It would be nice to see if I liked the non-series works of people like J.K. Rowlings and the Twilight series woman whose name escapes me.
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Bob, I know exactly what you mean about Lit. I wasn’t sure at first if I would like it either. It does feel sometimes like the syntax is off and I think that might be part of a Southern style of talking and writing. It tends to be a little more flamboyant than what we are used to in the Midwest. I did finally fall into the book though and it’s held my interest. For me, the honesty that she writes with inspires me.
I’m like you, I like to read a couple of thing by the same author. It really helps to get a more balanced view of their work. And you have to ask yourself sometimes — now why did this book win all those awards and become more popular when that one fell by the wayside. Sometimes I can’t answer the question. With poetry as well, when I read a whole book of poems by one poet, I don’t like all the poetry. I might like sections of the books or poems with certain themes. It’s a curious thing.
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Bob and Quoin,
This year my goal is to read two books each month by the same author. It’s giving me some much-needed structure around my reading, plus, as you’ve said, I get a much better sense of an author by reading a few of their books.
I was surprised by what you both said about the syntax in “Lit.” I would have guess an editor would have insisted on something different.
I like A Moveable Feast too, Bob. I didn’t know it was going to be such a tell-all about those ex-pats in Paris. Ernest didn’t mince words.
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QM, some sentences weren’t constructed correctly even for a Southerner. It struck me as something an editor should have caught and corrected, but didn’t. The word order was off and the sentence didn’t say anything really. I loved her story. I made up my mind that her brain synapses were damaged by her years of alcohol abuse and that was one reason for the nonsense sentences. There weren’t that many, but they stuck out when they occurred.
Just finished a second book by Haruki Murakami. I read, Kafka on the Shore, loved the writing, the structure, the images. So I picked up another book by him, After Dark, which interested me, but seemed to end too abruptly to satisfy me. He has some other books out which I will read too. Nice to know that not everything a person writes has to be as good as every other piece.
I sometimes wonder if that’s not what stopped Harper Lee from writing/publishing anything after “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
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I’ve come full circle now since finding that first Big Read CD at the library. I’ve read My Antonia, gone to Red Cloud, Nebraska to see Willa’s home (and the setting for that book), and last night we saw the Illusion Theater’s production of the novel. During the play I kept picturing what I had seen in Red Cloud, and felt deeply grateful to have taken this story deeply into my life.
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Teri,
I love it when you tell us about reading a book and then going to the place(s) the book talks about. I feel somehow connected to the story more. Like the pieces you wrote on Holcomb, Kansas. They made “In Cold Blood” not just a piece of creative non-fiction. That’s a special gift you have. I hope to see more of those pieces in my life. Have you thought about writing more of them? (I know you have that idea for another one.)
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Oh Bob,
You’re describing my dream life. Reading books, going to their location, and then writing about what I see/feel/the people/the sky/the trees. I could do trip after trip like that. There’s the small matter of practicality, however (time, gas money, wear and tear on my car, hotels, food out). That is the only fly in the ointment.
I need a patron.
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I also admire your whole (full, holistic, complete) approach to learning about writers, Teri. It’s a real strength. I know it is having a profound affect on you, given even the impact on all of us. You are holding all this energy in your belly, storing it, percolating, becoming deeper and stronger, I think.
So far I am loving “Bridge.” Finished the chapter on the matriarch and her servant girl Pepita. The writing is old-fashioned, in that way that many of these classics can be, yet very appealing. Pulled me in.
Bob, thanks for reminding me that there is goodness even in reading of vampire stories. You’re right, and after all, we read the vampire stories, too. 😉
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ybonesy,
I’m glad to hear “Bridge” has pulled you in. Speaking of vampire stories, I still haven’t read “Twilight.” Though the subject matter doesn’t interest me, what teens are reading does.
Sinclair Lewis grew up a few towns over from me. One night, I treated myself to a night at the Palmer House, the hotel he worked at when he was a high school student. It’s one of those dreamy old hotels with high, tin ceilings, a bar, a restaurant, and a huge lobby that encourages people to hang out. I stayed up late into the night, just me in the lobby with Sinclair memories all around. I love that sort of thing. Like Red Cloud, Sauk Centre has tried to save all things Sinclair.
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Terri, a patron would be great, but maybe you could settle for a book proposal with a generous advance?! I think you are on to something here … and have the great idea for a book and research already completed for a couple chapters with Capote/Kansas and Cather/Nebraska.
I’d love to read your book, Terri. I hope you have a chance to continue your travels and write it.
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breathepeace,
Oh…if I get to pick, I’ll definitely take a book deal with a generous advance. Sure publication + no pesky patron looking over my shoulder is a win-win.
Writing this book would be amazing. Is there really an audience for it? Seems too good to be true.
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I could see it: a writer’s quest to learn what she can about the classics and the authors who wrote them. It’s a book about place and how that place shaped these writers and their stories. Could be a series of essays. Definitely energy there that’s worth hanging with and seeing what transpires.
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And, the timing is perfect for reflecting and percolating. My Midwestern Writer’s Group will be meeting at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport soon to drive to Lake Pepin to write. Silence, writing, good food, and writers. No complaints.
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Also, Teri, maybe include a chapter on where you grew up. Write about it first, what you remember and then go visit with the same fresh eyes you use to visit other writer’s haunts. What do you see now? I agree with ybonesy: “Definitely energy there that’s worth hanging with…”
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I like adding the chapter about where you grew up, starting with that, and those “same fresh eyes” as breathepeace mentions. I think there is energy there, too. At least for a series of essays. I’ve always been so energized when visiting the homes of writers that I admire and respect. Essays about your own visits could inspire others to go to those same places. Or pursue their own. Lots to think about and something you clearly have passion about. Place is so important to what makes us who we are as writers.
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I was just to the place I was raised this week. It’s a Century Farm, meaning it has been in the same family for 100 years. When I was there, I looked at the view of Lake Ann, visible from all spots of the farm. It’s been looked at thousands of times by hundreds of Blairs. Something deep in me stirs when I’m on that land. I keep waiting for that feeling to go away, but it doesn’t.
When author Bill Holm died (and I found his farm outside of Minneota), it was deeply moving to see the hills he looked at everyday walking down the long driveway to the school bus. Such a simple thing, that walk to the bus. Yet to see the view he grew up on mattered.
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Last night I finished The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and after I read the afterword and the description of Thornton Wilder and how the slim book had become a hit among general readers, “a philosophical book” it was called in the afterword, I flipped to the front and started reading it again.
I am amazed at how Latin American his voice sounds. He grew up for his young years in China, his father was a diplomat, and he was certainly erudite and global, you can hear it in his voice, but I was trying to find out if he had lived in Peru before writing this. It certainly seemed like it, or maybe Spain, he seemed so familiar with the customs, and he captured the prototype of certain people, like The Perichole, the actress, or Tio Pio, her patron. And when he talked of the service, and the sea of black and lace, the lace referring to the mantillas, lace scarves the women wear on their heads for funerals, I just couldn’t imagine how he would have known these things without having spent significant time in Spain or Peru or some other Latino culture.
But the bio didn’t mention that; however it did mention other global experience, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he also spent time in these places. Teri, do you know anything of this question?
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ybonesy, you and Teri inspired me. I have The Bridge of San Luis Rey on hold at our local library. They had a compilation of Wilder’s work but I wanted the skinny book. I’m looking forward to reading it.
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Even though you couldn’t go to St. Croix Falls with us, I’m glad you’re going to read Bridge. Oh, skinny books are a treat! I know why you picked that instead of a clunky compilation.
I’m reading Lonesome Dove right now (extremely thick), and look forward to my next skinny read.
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I’m deeply into another “Big Read” title: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines.
It takes place in Louisiana in 1948. An unwilling teacher is forced to repeatedly visiting a former student on death row.
Recommendation: 100%.
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Teri, the Gaines book seems perfect for you. Wasn’t that book made into a movie at some point? You are always so inspiring with your reading list. You really cover a lot of ground.
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Thanks, QM! Yes, the book was made into a movie staring Cicely Tyson. I’ve got it on hold at the library, and when I finish the book this weekend, you know what I’ll be watching.
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[…] Holcomb in 2010 and wrote a sequel, Back To Holcomb, One Last Time. Her last piece for red Ravine, Discovering The Big Read, is about the largest reading program in American history. Its mission is simple: to restore reading […]
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[…] Holcomb in 2010 and published a sequel, Back To Holcomb, One Last Time . In March 2010, she wrote Discovering The Big Read , a piece about the largest reading program in American history. Its mission is simple: to restore […]
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[…] she has written Desire And A Library Card — The Only Tools Necessary To Start A Poetry Group, Discovering The Big Read, a piece about the largest reading program in American history, and Does Poetry Matter?, an essay […]
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[…] to posts: Discovering The Big Read, Midwest Poets & Writers — When Can You Call A Place Home?, The Vitality Of Place — […]
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