tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83753978083703976232024-03-13T17:37:15.849-04:00The Big Read - D.C.The Big Read - D.C. (April 23 - May 23, 2009), the annual citywide event that encourages D.C.'s residents to read and experience a single book as one community. D.C. is reading The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Be part of the story.The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-14621536400148152722010-03-13T08:27:00.003-05:002010-03-13T08:31:31.602-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe85-xUgV8GwPhAiNV4MBfTwx-jmoay5xkUu9fHU8v_81t6IaWBbu0-j7I5fwcmtv49F4zK99w237bo13lrwVUO7gghYRcGr1xXkDfDBvNWawFboe9YpBzIH7DEOCkwPMnigw5uxv9ccz/s1600-h/ALBDsmall.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe85-xUgV8GwPhAiNV4MBfTwx-jmoay5xkUu9fHU8v_81t6IaWBbu0-j7I5fwcmtv49F4zK99w237bo13lrwVUO7gghYRcGr1xXkDfDBvNWawFboe9YpBzIH7DEOCkwPMnigw5uxv9ccz/s200/ALBDsmall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448110224821669858" border="0" /></a><br />This blog is moving to <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigread2010">www.wdchumanities.org/bigread2010</a> in March. Enjoy the memories of the past 3 Big Reads on this blog (2007 - 2009). Be sure to join us in April and May for the 2010 Big Read and the city read of <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Lesson Before Dying</span> by Ernest J. Gaines.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-37278889580709170882009-06-13T14:20:00.004-04:002009-06-13T14:28:08.990-04:00Listen to The Heart...radio program on-line<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcljV5AbWUa5SGZzUJSqJNE8IKq6DdQcKXrEpy2lUNzwEU-LV5JI44KAcN14uPofq0izvZRzfCO3gOM6u5ooj9pYFS6zWoB6LBeh0MvWvVBlPCO0ICx_D8lxeCC-ZWJa7UYdn5Kb-itzqG/s1600-h/lonelyhunter.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcljV5AbWUa5SGZzUJSqJNE8IKq6DdQcKXrEpy2lUNzwEU-LV5JI44KAcN14uPofq0izvZRzfCO3gOM6u5ooj9pYFS6zWoB6LBeh0MvWvVBlPCO0ICx_D8lxeCC-ZWJa7UYdn5Kb-itzqG/s200/lonelyhunter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346880289338018834" /></a><br />Listen to the radio broadcast of the Big Read - D.C. book <a href="http://www.neabigread.org/books/lonelyhunter/radioshow.php">THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER</a> (available as an audio guide on CD). The nationl <a href="http://www.neabigread.org">Big Read </a>website also includes a link to a transcript of the radio program, and a link to an iTunes download. Total time is 28:58.<br /><br />Carson McCullers 's <em>The Heart Is a Lonely </em>Hunter radio show is narrated by former NEA chair Dana Gioia and features Blake Hazard, D.C.'s own <strong>E. Ethelbert Miller</strong>, P.J. O'Rourke, Mary-Louise Parker, Gore Vidal, and Jim White.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-30917702954010311022009-06-10T13:13:00.010-04:002009-06-10T14:15:44.320-04:00It's a Wrap! 2009 Big Read - D.C.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhm7y-RfGLB6QAFAdZHTCCyBW7jKzwzGZWaHx5MeDL27zZckVAvnxPO8kHQ1uAbWLF4KxQ3IYnGdgPWpJ37GRowCJtj-n8b-ne1DLdyb3SlJEeL9KKuWETghukfKVOT4kfvGaImfzj5cpl/s1600-h/BID2009BRDC+001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhm7y-RfGLB6QAFAdZHTCCyBW7jKzwzGZWaHx5MeDL27zZckVAvnxPO8kHQ1uAbWLF4KxQ3IYnGdgPWpJ37GRowCJtj-n8b-ne1DLdyb3SlJEeL9KKuWETghukfKVOT4kfvGaImfzj5cpl/s320/BID2009BRDC+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345756921325155266" /></a><br />The month of May ended with a grand finish for the 2009 Big Read - D.C. as the newly published poets from <strong>Coolidge High School </strong>and <strong>Model Secondary School for the Deaf </strong>shared their poems and experiences from the writing/publishing workshop leading up to the publication of "BRIDGES". Students signed copies of their book in the Langston Room at Busboys and Poets, named for Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes who was discovered while working as a busboy in a Cleveland Park hotel. <br /><br />Teachers, parents, school administrators, and friends celebrated the young writers' achievements during this book launch. The poems published in the volume reflect themes of this year's city book THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers. <strong>"BRIDGES: Hearing and Deaf Students Connect Through Poetry" </strong>is a Book-in-a-Day project, a hands-on writing and publishing program created by poet and publisher <strong>Kwame Alexander</strong>. It was the perfect "Final Chapter" for the 2009 Big Read - D.C.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lkUI3gzNWinopkbKDKD0vjyvs0zJAjRh0kQjS6iDqUVSWBxSqgkfaGHNNkcB40rwvXrTEKEcTeJWpv8IogOUmQKQGy6RnI09QFxFQA6bDWb30OKGKTm9cvlIeaTMKlXRR1ud4mJoRW4V/s1600-h/Bridges_cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lkUI3gzNWinopkbKDKD0vjyvs0zJAjRh0kQjS6iDqUVSWBxSqgkfaGHNNkcB40rwvXrTEKEcTeJWpv8IogOUmQKQGy6RnI09QFxFQA6bDWb30OKGKTm9cvlIeaTMKlXRR1ud4mJoRW4V/s320/Bridges_cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345759663499458642" /></a><br />Copies of BRIDGES are available from the <strong>Humanities Council of Washington, DC</strong>. The price is $10/per book plus $5 for postage. Checks and money orders are preferred. <br /><br />Write to: Humanities Council of Washington, DC (attn: Bridges), 925 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; or call 202-387-8391.<br /><br />For on-line orders, visit <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org">www.wdchumanities.org</a>.<br /><br /><strong>And stay tuned. An announcement will be made about the 2010 Big Read later this month.</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-19702579838128565632009-05-26T08:52:00.006-04:002009-05-26T09:14:45.733-04:002009 Big Read - D.C. Final Chapter - "BRIDGES"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpCQ7CjgfjNUQoP-l2KE9dyJd2kB3YrXqAKxv0r7CtzrOzpQxUNt_EIJwuQPSkN3SjX4k2XVGDjvDR7TipLGztvOKhLKqlf6Ja3KKOc9GfpI-dGoC-CfX4rzjCcl1TVmbzJNesHwo61Xk/s1600-h/Bridges.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpCQ7CjgfjNUQoP-l2KE9dyJd2kB3YrXqAKxv0r7CtzrOzpQxUNt_EIJwuQPSkN3SjX4k2XVGDjvDR7TipLGztvOKhLKqlf6Ja3KKOc9GfpI-dGoC-CfX4rzjCcl1TVmbzJNesHwo61Xk/s320/Bridges.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340116073852414226" /></a><br />Students from <strong>Calvin Coolidge High School </strong>and the <strong>Model Secondary School for the Deaf </strong>will release their book, <strong>BRIDGES: Hearing and Deaf Students Connect Through Poetry, Friday, May 29 at 6 PM at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Streets, NW. </strong><br /><br />This year, the Big Read – D.C. introduced a landmark literacy program to these two very distinguished schools. Washington, DC’s Calvin Coolidge High School and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) participated in a project called Book-in-a-Day. Over the course of two six-hour workshops, the students worked together diligently to write and publish a book of their poetry. The workshop is the creation of poet and publisher Kwame Alexander. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5XAgDQWrQgxpG67-fjc5mUqoxJB8ldPkEGX1Fnf-VJ-LxjghOuNj2G8t6Vr207N0hCUQdYeDpexuK3uGfQ-L8gjvZvx_iRtJY6tYXIQ2eFTf4GTmH60coMtmuxc7Fog92Eyyy9ZOnZGi/s1600-h/100_0617.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5XAgDQWrQgxpG67-fjc5mUqoxJB8ldPkEGX1Fnf-VJ-LxjghOuNj2G8t6Vr207N0hCUQdYeDpexuK3uGfQ-L8gjvZvx_iRtJY6tYXIQ2eFTf4GTmH60coMtmuxc7Fog92Eyyy9ZOnZGi/s320/100_0617.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340117342646203234" /><br /></a><br /><br />This will be the final program for the 2009 Big Read - D.C. The event will also include the teachers and principals from Coolidge and MSSD; <strong>Joy Ford Austin</strong>, Executive Director of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC; <strong>Gloria Nauden</strong>, Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; <strong>Michon Boston</strong>, Project Director for the 2009 Big Read - D.C.; and <strong>Kwame Alexander</strong> of Book-in-a-Day.<br /><br />Students will read and sign copies of the book for the final program. There is no admission fee for the event. The price of the book is $10. <br /><br />For information, call <strong>202-387-8391</strong> or email <strong><a href="mailto:dcbigread@wdchumanities.org">dcbigread@wdchu<br />manities.org</a> </strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-85045795615615074122009-05-21T07:54:00.007-04:002009-05-21T08:14:05.870-04:00May 21 is a Big Day for the Big Read - D.C.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOvJ1ClUvpxohtnbxiTkvJGIJQ0G4wJNW-0FJEUf6G3G7vhXg2icqu16E8s5pPAkroQJF5TQxYPAxR38p1EPhyh9a3D4jQXtIf07IVq4C6QsGQU_yfdeDs_XRE-nLIRvCuxdDTH9-0Lew/s1600-h/Harkins.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 127px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOvJ1ClUvpxohtnbxiTkvJGIJQ0G4wJNW-0FJEUf6G3G7vhXg2icqu16E8s5pPAkroQJF5TQxYPAxR38p1EPhyh9a3D4jQXtIf07IVq4C6QsGQU_yfdeDs_XRE-nLIRvCuxdDTH9-0Lew/s320/Harkins.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338248411669292546" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5-eajPocfSGXW3I0q1s0uvDN-E6AVwzXxwY5tpMw216xK8d5fHYBF0i0NhLGdST5otL7S2JpeqJlCexMAmAL_KyZpGaGXOSJ2xS14BKAJ1t6Cr40C2Tu3TFrCQMFXZyNDALFkUvnvKfh/s1600-h/Kipen_10.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 78px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5-eajPocfSGXW3I0q1s0uvDN-E6AVwzXxwY5tpMw216xK8d5fHYBF0i0NhLGdST5otL7S2JpeqJlCexMAmAL_KyZpGaGXOSJ2xS14BKAJ1t6Cr40C2Tu3TFrCQMFXZyNDALFkUvnvKfh/s320/Kipen_10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338248245252308466" /></a><br /><br />Today is another big day for the <strong>Big Read - D.C.</strong> At <strong>10 AM this morning</strong>, <strong>David Kipen </strong>(Director of Literature for the NEA), <strong>Rev. Derrick Harkins </strong>(Senior Pastor of 19th Street Baptist Church), and I will be on <strong>WPFW </strong>for a live discussion of <strong>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</strong> on <a href="http://www.onthemargin.org/">"On the Margin"</a> with host <strong>Josephine Reed</strong>.<br /><br /><strong>BOOK IN A DAY</strong><br />This afternoon students from the <strong>Model Secondary School for the Deaf</strong>, <strong>Coolidge</strong>, and <strong>Roosevelt </strong>high Schools will be completing their <a href="http://www.bookinaday.com/">Book-In-A-Day</a> workshop with Kwame Alexander. Over the several weeks this group of deaf and hearing young writers have been working on a collection of poetry taken from the themes of the city book. <strong>Kwame Alexander</strong>, who's well known for his own poetic harmonies, is part of our experiment to forge a collaboration between hearing and deaf youth. <em> Have you seen dancing haiku?</em><br /><br />It's been great getting to know teachers like <strong>Amy Malone </strong>(MSSD) and <strong>Michael Fleegler </strong>(Coolidge)who have not just contributed unsuspecting new poets to this project, but the kind of enthusiasm teachers have that inspires the rest of us.<br /><br />The book launch and reading will be the final program of the <strong>Big Read - D.C. on Friday, May 29 at 6 PM at Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th Street, NW</strong>. Poems will be read and signed aloud.<br /><br />It's been a challenging process more so for the adults than the youth. But what worthwhile endeavor isn't challenging?<br /><br />Kwame wrote about the first day on his blog. Here's his entry.<br /><br /><a href="http://bookinaday.com/index.php?page=about&family=BID&display=138">BOOK-IN-A-DAY</a> Kwame Alexander May 2, 2009<br /> <br /><em>You started Book-in-a-Day to inspire students to write. To make writing cool. To create student authors. To open young minds to extraordinary possibilities. The whole "one day" thing was sort of a fluke. You kind of backed into it. But, hey it works. <br />Since 2006, you've created over 400 student authors.<br />You've never worked with deaf students. Until Saturday.<br />At 8am, 8 deaf students were on one side of the room, and 8 hearing students were on the other. <br />There was fear, nervousness, all kinds of hesitation. You know this, because you experience all three.<br />You were prepared for this workshop. You did the work.<br />Nothing can prepare you for teaching poetry to a group of deaf and hearing students.<br />Except doing it.<br />You begin with a rhyme poem. It's your comfort zone first 30 seconds routine. <br />There is no concept for rhyme in ASL (American Sign Language).<br />Why didn't you know this? What do you do now?<br />Clerihews always work. Wait a minute. Clerihews are rhyme poems. Oh my, maybe my father was right.<br />The workshop will last for five hours, and you're supposed to inspire the students to write poetry that behaves, for publication, and you are like an ABC drama, after only 4 minutes.<br />Lost.<br />When you are teaching deaf and hearing students to write poetry, and how to publish a book, and you suddenly have the realization that Sign Language is NOT ENGLISH, and grammar, rhyme and other English constructs to do not apply, IT IS TIME TO DANCE.<br />A deaf student says there is no such thing as bad poetry. A hearing student agrees. <br />You ask them is there such a thing as bad fried chicken. You tell them to season their poems right, cook them well…you ask them the ingredients that go into a poem.<br />Rhythm. Imagery. Feeling. Line breaks. ..<br />You start getting a little comfortable.<br />Deanna has a brilliant idea. Pair them up together, one hearing, one deaf, and let them write a list poem together. <br />Until now, the students are Capulets and Montagues. Okay, well maybe not that extreme, but they are of two different worlds. Afraid. Unaware. Unknowing.<br />You watch the resistance. <br />You walk around and see the poems forming. You see the walls coming down.<br />You see a deaf girl and a hearing boy texting each other.<br />Well, yes!<br />You see a deaf girl and a hearing boy smiling. At each other. For a while. <br />You see something happening that is magical, and wonderful.<br />And hopeful.<br />You do not know where the time has gone. You finally have everyone dancing, and it is almost time to go.<br />You ask the students to read their poems. Deaf students sign. Hearing students read. Some simultaneous. It is honest. Authentic.<br />Powerful.<br />A phenomenal interpreter (because none of this works without fabulous interpreters) asks if you've considered doing this at other deaf schools. She wants to come with you.<br />The students leave. You will see them again in two weeks. <br />This is what you do.<br />And, you are making a living.<br />And, you love your job.<br /> </em><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-34881339295568929252009-05-19T15:06:00.004-04:002009-05-19T15:16:57.692-04:00The Library of Congress and its WPA Federal Arts Collections (Wednesday, May 20)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSs7Sp2a8oMgAsLQY3HatYaSu0Uy0WJdqoPflXid-JGkW1n7uzwvPiRco6hVOYcRVv6Hl2VPPxTu_s8JzzfQUpN8-bGWDqoDE7MojrB7xJIiTGagKOMkXzh4SFymiZcIaZLhIDuh8_B0_/s1600-h/LOC_program.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 316px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 246px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337614767207121986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSs7Sp2a8oMgAsLQY3HatYaSu0Uy0WJdqoPflXid-JGkW1n7uzwvPiRco6hVOYcRVv6Hl2VPPxTu_s8JzzfQUpN8-bGWDqoDE7MojrB7xJIiTGagKOMkXzh4SFymiZcIaZLhIDuh8_B0_/s320/LOC_program.jpg" /></a> Wednesday, May 20 at 12 noon <strong>John Y. Cole</strong>, Director of the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/">Center for the Book</a>, and <strong>Ralph Eubanks</strong>, Director <a href="http://www.loc.gov/loc/pub/">Publishing for the Library of Congress </a>(www.loc.gov) will host a brown bag lunch presentation and overview of the <a href="http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/ftcole05.html">Library’s collections </a>from the <strong>Works Progress Administration</strong> (WPA) of the 1930s. The WPA Guides to the States from the Federal Writers Project, and the oral histories from the Ex-Slave Narrative Collection will be featured. The Library of Congress has an extensive collection of photos, manuscripts, recordings, posters, and other publications from the WPA programs. Participants will take away additional information about the collections and learn more about the innovative programs and the people who documented real American stories.<br /><br />The presentation will take place in the <strong>Library of Congress Madison Building, Room LM 602</strong>,(Independence Avenue between 1st & 2nd Streets SE<br /><br />Space is limited to 20 persons for this brown bag lunch. Reservations Required. Email <a title="mailto:dcbigread@wdchumanities.org" href="mailto:dcbigread@wdchumanities.org">dcbigread@wdchumanities.org</a> or call <strong>(202) 387-8391</strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-22283085548791740952009-05-13T12:44:00.009-04:002009-05-13T13:42:23.463-04:00Sherill Tippins talks about February House - Thursday, May 14<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhws6lKg303hdAcecrMKfnlF1pYzFzLtGWSiDgvuWnsnL1cT_EGp8Mrrrw0C_3UoWNsU0FWNtkhJ_Ghjn-sZksCYAuB_wetiD8uDR8Xg9xp5u9igPtmRLpdCoBQeDFE_ybWFnpJ6aQgFrsc/s1600-h/February_House.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 242px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335357616516431138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhws6lKg303hdAcecrMKfnlF1pYzFzLtGWSiDgvuWnsnL1cT_EGp8Mrrrw0C_3UoWNsU0FWNtkhJ_Ghjn-sZksCYAuB_wetiD8uDR8Xg9xp5u9igPtmRLpdCoBQeDFE_ybWFnpJ6aQgFrsc/s320/February_House.jpg" /></a> </div><div>Group houses are usually associated with a ribbon of empty pizza boxes on the floor, recent college grads trying to get on a career track, or graduates finishing an advanced degree and cutting back on other expenses. Or for others, people just trying to get back on their feet after some kind of life crisis or spill.<br /></div><div><br /> </div><div>For the occupants of February House, the group home of Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britton, W.H. Auden and others, the company of artists fed the imaginations and musings of the permanent residents as well as other creatives who were just passing through.</div><div><br /> </div><div><strong>Thursday, May 14 at 7 PM</strong>, Chapters Literary Arts Center presents an evening with <strong>Sherill Tippens</strong>, the author of <em><strong>February House: The Story of Carson MCcullers, W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee, Under One Roof in Wartime America</strong></em>. The event will be at the Charles Sumner School at 17th & M Streets, NW (across from National Geographic). For information email <a href="mailto:chapters.literary@erols.com">chapters.literary@erols.com</a>. The event is FREE and open to the public.</div><br /><div>How "lively" was this group house on Middagh Street in Brooklyn, NY? Here are a few questions from the <a href="http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/tippins_february.shtml#discussion">Random House discussion guide</a>:</div><div><blockquote>Louis MacNeice observed that the residents of 7 Middagh Street were "ever so bohemian, raiding the icebox at midnight and eating the catfood by mistake." Was this eccentric, highly tolerant, and often chaotic environment a necessary part of the creative equation? What might the ideal conditions be for writing a novel or composing music — a routine, quiet life, as Gustave Flaubert suggested, or a life open to all of life's random elements and occurrences? Which kinds of conditions do you find best facilitate your own creative work?<br /></blockquote></div><div><blockquote>Paul Bowles traced his wife Jane's increased alcohol consumption and, following Auden's example, her use of Benzedrine tablets to her stay at 7 Middagh. Years earlier, it was George Davis who introduced Auden to the stimulants in the first place. Do you see a pattern of drug and alcohol abuse in the house? What role did it play in setting the stage for the creative synergy that characterized the experiment? How would the house have been different without these substances? To what degree did they lead to the end of the communal living experiment?<br /></blockquote></div><br /><div>Two of the temporary residents of February House were the international strip-tease artist Gypsy Rose Lee who used the space to write and complete a novel; Tippins writes:</div><div> </div><div><blockquote>Carson felt that she could tell Gypsy anything, so of course she did.<br /><br /></blockquote></div><div>And Richard Wright, his wife Ellen and their daughter who left the house after one year:</div><div> </div><div><blockquote>He found it too painful, he said, to witness Carson's self-destruction through drinking and George's dangerous adventures among the bars and brothels of Sands Street.</blockquote></div><br /><div>About Sherill Tippins:</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5B5S1GrMzVvX6aRsLbMg5Hxzk_NDEQZGTBlAy9ZCyKb3h5a96ooIYGSeD1ZYqjYlHT7Dgvg7j1olNsWQrqYOJZbLmmOfjHR0N9sM7OwosJ0pD354DMt_FvqriIGzrDT9O5VywV7b4LpUl/s1600-h/Tippins.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 70px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 111px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335363302897888818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5B5S1GrMzVvX6aRsLbMg5Hxzk_NDEQZGTBlAy9ZCyKb3h5a96ooIYGSeD1ZYqjYlHT7Dgvg7j1olNsWQrqYOJZbLmmOfjHR0N9sM7OwosJ0pD354DMt_FvqriIGzrDT9O5VywV7b4LpUl/s320/Tippins.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Sherill Tippins is also the coauthor of <em>The Irreverent Guide to New York</em>. She moved to New York from Austin, Texas, at the age of twenty-two to pursue a career as a screenwriter and author. Ten years later, having settled with her husband and two children in Brooklyn Heights, a quiet neighborhood overlooking Manhattan at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, she began volunteering for a neighborhood meal-delivery program to the elderly and infirm. It was from one of these neighbors that she first heard of the extraordinary experiment in communal living — involving a British poet, a southern novelist, one of the world's great opera composers, and a celebrated stripper — that had taken place sixty years earlier just a few blocks from her home. Her fascination with the house and its residents prompted her to begin collecting facts and anecdotes about their shared life in Brooklyn, and eventually to recreate their experience in February House. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Tippins is now at work on another untold story, of a century's worth of creative interaction and raucous living — stretching over the decades from Sarah Bernhardt to O. Henry, from Thomas Wolfe to Jackson Pollock, William Burroughs, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, and beyond — set in New York's famous (and infamous) Victorian-era edifice the Chelsea Hotel.<br /></div><br /><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-82951275949666813912009-05-12T09:24:00.006-04:002009-05-12T09:44:53.606-04:00Eliza McGraw on Jewish Identity in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUpDaehogXjk2bNq0jcXcOUE5YtUODF3a18nhMUfEQ0uiCNCthp6at_IulPYF4TycCAwkkkx8iEbanwKsYeuXYYAg97Bj9xXSwe96qMuWcARFfsXRD6oPdyBIfTCxqgOk7DBufxr05rz5/s1600-h/112214__lonely_l.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334929036078233522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUpDaehogXjk2bNq0jcXcOUE5YtUODF3a18nhMUfEQ0uiCNCthp6at_IulPYF4TycCAwkkkx8iEbanwKsYeuXYYAg97Bj9xXSwe96qMuWcARFfsXRD6oPdyBIfTCxqgOk7DBufxr05rz5/s320/112214__lonely_l.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><strong>TONIGHT (Tues., May 12)</strong> <strong><a href="http://www.elizamcgraw.com/author.html">Eliza McGraw</a></strong>, author of <em>Two Covenants: Twentieth-Century Representations of Southern Jewishness</em> will introduce a special screening of the 1968 film adaptation of “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center. Dr. McGraw’s introduction will focus on John Singer’s Jewish identity as well as the gaps created by surveys of southern culture that rarely assess the contributions of Jews and histories of Jews in America and living in the American South. </div><br /><div>The Washington DC Jewish Community Center posted more about the event and Jewish identity in <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em> on the 16thstreetj blog yesterday:<br /></div><div><a href="http://16thstreetj.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/spotting-the-jewish-in-the-heart-is-a-lonely-hunter/">http://16thstreetj.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/spotting-the-jewish-in-the-heart-is-a-lonely-hunter/</a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDV1SAdTYKaIKNI-bJ-yIsL8tvEk-yMAGqH37170_B5olfKKSMPE2U3aBpJho7BMFL48qiRV6hiYC2FX8M7zgVsEiwv6JAvgBc_9dWb0wb_pME8yylZfCpaX5-6KdtB5R3MKEowYH2yWf/s1600-h/ElizaMcGraw.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334930843253712130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDV1SAdTYKaIKNI-bJ-yIsL8tvEk-yMAGqH37170_B5olfKKSMPE2U3aBpJho7BMFL48qiRV6hiYC2FX8M7zgVsEiwv6JAvgBc_9dWb0wb_pME8yylZfCpaX5-6KdtB5R3MKEowYH2yWf/s200/ElizaMcGraw.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Dr. McGraw's expertise extends beyond southern culture and sensibilities. She is an expert equestrian. Her recent book, <em>Greatest Kentucky Derby Upsets</em>, came off the press in 2007 and is now begging for an update thanks to this year's long-shot, Mine That Bird (50-1). In an email chat, I asked McGraw if she saw that coming:<br /><br /><blockquote><br /><p><em>I definitely did not see that long shot coming. I was pulling for Pioneer of the Nile, because I am a Bob Baffert fan and believe he is due for a comeback. (But the last time I picked a Derby winner was Silver Charm, so I don't have a very good record as a handicapper.)</em><br /><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.washingtondcjcc.org/">Washington DCJCC </a>is located at 1529 16th Street, NW - use 16th Street entrance. The introduction and film begin at 7 PM. For information, email info@wjff.org, or call 202-777-3248. </p></blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-59340410216194560362009-05-07T18:02:00.011-04:002009-05-08T11:49:34.795-04:00Poet J. Joy Matthews Alford (Sistah Joy) and her grand-daughter, Jordan, made Saturday's D.C. Public Library marathon (5/2/09) a family adventure. <br /><br />Michon Boston<br />Project Director<br />2009 Big Read - D.C.<br /><br /><em>Greetings All,<br /><br />I am happy to share this article (link from my AuthorsDen website blog </em><a title="http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewblog.asp?authorid=" href="http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewblog.asp?authorid=56467"><em>http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewblog.asp?authorid=56467</em></a><em>) of my participation in DC's BIG READ at the MLK, Jr. Memorial Library this past Saturday (May 2, 2009).<br /><br />Please share the link with friends you feel would be interested. I've also included a few photos from Saturday below. Enjoy! </em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwQMyDZDwKfVDTRylVCHgopkfy9qrE4y23ebJZ99G5Rojd6PdKofW1vqYrcYOzOOPftQZnxwxNrRMrGLEPEzolZWzad697DnDbshT9jaV1cVOQFZhfftlklpV5Z3dVX7yUfH3XbOgFsht/s1600-h/Joy+Jordan.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333207079812477906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwQMyDZDwKfVDTRylVCHgopkfy9qrE4y23ebJZ99G5Rojd6PdKofW1vqYrcYOzOOPftQZnxwxNrRMrGLEPEzolZWzad697DnDbshT9jaV1cVOQFZhfftlklpV5Z3dVX7yUfH3XbOgFsht/s320/Joy+Jordan.jpg" /> <p align="center"></a><br /><em>Sistah Joy & Jordan, about to head out for our "Big Read" adventure<br />at the MLK, Jr. Memorial Library! (5/2/09)<br /></em><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3E7LPPherIb7CEbYE_BS64EYDIKMu8aalz6LAdCeUyBFkQF1VxnyVJd1bEjF2Hl7anCCBCK1mdJp7q45Jm-ziDGQ-iiIZS6nP-iPs9vzrxLkh5FTMEARXh-bj8aaDYlGnsFJLI2F0gCr/s1600-h/JordanMetro.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333207289941339170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3E7LPPherIb7CEbYE_BS64EYDIKMu8aalz6LAdCeUyBFkQF1VxnyVJd1bEjF2Hl7anCCBCK1mdJp7q45Jm-ziDGQ-iiIZS6nP-iPs9vzrxLkh5FTMEARXh-bj8aaDYlGnsFJLI2F0gCr/s320/JordanMetro.jpg" /> <p align="center"></a><br /><em>Excited to be riding the train to the MLK Library!<br /></em><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63Lh7CMTI0fjZqf9dZP_w3IquTgPqZEbCbrMIUrmZgQpasLbtu13Z7tVsGl_ZNr1YA970ngb7BzREoK6zjtfbIT9p8OcXaXyA3FUcXgrZLRJ6ObqZsVsZwppBPAVBorGA8fnZ8m7DRCVz/s1600-h/JordanMLKchess.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333207575069311074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63Lh7CMTI0fjZqf9dZP_w3IquTgPqZEbCbrMIUrmZgQpasLbtu13Z7tVsGl_ZNr1YA970ngb7BzREoK6zjtfbIT9p8OcXaXyA3FUcXgrZLRJ6ObqZsVsZwppBPAVBorGA8fnZ8m7DRCVz/s320/JordanMLKchess.jpg" /> <p align="center"></a><br /><em>Checking out a game of Chess at the MLK, Jr. Memorial Library</em><br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AemjP3ghUu5DZ-yzF29fq2Lnlv4iIQWgnToIvbC154rSIL7KcvJ7DRyKaqiuIIk2aOvKumAqUCVmUMzhskDX-HZ4bH18dKzki2Z-8snCZqqjkYPpHreG9aMcbR-ELM7PYLjj-r68fT2Z/s1600-h/Sistah_Joy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333207734126668306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AemjP3ghUu5DZ-yzF29fq2Lnlv4iIQWgnToIvbC154rSIL7KcvJ7DRyKaqiuIIk2aOvKumAqUCVmUMzhskDX-HZ4bH18dKzki2Z-8snCZqqjkYPpHreG9aMcbR-ELM7PYLjj-r68fT2Z/s320/Sistah_Joy.jpg" /> <p align="center"></a><br /><em>Sistah Joy reads Carson McCullers' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter<br />at DC's "Big Read" at MLK, Jr. Memorial Library (5/2/09)<br /></em><br /><em>Blessings, Sistah Joy</em> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-2327778505627092522009-05-06T20:27:00.003-04:002009-05-06T20:32:07.157-04:00Oral History Workshop @ The Historical Society of Washington, DC<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqRK10vHYAPZJLW7MW7Lbu9xFa9eRhcWlcw3wZcVa9IslZLbdz5AeCeSs5RTBQWkua8EgS72eq9iASybIyGGTwwwpUVKl8kLry-sVlNuPX8jwRtbM7SLz53AfLT9jiuLQ7SJsN8aaH2an/s1600-h/Veterans_Project.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 295px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 197px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332872942843016370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqRK10vHYAPZJLW7MW7Lbu9xFa9eRhcWlcw3wZcVa9IslZLbdz5AeCeSs5RTBQWkua8EgS72eq9iASybIyGGTwwwpUVKl8kLry-sVlNuPX8jwRtbM7SLz53AfLT9jiuLQ7SJsN8aaH2an/s320/Veterans_Project.jpg" /></a><br /><strong>The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. and The Veteran’s History Project</strong> will present an oral history workshop, <strong>Saturday, May 8 from 10 am until 12 noon</strong>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.loc.gov/vets/">Veterans History Project </a>of the Library of Congress’American Folklife collects and preserves the remembrances of American war veterans. This free oral history workshop offered at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. will give you a chance to work with experts from the Veterans History Project and learn methods and techniques for collecting and preserving the stories of veterans from your family and in your community.<br /><br />The Historical Society of Washington, DC is located at 801 K Street, NW (zip - 2001). Closest Metro is Mt. Vernon/Convention Center.<br /><br />For information Ph. (202) 383-1830 Email education@historydc.org<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-25326324723726985362009-05-05T08:28:00.003-04:002009-05-05T08:31:55.707-04:00Larry Neal Writers Competition Awards Ceremony - this Friday!<a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadwp/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/neal.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-246" title="neal" alt="neal" src="http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadwp/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/neal-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Friday, May 8 at 6 PM</strong>, the <a href="http://www.dcarts.dc.gov/"><strong>DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities</strong></a> presents its <strong>Larry Neal Writers Awards</strong> from its annual writers competition named for the poet, journalist, playwright, essayist and former DCCAH executive director. The annual competition is open to emerging and professional writers of all ages residing in the District of Columbia.<br /><br />This year, the Commission is awarding a <strong>Big Read-D.C. Special Recognition Award for Creative Expression</strong> as part of DC’s 2009 Big Read celebration of author Carson McCuller’s <em>The Heart is a Lonely Hunter</em>. This special prize will be given in each age group to writers who composed an essay on the theme of <strong>courage</strong>. The 2009 Big Read – D.C. honorary chair <strong>George Pelecanos </strong>will present the awards.<br /><br />The awards ceremony will take place in <strong>Theater J at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street, NW at Q – 16th Street Entrance</strong>. [Note: the venue is changed from the earlier versions of the Big Read – D.C. schedule.]<br /><br />The ceremony is presented in partnership with the <a href="http://www.penfaulkner.org/"><strong>PEN/Faulkner Foundation</a></strong>. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP – Email RSVP to <a href="mailtto:artsawards@dc.gov">artsawards@dc.gov</a>, or call (202) 724-5613, TDD (202) 724-4493.<br /><br />To learn more about Larry Neal and his influence on the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, visit the dcarts.dc.gov website or our competition blog post on the Big Read – D.C. <a href="http://http//dcbigread.blogspot.com/search?q=Larry+Neal">blog </a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-8034705586818747242009-05-02T06:47:00.004-04:002009-05-02T07:00:32.131-04:00Today! at the DC Public Library<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE3n2B_fBhQGCtguhwdIXnvd2QipazcVN65Fse7plkULUjYBzmmxrVRVNzL6PdkH9MYUhI1KiOc5yM5f4VRADVQ4iQmoVZU5Cr7mH0KwTUNyXLOfLDYow2uvK4xzViuOkYTcJKo3CO5ZZ/s1600-h/Marathon+Annoucement.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE3n2B_fBhQGCtguhwdIXnvd2QipazcVN65Fse7plkULUjYBzmmxrVRVNzL6PdkH9MYUhI1KiOc5yM5f4VRADVQ4iQmoVZU5Cr7mH0KwTUNyXLOfLDYow2uvK4xzViuOkYTcJKo3CO5ZZ/s320/Marathon+Annoucement.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331177409379046546" /></a><br />The Big Read - D.C. Marathon starts 10 AM TODAY at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memeorial Library (901 G Street, NW - Gallery Place Metro). Guest readings of THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER begin at 10 AM and end at 3:30 PM, followed by swing and hand dancing in the Great Hall. Chess, Book bingo and other surprises throughout the day.<br /><br />For a complete list of readers, visit <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadwp">www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadwp</a>; and for an activities calendar, visit <a href="http://dclibrary.org">www.dclibrary.org</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-79230101917590204022009-04-28T08:38:00.010-04:002009-04-28T09:54:32.940-04:00Book Clubs are Getting on Board The Big ReadIn just 1 week, at least 3 book clubs are meeting or have met to discuss THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER. And what are they saying about our city book? Here are two comments from <strong>The North Portal Estates Book Club</strong> who met April 24:<br /><br /><blockquote><p><em>Throughout our discussion there was the push and pull between those who read the book and felt a sense of despair and those who felt a sense of hope. Those on the side of hope prevailed, which is a good thing. As we bounced between hope and despair, we explored the complexity of the five main characters and thought that the number should have been expanded to at least six to include Portia. We praised the writing style and the ability of someone who started writing the novel at age 19 to capture so many different individual styles and themes – themes such as race and class and gender and the promise of the writings of capitalism and democracy and those of Marxism. We focused on the inability of the characters to create meaningful relationships. It seemed that for all the characters – major and minor – that they lacked the knowledge and skills to create non-lonely relationships. One interesting theme discussed was the extent to which McCullers found wanting a practice of “religion” that was no more than mere projection of human wants, needs and desires onto a real or imagined being who could offer nothing in response. As noted, we ended on a note of hope, which suggests that the heart is really a “hope-filled” hunter. The April meeting marked the seventh anniversary of the book club.</em> Jerome</p><p></p><br /><p><em>The "Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers was truly an interesting read. I found the imagery to be outstanding. The details place you right on the scene. I would have liked a little more action and a little less dialogue. But that's ok. McCullers' novel solidified the fact that, as individuals, we are so different that sometimes it is difficult for us to connect and grasp the sense that we are truly understood by our fellow "hunters". But that's ok too, because "The Hunt Goes On.”</em> Liz</p></blockquote><br /><p></p><p>Sunday, April 26, the <a href="http://oraclesetfoundation.org/OSF_Docs/Overview.html"><strong>Oracle Set Book Club</strong></a>, founded in 1966 in Washington, DC hosted "A Bit of Deaf Culture" at Gallaudet University's Alumni House (that used to serve as the college's gym). Bettie Waddy Smith and Rosalyn Coates (our Big Read postcard models) facilitated the discussion which included a book summary by <strong>Susan Schatz</strong> who works with Bettie at Gallaudet. Schatz is deaf and gave some insight into the deaf community at the time McCullers wrote the novel: In the 1930s, deaf education consisted of teaching children how to talk. If that failed, they learned to sign (not so today); American Sign Language (ASL) was not recognized until 1960. And a question - "Why did Singer move to the South from Chicago which was a hub for deaf community?" Was he a loner or individualist by character/nature. Schatz is also a visual artist and talked about her life growing up deaf and attending "regular" schools. The program also included a performance by the children's class of the Deaf Dance Academy introduced and led by Tara Downing. We have pics (see below):<br /></p><p><br /><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F24606809%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157617338232047%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F24606809%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157617338232047%2F&set_id=72157617338232047&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71574"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71574" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F24606809%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157617338232047%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F24606809%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157617338232047%2F&set_id=72157617338232047&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /></p><p><br />The Women's National Democratic Club Book group will have its discussion of<em> The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em> April 29 (members only). An update of that discussion will be posted here.<br /><br />In the meantime, if your bookclub or group is talking about <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em>, let us know. Just add your comments and news on this blog.<br /><br /><br /></p><blockquote></blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-64324619096853369082009-04-25T08:25:00.004-04:002009-04-25T08:31:51.490-04:00Big Read - D.C. weekendToday's is the day for the 2009 Big Read - D.C. kick-off at Gallaudet University. The program begins at 11 AM George Pelecanos is speaking and there will be a small reception with refreshments in the Student Academic Center.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGAtDFQcGkyC1X63Ln3K75HoHcwT5vxlO-AEe5SPB9bPDkLCqrC3DE4o8HNwDLz5_B4iioR3-6t9CAcojqb3NxWgrmaFesUrhSOe-fCVv2BGOjn17qA0AwSuhX071lunC5vJ-goiwQAl0/s1600-h/DANCE-IFYOUBELIEVE.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328605440432300834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGAtDFQcGkyC1X63Ln3K75HoHcwT5vxlO-AEe5SPB9bPDkLCqrC3DE4o8HNwDLz5_B4iioR3-6t9CAcojqb3NxWgrmaFesUrhSOe-fCVv2BGOjn17qA0AwSuhX071lunC5vJ-goiwQAl0/s200/DANCE-IFYOUBELIEVE.jpg" /></a><br />Tomorrow, (Sunday, 4/26) the <strong>Oracle Set Book Club</strong> is hosting "A Glimpse Into Deaf Culture Through Dance" at Gallaudet's Alumni House. The National Deaf Dance Academy will perform. The program begins at 3 PM and includes a book discussion.<br /><br /><br /><br />Gallaudet University is located at 800 Florida Avenue, NE.<br /><br /><br /><br />For a full calendar of events, visit <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/">http://www.wdchumanities.org/</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br />Make your heart an open book.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-1676024243551360752009-04-23T11:05:00.003-04:002009-04-23T11:08:08.326-04:00SpeakeasyDC opens the Big Read - D.C. tonightToday's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/22/AR2009042201695.html?sub=AR">Washington Post District Weekly </a>front page features the Big Read - D.C. Today is the official first day of the month-long city ready of <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em> by Carson McCullers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.speakeasydc.org/">SpeakeasyDC</a> is scheduled to open the city read with a performance of a new work inspired by McCullers' book. The event is at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street, NW) at 7:30 PM. General seating in the Langston Room.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-27652792520390987552009-04-18T08:58:00.004-04:002009-04-18T09:24:24.816-04:00Are You Reading The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduxXpUv4uLvjgwuLukQo_xJ5FtVgSjkYC42PEp30oKH3-WNum_FyHQEEP-SIJWf1rn4FE3o2ABaxyo_fqlRyC_W0P2vpGqpgBLTznD6Hkm2_Km70abJZQi-0ZwAKxU3jswaO3lyuQJUyZ/s1600-h/postcard3small.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 226px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326018240801727410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduxXpUv4uLvjgwuLukQo_xJ5FtVgSjkYC42PEp30oKH3-WNum_FyHQEEP-SIJWf1rn4FE3o2ABaxyo_fqlRyC_W0P2vpGqpgBLTznD6Hkm2_Km70abJZQi-0ZwAKxU3jswaO3lyuQJUyZ/s320/postcard3small.jpg" /></a><br /><div>The 2009 Big Read - D.C. launches this week! </div><div> </div><div>We want to know who's reading <em><strong><i>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</i></strong></em>, the 2009 city book.</div><br /><div>Take the short <a href="http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2i8e2jjftn863ai/start"><strong>survey</strong></a>.</div><div> </div><br /><div></div>Upcoming Events and they're FREE!<br /><strong>Tuesday, April 21, 6 PM</strong>, The <a href="http://www.dclibrary.org/">DC Public Library </a>explores deaf characters in popular films with a screening of "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" based on Carson McCullers' book. Alan Arkin received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of John Singer. (Note: The <a href="http://washingtondcjcc.org/">Washington DC Jewish Community Center </a>will also host a screening of the film on May 13 with an introdcution by Dr. Liza McGraw, author of <em>Two Convenants: Twentieth-Century Representations of Southern Jewishness</em>)<br /><br /><div><strong>Thursday, April 23</strong>, <a href="http://www.speakeasydc.org/">SpeakeasyDC</a> will highlight the Big Read - D.C. book in an evening of true-to-life stories titled "Outside Looking In." The performance begins at <strong>7:30</strong> PM at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street, NW).</div><br /><div><strong>Saturday, April 25 at 11 AM </strong>is the official <span style="font-size:130%;color:#990000;"><strong>kick-off</strong></span> event for the Big Read - D.C. featuring the 2009 honorary chair <strong>George Pelecanos</strong> and performances by the <strong>D.C. Labor Chorus</strong>, and <strong>Quest: Arts for Everyone</strong>. A small reception will follow the program. The kick-off will be in the Elstad Auditorium on the Gallaudet University campus (800 Florida Avenue, NE). </div><br /><div></div><div>A full calendar events can be found at <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadwp/?page_id=6">http://www.wdchumanities.org/bigreadwp/?page_id=6</a></div><br /><div></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-64102184095797069322009-04-11T17:07:00.005-04:002009-04-18T09:26:59.090-04:00Why Do You Read?The Big Read - D.C. asks communities to read together, but that's not always possible. So we're asking individuals "Why Do You Read?" That's the them for the "keynote" for the upcoming kick-off <strong>Saturday, April 25 at 11 AM at Gallaudet University</strong> (800 Florida Avenue, NE). George Pelecanos will be there to give the keynote - "Why I Read....Why I Write."<br /><div>Lots of people seem to read to take them to different places or experiences outside their own. For some readers that "someplace else" can be "anyplace but where I am now." </div><br /><div>Apparently, there's an up-turn for reading during a downturn. Book sales are currently up in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/business/worldbusiness/16books.html">Europe</a>. And in the U.S. sales of romance novel are on the up-tick according to Andrew Sullivan of the <em>Atlantic Monthly</em>:</div><div><br /><blockquote><p><em>Romance fiction </em><a href="http://rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre/romance_literature_statistics"><em>generated</em></a><em> $1.375 billion in sales in 2007. And while other forms of entertainment suffer economically, romance novels usually sell better during economic downturns. Why? Probably because it's cheap -- anywhere from $4 to $8 for several hours worth of escape in the privacy of your own garden, bed, or bathtub --- and best of all, when times are awful everywhere you're guaranteed a happy ending.</em><br /></p></blockquote></div><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Spoiler Alert:</span></strong> Uh...Big Read - D.C. books haven't offered neat happy endings. But the Big Read - D.C. does offer happy experiences for new and continuing readers who show up at our activities and events.<br /><br /><div>We're less than two weeks away from the official start of the 2009 Big Read - D.C. The schedule is on-line at <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/">http://www.wdchumanities.org/</a></div><div></div><div>Tell us on this blog "Why Do You Read?" </div><br /><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-22990896300095953472009-04-04T20:56:00.003-04:002009-04-04T21:19:17.930-04:00Gallaudet University Students discuss The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAc4vK2EgIepT71m0rkVzMVgUWEkxuvlcciBFPFVtgdM6q0HDmFJflvOEBfNhukN51i31kUYt6fdnJUpH-B2qYx4IE5_72wdW3t-_ZSabItBg6GfG3YUNw2wy4tSpAtxyPlGD55iJpCju9/s1600-h/lonelyhunter.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321010155808815202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAc4vK2EgIepT71m0rkVzMVgUWEkxuvlcciBFPFVtgdM6q0HDmFJflvOEBfNhukN51i31kUYt6fdnJUpH-B2qYx4IE5_72wdW3t-_ZSabItBg6GfG3YUNw2wy4tSpAtxyPlGD55iJpCju9/s200/lonelyhunter.jpg" /></a><br /><div><strong>Tuesday, April 7 from 4 - 5 PM</strong>, a panel of Gallaudet University undergraduate students will discuss <strong><em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em></strong>. The discussion will be moderated by Jim McCarthy, Instruction and Reference Librarian for the Gallaudet University Library (sponsor).</div><br /><div>The discussion will take place in the G area of the I. King Jordan Student Activities Center. Interpretation will be available for hearing attendees.</div><br /><div>Gallaudet University is the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students. The University enjoys an international reputation for the outstanding graduate programs it provides deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students, as well as for the quality of the research it conducts on the history, language, culture, and other topics related to deaf people. </div><br /><div>The 2009 Big Read - D.C. is proud to partner with Gallaudet for this year's city read of <strong><em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em></strong>.</div><br /><div>The Gallaudet University Community Relations Committee is the co-sponsor for the official Big Read <strong>kick-off</strong> coming up on <strong>Saturday, April 25 at 11 AM</strong> in the Elstad Auditorium.</div><br /><div><a href="http://gallaudet.edu/">Gallaudet University </a>is located at 800 Florida Avenue, NE. For more information about the book discussion email library.help@gallaudet.edu or call:<br />202-651-5217 (V)<br />202-651-5212 (TTY)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-25589680591111791792009-03-29T10:12:00.011-04:002009-03-29T20:28:41.404-04:00The 70th Anniversary of Marian Anderson's Easter Sunday Concert<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7VLzfnWmtdtAFZcywSRU3Hw74CLEYLy6yZnx9OvuZnq_tg084zLtxjrFBuIDiu6KnvKZhhLqOCX3wrzNwB3nNcGHs5ileRi1ZIDVOICMjz88R7bCn1NetPKcInIbCIM3j4fnFmv_yfWS/s1600-h/Anderson_Lincolnmem.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318620097904316018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7VLzfnWmtdtAFZcywSRU3Hw74CLEYLy6yZnx9OvuZnq_tg084zLtxjrFBuIDiu6KnvKZhhLqOCX3wrzNwB3nNcGHs5ileRi1ZIDVOICMjz88R7bCn1NetPKcInIbCIM3j4fnFmv_yfWS/s320/Anderson_Lincolnmem.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The renowed contralto Marian Anderson (1897 - 1993) didn't intend to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Easter Sunday 1939. Her recital was scheduled to take place in the Daughters of the American Revolution's (DAR) Constitution Hall. The DAR refused to allow Anderson to perform in the concert hall because she was African American. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt heard about the incident and resigned from the DAR in protest. The First Lady wrote a formal statement regarding her resignation in her "<a href="http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/tmirhfee.html">My Day</a>" newspaper column.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRKJezQAOh4JNyEo7uqCxE1LmrQoP8mArM4vNZ3-hShiPa3qY3TVVB9DZYfImVsWGLsM0qOJ8JkqWUc_sTVIDxlFyuSh0MMEtZx499vt57vLr-XXvj3HDVcEAG-qypW7rKH5wXgieOrcu/s1600-h/Denyce.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318621283829820242" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 118px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRKJezQAOh4JNyEo7uqCxE1LmrQoP8mArM4vNZ3-hShiPa3qY3TVVB9DZYfImVsWGLsM0qOJ8JkqWUc_sTVIDxlFyuSh0MMEtZx499vt57vLr-XXvj3HDVcEAG-qypW7rKH5wXgieOrcu/s200/Denyce.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This Easter Sunday--April 12 at 2 PM--mezzo soprano <a href="http://www.denycegraves.com/bio.aspx"><strong>Denyce Graves</strong> </a>will appear on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a 70th anniversary tribute to Anderson's historic concert. Joining her will be <strong>Sweet Honey in the Rock</strong>, the <strong>Washington National Opera</strong>, and the <strong>Chicago Children's Choir</strong>. Denyce Graves, a native Washingtonian, was the 1991 recipient of the Marian Anderson Award presented by Anderson herself. In 2005 she performed at the first-day-of-issue dedication of the US Postal Service's Marian Anderson stamp at DAR Headquarters in Washington, DC. DAR President General Presley Merritt Wagoner said the following in the welcoming remarks.<br /></div><div><blockquote><p><em>It is most fitting that we gather in Memorial Continental Hall at Constitution Hall, the place which historically represents a sad chapter in our country's history and in the history of DAR. We deeply regret that Marian Anderson was not given the opportunity to perform her 1939 Easter concert in Constitution Hall but recognize that in the positive sense the event was a pivotal point in the struggle for racial equality.</em><br /></p><p><em>Ms. Anderson's legendary concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial will always be remembered as a milestone in the Civil Rights movement. The beauty of her voice, amplified by her courage and grace, brought attention to the eloquence of the many voices urging our nation to overcome prejudice and intolerance. It sparked change not only in America but also in the DAR.</em><br /></p><p><em>I stand before you today wishing that history could be re-written, knowing that it cannot, and assuring you that DAR has learned from the past.</em><br /></p></blockquote></div><div>Anderson subsequently performed at DAR Constitution Hall in 1942 and on numerous occasions.</div><div></div><div>Big Read - D.C.'s walking tour, "New Deal Washington" will start from DAR Constitution Hall and the story of Anderson's 1939 concert. <strong>Kim Roberts</strong> has authored our Big Read - D.C. walking tours from our very first city read to explore our Big Read - D.C. books through a D.C. lens and D.C. stories. Curator <strong>Paul Gardullo</strong>, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and <strong>Donna Wells</strong>, Prints and Photographs librarian for the Moorland Spingarn Research Center at Howard University will lead a special tour of "<a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1260">The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise</a>" which includes Anderson's fur coat and photos from the Lincoln Memorial concert including the photo above. These events will take place in May during the Big Read - D.C. month.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-56794866210578860032009-03-21T15:30:00.022-04:002009-03-21T17:41:38.256-04:00Mutual Admiration: Carson McCullers and Richard Wright<div><blockquote><br /><p><em>to me the most impressive aspect of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is the astonishing humanity that enables a white writer, for the first time in Southern fiction, to handle Negro characters with as much ease and justice as those of her own race. This cannot be accounted for stylistically or politically; it seems to stem from an attitude toward life which enables Miss McCullers to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness.</em></p><br /><p>- Richard Wright,<em> New Republic </em>(August, 1940)<br /><br /></p></blockquote></div><br /><div>When Carson McCullers published <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em> in 1940, novelist <strong>Richard Wright</strong> wrote a glowing review of the book. Wright had also published his first novel, <em>Native Son</em>, that same year.</div><br /><div>Editor George Davis, who shared a Brooklyn Heights house with McCullers and other artists at 7 Middagh Street, invited Wright to a combination birthday party, housewarming and Thanksgiving celebration.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKi9EWD2o4TtyoznuemFDf8sba47zavuk29L-tFdRfJ57ky7KAlZbuqzPEpukGua_Sgl6kRYMqJmFgsgxe8yjVkhsoO3wzvYl8XIDvza5pvIJieUnV66qV8kX4jt-q-Ye5q6d8gIe1mJgS/s1600-h/wrightanddaughter.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315750430432039474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 146px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKi9EWD2o4TtyoznuemFDf8sba47zavuk29L-tFdRfJ57ky7KAlZbuqzPEpukGua_Sgl6kRYMqJmFgsgxe8yjVkhsoO3wzvYl8XIDvza5pvIJieUnV66qV8kX4jt-q-Ye5q6d8gIe1mJgS/s200/wrightanddaughter.jpg" border="0" /></a>"My friend Carson McCullers was so deeply touched by your review of her book and is most anxious to meet you," George wrote. </div><br /><div>Wright was unable to make the party. Two years later, he, his wife Ellen Poppel and infant daughter Julia moved in with McCullers and her house mates. 7 Middagh was named "February House" by diarist Anais Nin for the several residents --W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, George Davis, and Carson McCullers--born in the month of February.</div><br /><div>Wright found a friend in McCullers. The racism of the outside world did not intrude on the community inside February House. However, a black man, his white wife, and their baby daughter raised eyebrows in the neighborhood. Stones were thrown at the windows of February House. Wright was encountered by the coal deliverer, also African African, who refused to offer service to someone of his own race. </div><br /><div>A year later, Carson McCullers began to decline from alcoholism and persistent poor health. Wright noticed the self-destructive change in her behavior and decided it was time for him and his family to leave February House especially for the sake of his daughter.</div><br /><div>Carson McCullers counted Richard Wright's <em>Black Boy</em> (published 1945) as one of her favorite books. She wrote in her unfinished autobiography....<br /></div><div><blockquote><p><em>Another writer who was particularly dear to me is Richard Wright. … Dick and I often discussed the South, and his book, [Black Boy,] is one of the finest books by a Southern [Negro.]</em> </p><br /><p></p></blockquote>To read Richard Wright's full review of <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em>, visit <a href="http://www.carson-mccullers.com/html/wright.html">http://www.carson-mccullers.com/html/wright.html</a>.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The Big Read - D.C. and its community partner Chapters Literary Arts Center looks forward to hosting <strong>Sherill Tippins,</strong> author of <em><strong>February House</strong></em> in May. Check the Big Read - D.C. calendar in April at <a href="http://www.wdchumanities.org/">http://www.wdchumanities.org/</a>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-43917120367807517312009-03-14T17:26:00.033-04:002009-03-14T19:08:59.584-04:00ISO of Carson McCullers' D.C. Connection<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRiLQfh8gnoEK2thLF4YpOqVVA-mZFRiur4ZSICtYnj3Qn_yLfuoxAa4QDYR-FBmx-EoxUe4sMZ9VnQLW-iA0sd1__JdOWV-AnDn2iYS_1Fq1-5LoexVwfBrawSn0SH4pZObmNB_LXrTv/s1600-h/CarsonMcCullers.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313161263008489746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 146px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRiLQfh8gnoEK2thLF4YpOqVVA-mZFRiur4ZSICtYnj3Qn_yLfuoxAa4QDYR-FBmx-EoxUe4sMZ9VnQLW-iA0sd1__JdOWV-AnDn2iYS_1Fq1-5LoexVwfBrawSn0SH4pZObmNB_LXrTv/s200/CarsonMcCullers.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>It's been a challenge finding a D.C. connection for author Carson McCullers. Unlike Zora Neale Hurston (2007), McCullers didn't attend college and meet a BLF (best literary friend) named Langston Hughes here; unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald (2008), her parents weren't married in D.C.; neither did she have a daughter take up residence here (Scotty).<br /><br /></div><div></div><div>But through the Big Read, <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em> has made its own D.C. connection through <strong>E. Ethelbert Miller, </strong>one of the featured commentators on the Big Read Audio Guide for the book narrated by former NEA chair Dana Gioia. Miller is joined by Edward Albee, Alan Arkin, P.J. O'Rourke, Mary Louise Parker, Gore Vidal and others . </div><div></div><div>E. Ethelbert Miller describes <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em> as a "must read" on the CD.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkxM0EdFcImuNUkNM4p1pyOWjdkab5bpC2SMdhipdVYyqPc6YO2QhWo-cxRI39pAgGMV2o3kIpRIZPZpmz6rcVETaMGXhytN8JrWf4UmLx90fJET-fdnOVdyFeqQwfy-yHwUls5sMPlYi/s1600-h/5thinning.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313161575046003810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 151px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkxM0EdFcImuNUkNM4p1pyOWjdkab5bpC2SMdhipdVYyqPc6YO2QhWo-cxRI39pAgGMV2o3kIpRIZPZpmz6rcVETaMGXhytN8JrWf4UmLx90fJET-fdnOVdyFeqQwfy-yHwUls5sMPlYi/s320/5thinning.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>E. Ethelbert Miller has published his second memoir, <strong><em>The 5th Inning</em></strong>, through a new publishing venture by the Big Read - D.C.'s community partner <a href="http://www.busboysandpoets.com/">Busboys and Poets</a>. The cover is designed by <strong>Andy Shallal</strong>, owner of the Busboys and Poets restaurants and now its companion press (via PM Press). <em>The 5th Inning</em> the first book for Busboys and Poets.</div><div><p></p></div><div>Miller, a literary activist and board chair for the Institute for Policy Studies, has authored several collections of poems. His first memoir, <em><strong>Fathering Words</strong></em>, was selected for the DC Public Library's Center for the Book "DC We Read" program. He's often heard on NPR radio. Miller is also a founder of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC (co-presenter for the Big Read - D.C.)<br /><br /><em>We learn that what happens, even in these relationships with people that we love, we have difficulty communicating. We wind up being "deaf" to each other.</em><br />E. Ethelbert Miller, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Audio Guide<br /><br />Carson McCullers never got to 2nd base in her 5th inning. She died at age 50.<br /><br />A launch party for <strong><em>The 5th Inning</em></strong> and the Busboys and Poets press is scheduled for <strong>Monday, March 16 at 7 PM</strong> at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street, NW). The event will feature readings by Miller and other special guests as well as a book signing.<br /><br />Copies of the Big Read Audio Guide to <strong><em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em></strong> will be available at Big Read - D.C. events including the upcoming SpeakeasyDC event at Busboys and Poets April 23 (7:30 PM); and the official kick-off at Gallaudet University, April 25 (11 AM). For more information, call 202-387-8391 or email <a href="mailto:dcbigread@wdchumanities.org">dcbigread@wdchumanities.org</a>.</div><br /><br /><div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-65018231537953414492009-03-08T08:20:00.016-04:002009-03-08T09:25:10.444-04:00Deaf History Month (March 13 - April 13)<span style="font-size:100%;">Deaf History month begins March 13. The District of Columbia Library's Adaptive Services Division has a schedule of events and activities year round including ASL readings, classes, and special guest speakers. It's speculated that Deaf History month was founded at the DC Public Library! During the month, libraries are encouraged to host deaf awareness activities.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:14;">For more information, contact Library Services to the Deaf Community:</span></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14;">Voice (via <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236176630_9" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">Video Relay Service</span>) <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236176630_10" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">866-570-7364</span> and ask for<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Janice Rosen</span>; </span></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14;">Voice (direct) or VideoPhone<span> </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236176630_11" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">(202) 727-2145</span>; TTY <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236176630_12" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);">(202) 727-2255</span></span></span> </p> <span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:14;"><span style="font-size:100%;">E-mail: <a target="_blank" href="http://us.mc1107.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=library_deaf_dc@yahoo.com" rel="nofollow"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236176630_13">library_deaf_dc@yahoo.com</span></a>. </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Saturday, March 21 from 11 am - 4 pm, the DCPL Adaptive Services Division will have a new <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Grand Opening and Open House</span>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">11am to 12 noon ASL (American Sign Language) Story Hour, Librarian Janice Rosen signs in ASL, "Moses Goes to the Circus," by Isaac Millman - stories projected on a screen page by page as the story as told. Therapy dog teams from People Animals Love will join us for the story hour and will stay after the story hour at a designated table to talk to people and answer questions. </span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">12:15 pm to 1:45 pm Library director, Ginnie Cooper, and members from the blind community and the Library of Congress National Library Services for the Blind. including Michael Mellor, the author of the most recent biography of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236357000_2" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204);">Louis Braille</span> will speak.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">2 to 3 Sing and Sign in ASL. Learn to sign a simple song and learn a few other signs, too.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">CART and ASL interpreters will be provided. Deaf-Blind who need tactile or close-vision interpreters or other accomodations, please let us know right away.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLjRibvckS0TSRUZdhvbn9saBYy6qGyuW0fC9GqokAFBk4gyGfTOkADXMCqr5MG3C3Kttx4c90xFveIfeqRz8c332iR_d1RKy6PK1JXsMWUVP5CCRlfZ5VP7yVkfiJVQhynnNKHHePqwx/s1600-h/dummy_hoy_with_bat.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 101px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLjRibvckS0TSRUZdhvbn9saBYy6qGyuW0fC9GqokAFBk4gyGfTOkADXMCqr5MG3C3Kttx4c90xFveIfeqRz8c332iR_d1RKy6PK1JXsMWUVP5CCRlfZ5VP7yVkfiJVQhynnNKHHePqwx/s200/dummy_hoy_with_bat.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310805107748390466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Thursday, March 26 - 7:00 – 8:45 pm</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Germantown Library<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236485213_3">, 19840 Century Blv, </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Germantown , MD 20874 </span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>Saturday March 28 at 12 noon - 2 pm</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW (Rm A-5), Washington, DC 20001<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Independent Researcher Steven Sandy presents</span><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy: Deaf Baseball Hero </span><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:black;">Dummy Hoy was the first deaf player in <span class="yshortcuts"><span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236485213_7">major league baseball</span></span> and had to overcome many obstacles on his way to becoming one of the greatest outfielders of his time. Hoy is credited with the creation of the <span class="yshortcuts"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236485213_8">hand signals</span></span> used by umpires to indicate whether the pitch thrown was a “strike” or a “ball.” Not being able to hear the calls which were shouted out by the umpires, Hoy asked his coach to stand at third base and raise his right hand for a strike and left hand for a ball. These hand signals are used by baseball umpires all over the world today. </span></span><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" >Mr. Sandy’s research covers the whole range of Hoy's life from the time he was born on May 23, 1862 on a farm in Houcktown , Ohio to his death on December 15, 1961 in <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1236485213_6"><span class="yshortcuts">Cincinnati</span><span class="yshortcuts"> , Ohio</span></span> at the age of 99. </span> </p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Let's Communicate - American Sign Language Classes - Spring Schedule</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Classes are held at the MLK, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW. Check the electronic bulletin board at the entrance to confirm meeting room. All sign language programs are FREE and open to the public. There is NO need to register. <span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:14;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span>BEGINNING LEVEL (100+ Basic ASL Vocabulary and Basic ASL Structure)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mon./Tues. March 16 – May 11, 2009: 5:30 – 7:00 pm </span>- 2nd Floor E. Lobby<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Mon./Tues. May 18 – June 30, 2009: 5:30 – 7:00 pm</span> – 2nd Floor E. Lobby<br />(Instructor: Maurice Smith)<br /><br />INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (More Vocabulary / Advanced Rules of ASL)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Tuesdays February 3 – April 28, 2009: 5:30 – 7:30 pm</span> – Room 221<br />(Instructor: Richard Stokes. NOTE on March 10, 17, 31, class will NOT meet in Room 221. Check electronic bulletin board or the Book Information Desk for the room number.)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Mon./Tues. March 16 – May 11, 2009: 5:30 – 7:00 pm</span> – 2nd Floor E.<br />(Instructor: Linda McCrimmon)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Tuesdays May 5 – June 30, 2009: 5:30 – 7:30 pm</span> – Room TBA<br />(Instructor: Richard Stokes)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mon./Tues. May 18 – June 30, 2009: 5:30 – 7:00 pm </span>– 2nd Floor E. Lobby<br />(Instructor: Linda McCrimmon)<br /><br />CONVERSATIONAL (Communication Practice – All skill levels)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Saturdays February 7 – May 23, 2009: 10:00 am – 12:00 Noon</span> – Room 221<br />(Instructor: Andrea Galer)<br /></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:14;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:14;"><br /></span></span><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:12;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><br /></p></span></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-9912345341713337072009-02-28T17:52:00.007-05:002009-03-01T09:10:40.515-05:00Three Authors and a Poem<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ok3cXIeyHoTykbmL3hQPRxgfq1OZLSsk02qG1wWAerdeqNQelaEVQGPZ4eR6OlLSPTSjTCTB4ljemhcqTDiEfpp-3dQ3ICj4pcfyL4oLZ5olkwmIlL2DGQm_7Fb3zxEtYVGgWpTGoxvV/s1600-h/Sharp+portrait.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ok3cXIeyHoTykbmL3hQPRxgfq1OZLSsk02qG1wWAerdeqNQelaEVQGPZ4eR6OlLSPTSjTCTB4ljemhcqTDiEfpp-3dQ3ICj4pcfyL4oLZ5olkwmIlL2DGQm_7Fb3zxEtYVGgWpTGoxvV/s200/Sharp+portrait.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308220983810540834" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Carson McCullers took the title for her novel, <strong><em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em></strong>, from a poem by <span style="font-weight: bold;">William Sharp</span> - "The Lonely Hunter." William Sharp was a Scottish poet (1855-1905), journalist, and editor who also wrote under the pseudonym <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fiona MacLeod</span>. Fiona often published works in the style of the " Celtic Twilight School" popularized by William Butler Yeats. The writing was mystical, imaginative, mythical. Sharp's double identity was kept secret from the public. His sister Mary and his mother were called on to provide correspondence from Fiona MacLeod in an authentic woman's handwriting. Fiona MacLeod was enjoying a successful career and Sharp could not let her go until his death. When Fiona's true identity was revealed, it caused a scandal.<br /><br />"The Lonely Hunter" was one of many poems written by Fiona MacLeod aka William Sharp.<br /><div style="font-style: italic;" class="entrybody"><p>Green branches, green branches, I see you beckon; I follow!<br />Sweet is the place you guard, there in the rowan-tree hollow.<br />There he lies in the darkness, under the frail white flowers,<br />Heedless at last, in the silence, of these sweet midsummer hours.</p><p>But sweeter, it may be, the moss whereon he is sleeping now,<br />And sweeter the fragrant flowers that may crown his moon-white brow:<br />And sweeter the shady place deep in an Eden hollow<br />Wherein he dreams I am with him — and, dreaming, whispers, “Follow!”</p><p>Green wind from the green-gold branches, what is the song you bring?<br />What are all songs for me, now, who no more care to sing?<br />Deep in the heart of Summer, sweet is life to me still,<br />But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.</p><p>Green is that hill and lonely, set far in a shadowy place;<br />White is the hunter’s quarry, a lost-loved human face:<br />O hunting heart, shall you find it, with arrow of failing breath,<br />Led o’er a green hill lonely by the shadowy hound of Death?</p><p>Green branches, green branches, you sing of a sorrow olden,<br />But now it is midsummer weather, earth-young, sun-ripe, golden:<br />Here I stand and I wait, here in the rowan-tree hollow,<br />But never a green leaf whispers, “Follow, oh, Follow, Follow!”</p><p>O never a green leaf whispers, where the green-gold branches swing:<br />O never a song I hear now, where one was wont to sing.<br />Here in the heart of Summer, sweet is life to me still,<br />But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.</p></div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-60318597316196045562009-02-22T14:01:00.017-05:002009-02-22T15:08:47.488-05:00Meet the 2009 Big Read - D.C. Honorary Chair, George Pelecanos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeokU14d0yifE3RIxjcX8m_wP8lUenhgPv2Sd95a0qXt826SJA4rxmzztn09AdfbrvAcGXDKUTUF6LJKfXkQpoHBUHVbtNjH9-4eufr9GW6cDH1vSS07o9Vb4gaGbg0ElMc9UKDK3l4ZY/s1600-h/GP_standing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 351px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeokU14d0yifE3RIxjcX8m_wP8lUenhgPv2Sd95a0qXt826SJA4rxmzztn09AdfbrvAcGXDKUTUF6LJKfXkQpoHBUHVbtNjH9-4eufr9GW6cDH1vSS07o9Vb4gaGbg0ElMc9UKDK3l4ZY/s320/GP_standing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305701301046160578" border="0" /></a><br />Local author and native Washingtonian George Pelecanos is honorary chair for the 2009 Big Read - D.C. Pelecanos is the author of 15 novels set in and around the District as well as editor for two short story anthologies under the title <span style="font-style: italic;">D.C. Noir</span>. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, "The Wire."<br /><br />Pelecanos has been a friend of the Big Read - D.C. since he participated in our community partners's meeting to select the 2008 Big Read - D.C. book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Great Gatsby </span>by F. Scott Fitzgerald.<br /><br />As a crime novelist, Pelecanos has a special kinship with Washington, DC area where he grew up, went to school, church, and worked. The road to the first novel was paved with a variety of jobs including linecook, dishwaster, woman's shoe salesman, and bartender. The first novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Firing Offense</span>, brought a small advance but not enough to pay the rent. It did lead to a second novel, a new publisher and a larger advance to live on, plus a film option from Miramax. Options of books don't guarantee films, but they can bring writers some attractive income from Hollywood. His novel <em>Right as Rain</em> is currently in development with director Curtis Hanson (<em>LA Confidential, Wonder Boys</em>) and Warner Brothers. <br /><br />Carson McCullers was no stranger to Hollywood either. She adapted her third novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Member of the Wedding </span>(1946) into a stage play. It went to Broadway and then was optioned for a Hollywood film production starring Julie Harris and Ethel Waters. McCullers' other novels --<span style="font-style: italic;">The Ballad of the Sad Cafe</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Reflections in a Golden Eye</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</span>--were all optioned and adapted for film.<br /><br />For the 2009 Big Read - D.C., George Pelecanos will be joining us for the official kickoff Saturday, April 25, the Larry Neal Writers Competition Awards on May 8, and a reading at <a href="http://www.politics-prose.com/">Politics & Prose </a>of his new novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Way Home</span> due for release in May. (Stay tuned to this blog for the complete and most up-to-date calendar for the 2009 Big Read - D.C.)<br /><br />This year's Big Read - D.C. aims to inspire new readers and writers. Each year, the Big Read - D.C. introduces new work by community partners like SpeakeasyDC and DC WritersCorps, as well as D.C. high school student poets and essayists.<br /><br />For more information about George Pelecanos, visit his website at <a href="http://www.georgepelcanos.com/">www.georgepelecanos.com<br /></a>Read about our February community partners meeting on the national NEA Big Read blog<br /><a href="http://www.nea.gov/bigreadblog/?p=213">http://www.nea.gov/bigreadblog/?p=213</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375397808370397623.post-81531140776466581662009-02-16T14:09:00.011-05:002009-02-16T14:21:18.450-05:00SpeakeasyDC featured in Sunday's WaPo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzikYxejpcKFk8msV0pzqvi89UkIMYUgPP5wtuxqNNpK6n7g_VSv9D-Ue1kyzR7ktQcVQW6N0QBiKUbJ5r4_NN-EkTeFU-dQEVZokhynnhVBYOnv6uTDMdiAH3HYhCQP6rnxMOTOv-OrYU/s1600-h/WaPopic_Speakeasy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303476825859828642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 93px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzikYxejpcKFk8msV0pzqvi89UkIMYUgPP5wtuxqNNpK6n7g_VSv9D-Ue1kyzR7ktQcVQW6N0QBiKUbJ5r4_NN-EkTeFU-dQEVZokhynnhVBYOnv6uTDMdiAH3HYhCQP6rnxMOTOv-OrYU/s200/WaPopic_Speakeasy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieptbtRSZcfW9dQqBtBr-zVawjEatq4DdCX1LzzEgi4miY91tIje4-y7kyfasHmqf86Wmm97mBAwi34HZMtvomwqwYxj6VPN3qzXsseFWUMPyeO6hSjBYpLZFacyf0mjXXDwujbPgS_POq/s1600-h/sedclogo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303474679369637970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 46px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieptbtRSZcfW9dQqBtBr-zVawjEatq4DdCX1LzzEgi4miY91tIje4-y7kyfasHmqf86Wmm97mBAwi34HZMtvomwqwYxj6VPN3qzXsseFWUMPyeO6hSjBYpLZFacyf0mjXXDwujbPgS_POq/s200/sedclogo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>SpeakeasyDC was featured in Sunday's (2/15/09) Metro section of the <em>Washingotn Post</em> in an article titled "<a href="http://mobile.washingtonpost.com/detail.jsp?key=351138&rc=me&p=1&all=1">True Lives, Under a Spotlight</a>" by Tara Bahrampour. SpeakeasyDC trains and showcases local storytellers monthly to share true stories or tall tales, mostly autobigraphical.</div><br /><div>SpeakeasDC will be the first community partner event for the 2009 Big Read - D.C. with "Outside Looking In," a tribute to the 2009 Big Read - D.C. city book, <em>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</em>. Last year they packed the Langston Room for the city read of <em>The Great Gatsby</em>. The event is scheduled for Busboys and Poets April 23rd at 7:30 PM. For more information, contact SpeakeasDC at www.speakeasydc.org.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Be Part of the Story! The 2009 Big Read - D.C. D.C. is reading THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers www.wdchumanities.org/bigread</div>The 2010 Big Read D.C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07831501709305369095noreply@blogger.com0