Posted 1:30 p.m. Monday, July 25, 2016
Area-wide book event begins this fall.
Area-wide book event begins this fall
People from throughout the Coulee Region will come together this upcoming school year to read and discuss a single book. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse English Department has received a $14,000 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant. The grant will be used to bring nationally recognized speakers and generate community-wide conversations around Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying.” “We want it to be a community, grass-roots read,” says Assistant Professor of English Kate Parker, one of the grant’s co-authors. She hopes to get up to 3,000 area readers to take part. The project will reach out to a variety of groups to meet that goal. Partners in the project include: the La Crosse Public Library; libraries at UWL, Viterbo University and Western Technical College; area schools; and several local businesses and non-profits. UWL is one of only 77 non-profit organizations nationwide that received grants totaling more than $1 million for Big Read projects running September 2016-June 2017. The goal of Big Reads, according to the NEH, is “to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.” Another grant co-author, Assistant Professor of English Bryan Kopp, expects the Big Read to build community. “Slowing down and reading a book is a great way to connect with one another,” says Kopp. Community events planned for the Big Read include a kick-off event featuring Sister Helen Prejean, a social justice activist featured in the film, “Dead Man Walking.” Other workshops and speaker presentations will be held this winter. Smaller groups will be encouraged to hold their own events while reading the book. [caption id="attachment_46445" align="aligncenter" width="685"]
UWL English Department assistant professors, Kate Parker, left, and Bryan Koop discuss plans for the upcoming “Big Read” featuring Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying.” Students in Kopp’s upper-level English course were involved in the Big Read grant-writing process.[/caption]
Parker, Kopp and the third grant co-writer, Assistant Professor of English Heidi Jones, worked with the public library to select the book from a list of 38 titles. “A Lesson Before Dying,” Gaines’ eighth novel published in 1993, is a story about a young teacher pairing up with an uneducated young adult after he is wrongfully convicted of robbery and murder and sentenced to death in a small, fictional Cajun town.
“This is a book that invites us to think in unexpected ways about pressing social issues,” notes Parker.
The book rings close to home for Parker and her colleagues. More than a year ago they applied for a UWL Foundation grant to read literature with inmates in the La Crosse County Jail.
They originally thought it would be like teaching a class, but soon discovered it was entirely different. “The inmates really impress us with the unique insights they bring,” says Parker, who along with Kopp and Assistant Professor of English Kelly Sultzbach held sessions with inmates three times each semester.
Students in Kopp’s upper-level English course were also involved in the Big Read grant-writing process. Emily Mootz, a senior English major, serves as the project’s social media intern.
The faculty authors say there will be more formal and informal opportunities for students interested in promoting literacy—or just reading a good book—to become involved throughout the year. A full schedule of Big Read events will be announced in fall.