Campus Connection

Events are part of ‘La Crosse Reads’

[caption id="attachment_48461" align="alignright" width="225"] Emmy-nominated songwriter and author Sheree Brown will give public presentations, along with visits to local elementary schools and UW-La Crosse. Brown is in La Crosse as part of La Crosse Reads, a community-wide, grass-roots book read that is part of a $14,000 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant received by the UW-La Crosse English Department and the La Crosse Public Library.[/caption] An Emmy-nominated songwriter and author will take part in two “Little Reads” as part of the La Crosse Reads project. Sheree Brown, co-founder of the Zhakanaka Peace in the City national campaign, will give “An Author’s Story” at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at the La Crosse Public Library, 800 Main St. She will repeat the presentation at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the North Community Library, 152 Kane St. The presentations are free and part of La Crosse Reads, a community-wide, grass-roots book read that is part of a $14,000 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant received by the UW-La Crosse English Department and the La Crosse Public Library. Area libraries, schools and other organizations are joining with a variety of programming and venues. The La Crosse Community Foundation Erickson Sisters' Fund provided special funding for Brown's visit. Brown is a music educator at the elementary school level, along with her current work teaching songwriting and choral performance to sixth through 10th grade students at Community Harvest Charter School in Los Angeles. She has collaborated with her husband, minister and educator, Douglass Johnson, Sr., and artist Pixote Hunt, in co-writing the children's book series, 'Zhakanaka', and the accompanying music CD. Along with the public presentations, Brown plans to visit numerous elementary schools in La Crosse, along with classes at UW-La Crosse.