The Big Read aims to support “innovative community reading programs” designed around a particular book.
This year book chosen by the Galesburg Public Library is ” Sun, Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Shorts Stories”, a collection of short stories written by 20th century Mexican authors.
Galesburg Big Read coordinator Lauren Pierce tells WGIL from March through May the library will host several discussions on the book, focusing on a different story every session.
“So we’ll be reading and discussing five stories together in the community and we’ll be giving the books away for free,” Pierce says.
The Big Read is a national event funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts taking place at around 70 libraries around the country.
Pierce says that the national organization provide local libraries a list of books to choose to center their programming around.
A companion program will be the opportunity for residents to meet author Chad Brougton, a former Knox Professsor and author of “Boom, Bust, Exodus: The Rust Belt, the Maquilas and a Tale of Two Cities”, that chronicles the Maytag plant’s departure from Galesburg.
“Picking this book allows us to explore different kinds of literature in our community, different kinds of culture and it’s just a time for the community to come together, learn something new and have a lot of fun,” Pierce says.
All Big Read events are free and open to the public.
