Announcing the National Endowment for the Arts BIG READ coordinated by Vigo County Public Library
The 2022 Big Read is Beloved by Toni Morrison. More information from the National Endowment for the Arts: https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/nea-big-read/beloved
ISU’s Cunningham Memorial Library has 200 free copies of the book available for pick-up starting March 1 [as long as supplies last]. Visit the Library’s guide to the Beloved Big Read, including links to library resources and discussion questions at https://libguides.indstate.edu/AnnualEvents/BigRead.
FULL PROGRAM of events at the library and around the community: https://www.vigo.lib.in.us/ev-events/big-read. VCPL’s Calendar: https://www.vigo.lib.in.us/events
Numerous events will take place in various locations throughout the month. The Keynote Address will be Friday, March 4 at 6:30 pm in the Vigo County Public Library’s 1st floor lobby area. Dr. Keith Byerman, ISU Professor of English will introduce the work and legacy of Big Read author Toni Morrison and will highlight Margaret Garner, an escaped slave whose story inspired the character of Sethe in Beloved.
Dr. Byerman will discuss how Morrison transformed Garner’s tale into an award-winning novel and how she also wrote the libretto for the opera Margaret Garner. Dr. Byerman has a PhD in American Studies from Purdue University. He has taught at Indiana State University since 1987, where he specializes in African American, Southern, and modern American literature. He is the author or editor of eight books and multiple articles or chapters. Dr. Byerman also served as the Treasurer of the Toni Morrison Society. Refreshments will be served.
Toni Morrison (1931-2019) is the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
