The Big Read - 2009 - for the Poughkeepsie Journal

All articles with headlines that include "for the Pughkeepsie Journal" are unedited. They were put through rounds of editing before going to publication. This is the article as I wrote it.

This article appeared either in print or online - it is now in the Poughkeepsie Journal archives.

The annual nationwide event known as The Big Read kicks off on October 3 and will run throughout the month of October with a focus on influencing students and community members to adopt reading as a central part of their lives.

With a primary goal of encouraging literacy and restoring reading to the center of American culture, The Big Read focuses on a single book each year. This year, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Nora Neale Hurston will be the piece on which daily events across Dutchess County will be centered.

The ideology behind The Big Read is based on the declining desire to read within the teenage demographic. According to Wendy McNamara, Public Information Officer of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District and primary organizer of Dutchess County’s participation in The Big Read, the 14 – 25-year-old age range is becoming less and less interested in reading.

McNamara believes that focusing attention on one book is a good way to win over this age group.

“I hope it opens their eyes to the fact that a book is not just words on paper,” she said. “There’s a whole world and culture around every book.”

McNamara also believes that the events organized for this year’s Big Read will facilitate new perspectives on interpreting literature. Their Eyes Were Watching God will be discussed with respect to many different disciplines by a multitude of authorities.

Lectures and presentations at scattered Dutchess County locations will analyze the book through linguistic, anthropological, racial, historical and of course, literary lenses. According to Dr. Eve Dunbar, assistant professor of English at Vassar College, this eclectic group of perspectives will give guests a better chance to submerge themselves in the story.

“All of those different points of view offer different ways to enter into the novel,” she said. “ Depending on what your interests are, [The Big Read] offers all of these opportunities.”

One presentation is based on the film adaptation of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Associate Professor of English at Dutchess Community College, John Desmond will be discussing the nuances associated with the adaptation of the book to the big screen.

Desmond believes that his presentation will open eyes to the fact that “a faithful adaptation isn’t necessarily a good one.” When a book is made into a film, a new art form is created.

“We’re moving from words on a page to two other languages: sound and picture,” said Desmond. “So what we’re looking at is how a narrative transfers to this new medium.”

In accordance with McNamara and Dunbar’s opinions, Professor Desmond believes that this alternative perspective on a piece of literature will lead to students and guests to understanding it better.

Desmond is also optimistic that his, and his colleagues’ presentations will be enriching not just for students, but for the community is a whole. He believes that when a community is completely submerged in a piece of literature through a myriad of events creates and maintains a sense of camaraderie amongst neighbors.

“Our middle name is community,” said Desmond. “And this is one of our ways in which the college reaches out to the community.”

When asked which event in The Big Read she was most excited about, McNamara replied: “It’s like asking me to pick my favorite child…”