News

Spokane, Wash. - From March 4 through April 16, Eastern Washington University's Get Lit! Programs is hosting The 2011 Big Read for the Inland Northwest thanks to the Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library and Fairchild Air Force Base Library. The goal of the Big Read is to draw communities together around a single book through a month of related literary events. Get Lit! Programs selected Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried because it exemplified this year's festival theme of "Telling the American Story." This award-winning book is not just about the Vietnam War, although it is considered one of the finest books ever written about combat and its consequences.

The Big Read will officially kick-off Friday, March 4, with a reception at Spokane City Hall chambers from 5-8 p.m. Veterans Gary Duvall, David Baird, Suzanne Williams and others will share their stories. Free books will be handed out as part of the Book Crossing read and release program where copies of The Things They Carried will be left around town for people to pick up and read. On this same night, the Chase Gallery will also open a related exhibition entitled "Telling the American Story: History. Memory. Place. Story. Picture. Space."

Following the kick-off gathering, there will be multiple free events throughout the Spokane area celebrating The Things They Carried, including: panels, 1960s style teach-ins, theatrical events, art exhibits, film series, related readings, and numerous book discussions held at local libraries, bookstores and community centers. People of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to attend one of the book discussions to share their thoughts on the book and its themes.

As part of the Get Lit! Festival theme, "Telling the American Story," several authors will be presenting history/military themed readings for a range of ages at the festival on April 16. Those authors include: Louise Borden, Kelly Milner Halls, Suzanne Morgan Williams, Jack Hamann and Julie Ostuka. The Big Read will culminate during the festival in an evening with Big Read author Tim O'Brien at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16 (ticketed event). O'Brien will be joined by Iraq-war veteran and poet Brian Turner to offer insight into wars past and present through their creative works. The evening will open with Veterans' Voices, a short film presentation by Spokane's Tincan, and will conclude with an audience Q and A, as well as a book signing.

Other free events include:
March 4 Kick-off event at Spokane City Hall Chambers
Mar 4-Apr 29 Telling the American Story Exhibit at Chase Gallery/Spokane City Hall
Mar 9-Apr 13 Big Read Film Series on Wednesdays (times and locations vary)
March 9/10 1960s Teach-In (times and locations vary)
March 12 Reading of We Also Served and Military Brat at Auntie's Bookstore
March 18 Theater Adaptation of The Things They Carried at The Bing Theater
(or March 4-12 in Cheney)
March 23 Panel on Impressions of The Things They Carried at Riverpoint Campus
March 25 Veterans for Peace Panel: The Things We Still Carry at Community Bldg.
March 27 VETS: Portraits of Veterans and Their Stories at J.F. Thamm Gallery
April 7 Staged Reading of A Piece of My Heart at Whitworth Weyerhaeuser Hall
April 16 Youth Readings: Louise Borden and Suzanne Morgan Williams at Auntie's
April 16 Speaking Truth to Power with Jack Hamann at Riverpoint Campus
April 16 Lives Interrupted with Julie Otsuka at River Park Square Mall, 3rd Floor
*Various Book discussions around town

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for The Big Read has been provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Boeing Company, the Poetry Foundation and the Ford Motor Company.

For more information on The Big Read or the Get Lit! Festival, visit www.ewu.edu/getlit. The coordinator for these events is Danielle Ward. She can be reached for media inquiries at 509.359.6977 or dward@ewu.edu. Plus, participating authors are available for interview.