Faulkner Society & BIG Read

 

The Faulkner Society & BIG READ:

What Is NEA BIG READ?

For 25 years, the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society has been creating projects to excite the imaginations of both dedicated readers and those who have not yet discovered the joys of losing yourself in a good book. We have been well rewarded by seeing how great literature can transform a failing student into an eager reader and how the experience of reading can ensure a fun learning experience, future career success, and lifelong personal satisfaction. To continue encouraging a fondness for valuable literary entertainment, the Faulkner Society has once again joined up with the National Endowment for the Arts to bring THE BIG READ to New Orleans.

BIG READ was instituted by the National Endowment for the Arts to combat the shocking trends discovered in an extensive national survey that they conducted. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report, identified a critical decline in reading for pleasure among American adults. This NEA study, combined with all other available data on 21st century reading habits of teenage and adult Americans found that:

• More than 50% of Americans, including college graduates, do not read literature. At risk especially are men.
• Nearly one third of American teenagers are dropping out of school because of declining literacy and reading comprehension. At risk especially are young men.
• Lack of employment opportunities and low wages result from poor reading skills.
• Deficient readers are less likely to be active in civic and cultural activities, less likely to vote or volunteer for community causes.
• Deficient readers are more likely to end up in prison or otherwise become burdens for society.

Addressing this issue, NEA BIG READ works to re-popularize the role of literary reading in American culture. Through a diverse range of contemporary titles that reflect voices and perspectives across the world, BIG READ inspires conversation and connection with those around us, providing the opportunity to broaden our understanding of our world, communities, and selves. It’s a chance to meet new people, and for generations to interact and grow with one another as they engage in events and discussions surrounding some of today’s most important literature.
The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society was again awarded a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts to stage a 2016 BIG READ literacy initiative. The goal is to stimulate reading across New Orleans, particularly in at-risk youth. This year, the Society’s community-wide BIG READ events surround the focus book Sun, Stone, and Shadows, an excellent anthology of short fiction translated and edited by renowned Mexican-born journalist and author, Jorge F. Hernandez. Hernandez, who currently lives in Madrid and writes both fiction and non-fiction, is flying to New Orleans to present on the book and on Mexican fiction in general at the Words & Music portion of BIG READ, 2016.
The Faulkner Society ‘s Pan American Connections Committee enthusiastically chose Hernandez’s collection of Mexican fiction as its focus book for multiple reasons. New Orleans has ties to many Latin American and Caribbean countries which reach back to the earliest history of the New Orleans and the European occupation of Louisiana, once ruled by Spain. Cultural attributes of New Orleans, including architectural details, cuisine, and music can be traced to these ties. The lacy iron balconies of historic neighborhoods, for instance, are visual evidence of Spanish influence. The unique Clavé beat of some forms of jazz is an inheritance from the days of strong ties with Spain and Cuba. The heavy brass of New Orleans music has roots in traditional Mexican bands, and Creole cuisine is largely based on Latin American and Caribbean flavorings, introduced to Caribbean countries and then New Orleans by the slaves who became the first Afro-American residents of New Orleans. Because of these historic cultural ties and because the Hispanic-American population has increased dramatically in recent years, the Faulkner Society regularly seeks to present programming of special interest to those of Hispanic heritage, and to bring to the work of Hispanic authors to the attention of non-Hispanic Americans.
The stories found in Hernandez’s collection, all written by authors born in the first half of the 20th century, are packed with universal themes, as relevant today as when they were conceived. In lieu of the ongoing international political and social dialogues that pertain to the civil liberties of all people, it is important, now more than ever, to increase our understanding of our neighbor-allies south of the border. There is no better way to familiarize oneself with a nation’s people than through the literature that country produces. Sun, Stone, and Shadows contains the jewels of fiction, including pieces from Mexican masters such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, and serve as windows on the soul of the Mexican people.
For several years now, the Latin American Library at Tulane has actively participated with the Society in its Pan American Connections programming and we are proud to be continuing that relationship this year. The Latin American Library is hosting the opening evening events of Words & Music, 2016 at Tulane November 9, beginning at 6 p. m. with a conversation between Jorge Hernandez and the brilliant young fiction writer, Yuri Herrera, who is currently the writer in residence in the Spanish-Portugese Department at Tulane. The discussion event will be followed by a reception featuring Mexican delicacies and the opening of a new Mexican exhibit featuring, for instance, previously unpublished work of the artist and architect William Spratling, who taught at Tulane during the 1920s and was William Faulkner’s landlord in at the time that he was writing his first novel, Soldiers’ Pay. The Latin American Library has given the Faulkner Society permission to use some of the previously unpublished work by Spratling, including his drawing of the two—Spratling and Faulkner—embarking on their well-documented trip to Europe. Spratling’s Mexican connection came somewhat later,
when he moved to Mexico and lived their for the rest of his life, becoming highly influential in the rejuvenation of the Mexican silver industry with his designs for silver jewelry and household
accessories created in silver. (For more on Spratling and Faulkner, see the Faulkner & Friends
section of this edition of The Double Dealer.)
We are delighted that the Latin American Library has given the Faulkner Society the opportunity to publish Spratling’s image for the cover of this 2015-2016 edition.
Our events at Tulane are free and open to the public and we hope you all will participate.
Other partners the 2016 BIG READ include the New Orleans Public Library and the Jefferson Parish Public Library, One Book, One New Orleans, the State Library of Louisiana, Loyola University’s Center for Caribbean and Latin American Studies, and St. Catherine’s free public lending library at the Bishop Perry Center, as well as various media partners.

How Can You Participate?

 

A major thrust of the Faulkner Society’s BIG READ project is putting free copies of the book in the hands of at-risk middle and high school students of the New Orleans area. The National Endowment for the Arts requires a local fund match for its BIG READ grants, and we are soliciting special donations for that purpose. We have seen with our own eyes how important it is to students to have their own copies of books, how eager they are to possess them. Undoubtedly, this inspires readership and a desire to learn more from the vast worlds of information contained within the covers of books, to realize that one book is just a doorway to another.

It’s in all of our best interests to help stimulate interest in reading good literature across all ages. BIG READ is incredibly important in reminding our community that books light the fires of imagination, they inspire people to explore the world and to seek out new adventures. Those whose imaginations have not been ignited frequently lack the power to imagine the consequences of their actions and so become involved in incidents with tragic consequences. Please consider joining us in introducing the joys of reading to New Orleans youth through the great gift of Sun, Stones, and Shadows, an anthology that is sure to light a bonfire of imagination among our students.

• Donate $5,000 and make 500 copies available to at-risk teenagers.
• Donate $2,500 and make 250 copies available to at-risk teenagers.
• Donate $1,250 and make 125 copies available to at-risk teenagers.
• Donate $750 and make 75 copies available to at-risk teenagers.
• Donate $500 and make 50 copies available to at-risk teenagers.
• Donate $250 and make 25 copies available to at-risk teenagers.
• Donate $125 and make 10 copies available to at-risk teenagers.

All dollars raised in response to this promotion will be used for purchase of books. All donations are fully tax refundable.

 

Book plates are placed in groups of books designating the donor. Donors of $125 per person or more will receive a year’s membership in the Society and are invited to events of Sun, Stone, and Shadows BIG READ, including:

10:30 a. m. Wednesday, November 9^, 2016
BIG READ Master Class for Students & Teachers
Featuring Jorge F. Hernandez, Editor,

Sun, Stone, & Shadows, to take place
at the auditorium of Algiers Regional Library,
3014 Holiday Drive, New Orleans, LA 70131

 

6:00 p. m., Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Trends in Contemporary Latin American Literature
A Conversation Between Mexican Authors
Jorge F. Hernandez & Yuri Herrera
The event will take place at
Freeman Auditorium, located in the Menschel Art History Wing
of the Woldenberg Art Center.

Please make all checks payable to and mail to:

The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, 624 Pirate’s Alley New Orleans, LA 70116

To donate using a credit card, please call Faulkner House Books at (504) 524-2940, or use the Donation Form attached and mail to us.

[email protected] or (504) 586-1609 for information.

The Faulkner Society is a (501) (c) (3) non-profit literary organization.

Privately purchased copies of Sun, Stone, and Shadows may be donated and will be accepted for THE BIG READ by the Faulkner Society, 624 Pirates Alley.