The Orcas Island Public Library and the Orcas Island Writers Festival have partnered to bring “The Big Read” to the San Juan Islands during the month of September.
The book selected is Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. A variety of events will celebrate Hurston’s book and promote literacy among all ages.
“The Big Read” is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest, designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. In the Pacific Northwest, The Big Read is supported, in part, by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
The following events are scheduled to coincide with the Orcas Island Writers’ Festival, which will run Sept. 17-20:
High Tea with Hurstonat the Outlook Inn, Victorian Room on Thursday, September 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. Free and Open to the Public
Picture Book Writing Class with Deb Lund at the Orcas Library Conference Room on Thursday, September 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost: $65.
READ-TO-ME! Deb Lund reads to children at the Outlook Inn, Victorian Room on Thursday, September 17 at 4:30 p.m. Free and Open to the Public
Talking About Hurston with Al Young 2005 California Poet Laureate Al Young discusses Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God at the Emmanuel Parish Hall on Friday, September 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. Free and Open to the Public.
Al Young and Martin Lund: A Night of Poetry and Jazz at the Orcas Centers Main Stageon Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Free.
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