Show latest news, more from December 2005.
NEA's new reading program
The National Endowment for the Arts in America has introduced a new national initiative, entitled The Big Read. The initiative is in pilot phase, and aims to encourage communities to come together, read, and discuss one book. Ten organisations have received $US 15 000 to $40 000, to carry out four to six week programs. Communities ranging from 7000 to 4 million people will be reading one of four classics. Each group will have activities related to the novel, including read out-loud marathons and film series. It is hoped that the initiative will be continued in 2007, with more communities invited to participate. “The NEA's landmark 2004 study, Reading at Risk, showed that literary reading in the U.S. is in steep decline," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "No single program can entirely reverse this trend. But if cities nationally unite to adopt The Big Read, our community-wide reading program, together we can restore reading to its essential place in American culture. Call me naïve, but I can actually envision an America in which average people talk about To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby with the same enthusiasm as they bring to Lost or Desperate Housewives." For more information, CLICK HERE.
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