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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- January 10, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

The Great Michigan Read exhibit, events at Box Factory in St Joseph, January 11-28

Exhibit featuring Hemingway’s early years in Michigan and his Nick Adams Stories

(LANSING)----The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) announces the exhibit, Up North with the Hemingways, will be on display at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph (1101 Broad St.) from January 11 through January 28, 2008.  The exhibit will visit 29 sites in the state of Michigan through July 7, 2008 (see below or log onto the website, www.greatmichiganread.org). The exhibit is part of The Great Michigan Read, launched in July by the Michigan Humanities Council to help address the decline in reading literature.  Hours to view the exhibit are Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; and, Sundays, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. 

On January 11 at 5 p.m., the MHC will make special presentation to The Box Factory for the Arts for its programs to help celebrate The Great Michigan Read.  Attending the presentation will be local elected officials and members of the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce.  At 5:30 p.m. the Box Factory will host an opening reception for the exhibit, Up North with the Hemingways. At 7:30 p.m. the Box Factory will screen the film, “Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man.”  The presentation and reception are free (cash bar at the reception), and there is a $5 fee for the movie.

Other events to celebrate Hemingway include: a dramatic reading of the Nick Adams Stories by local historian Robert C Meyers and a fly tying demonstration by Ann Miller of the Flygirls of Michigan (January 20), nature writing workshop (January 12), a nature art workshop (January 19), Hemingway film screenings (January 18, 25, and February 1), and nature writing and art competitions. For more information about the exhibit and programs at the Box Factory for the Arts, please call 269-983-3688 or visit www.boxfactoryforthearts.org

The touring exhibit includes references to original artifacts about Ernest Hemingway’s life and his writings that pertain to his time in Northern Michigan. There are four themes as a focus of each exhibit: Northern Michigan in the early 1900s, the Hemingway family, Ernest Hemingway, and The Nick Adams Stories. The Great Michigan Read touring exhibits were funded in part by the MHC and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and were created by the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University and the Michigan Hemingway Society.

“The Michigan Humanities Council is pleased to reach a wider audience with The Great Michigan Read programs by making available a touring exhibit about The Nick Adams Stories and Ernest Hemingway,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council.           

“A lot of people don’t know about Hemingway’s connection to Michigan.  One of our goals is to enlighten people about that connection,” said Denise Tackett, project director for “Hemingway in the Box” at the Box Factory for the Arts. “We are taking Hemingway-type ideas and applying them to all the arts.”

"The Clarke Historical Library hopes the touring exhibits will help people explore and understand some of the complex themes in The Nick Adams Stories and how the stories relate to Hemingway's years in Michigan," stated Dr. Frank Boles, director of the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University.

About The Great Michigan Read

The MHC is the first organization to implement a program for an entire state to read one of Hemingway's works. To date, more than 130 communities across the state are participating in The Great Michigan Read. Reader's guides, bookmarks, posters, and other opportunities are available to participating cultural organizations. Additional activities include radio and television features, podcasts, speakers' bureau, driving tours, a website resource (www.greatmichiganread.org), and grant programs to help engage communities in literature.

The Great Michigan Read Touring Exhibit Schedule

2007

• September 7 - 24, 2007. Oscoda County Library, Mio.
• September 21 - October 8, 2007. Colon Township Library, Colon.
• September 28 - October 15, 2007. Munising School Public Library, Munising.
• October 12 - 29, 2007. Michigan Story Festival/Clarke Historical Library, Mt. Pleasant.
• October 19 - November 5, 2007. Baker College of Owosso, Owosso.
• October 19 - November 5, 2007. Durand Union Station, Durand.
• November 2 - 19, 2007. Midland County Historical Society, Midland.
• November 9 - 26, 2007. Jake Menghini Historical Museum, Norway.
• November 23 - December 10, 2007. Three Rivers Public Library, Three Rivers.
• November 30 - December 17, 2007. Adrian Public Library, Adrian.
• December 14 - 31, 2007. Cadillac Wexford Public Library, Cadillac
• December 21, 2007 - January 7, 2008. Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City.

2008

• January 4 - 21, 2008. Standish Historical Depot (Arenac Heritage Route Authority), Standish.
• January 11 - 28, 2008. Box Factory for the Arts, St. Joseph.
• January 25 - February 11, 2008. Niles District Library, Niles.
• February 1 - 18, 2008. Historical Society of Saginaw County (Castle Museum), Saginaw.
• February 15 - March 3, 2008. Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan, Alpena.
• February 22 - March 10, 2008. Calumet Public School Library, Calumet.
• March 7, - 24, 2008. Charles Ransom District Library, Plainwell.
• March 14 - 31, 2008. Peter White Public Library, Marquette.
• March 28 - April 14, 2008. Plymouth Community Arts Council, Plymouth.
• April 4- 21, 2008. Chippewa County Historical Society, Sault Ste. Marie.
• April 18 - May 5, 2008. Library of Michigan, Lansing.
• April 25 - May 12, 2008. Artworks (One Book: 15 Libraries), Big Rapids.
• May 9 - 26, 2008. Ann Arbor Book Festival, Ann Arbor.
• May 16 - June 2, 2008. Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, Clinton Township.
• May 30 - June 16, 2008. Bay County Historical Society, Bay City.
• June 6 - 23, 2008. Wolcott Mill Historic Center, Ray.
• June 20 - July 7, 2008. Alfred P. Sloan Museum, Flint.

Additional information is available at www.greatmichiganread.org or by contacting the MHC at 517-372-7770. Up North with the Hemingways was made possible by Michigan Humanities Council, Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University, Michigan Hemingway Society, and Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.