Hemingway featured in a statewide reading program for the first time

(LANSING)----The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) announces it has selected Ernest Hemingway’s The Nick Adams Stories for its new statewide literature and literacy initiative, The Great Michigan Read. For the next year, as hundreds of thousands of Michiganians open their copies of The Nick Adams Stories and attend hundreds of programs and events across the state, readers will be introduced or reacquainted with a classic piece of American literature. The Nick Adams Stories chronicles a young man’s coming of age in a series of linked short stories, most of which are set in Michigan.

“The Michigan Humanities Council is pleased to kick off its statewide program, The Great Michigan Read, by presenting Ernest Hemingway and The Nick Adams Stories to Michigan citizens,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council. “It is an outstanding opportunity for people to become engaged in reading and community programs through a classic piece of literature, made in Michigan, from an American icon.”

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 100 communities across the state will participate in The Great Michigan Read. Reader’s guides, bookmarks, posters, and other opportunities are available to participating cultural organizations. Additional activities include traveling exhibits, radio and television features, a website resource (greatmichiganread.org), and grant programs to help engage communities in literature.

Why The Great Michigan Read?
The Great Michigan Read promotes literary reading to help create an educated and engaged society. According to a report recently released by the National Endowment for the Arts, literary reading is fading as a meaningful activity, especially among younger people. Less than half of the adult American population now reads literature. From 1982 to 2002, the percentage of American adults reading literature declined from 56.9 percent to 46.7 percent.

The Selection Process for The Nick Adams Stories
After reviewing many Michigan titles and authors, the Council’s book selection committee selected The Nick Adams Stories based on its broad appeal, its relevance to current life, and its “classic” status. This title presents an accessible entry point for first-time literature readers, yet will challenge the most advanced bibliophiles. And, it is authored by one of the foremost writers of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway, who spent most of his first 22 summers in Northern Michigan.

Members of the book selection committee included: Sue Ann Martin, Dean, College of Communication & Fine Arts, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant; Bill Castanier, literary journalist, Lansing City Pulse, Lansing; Eric Hammerstrom, teacher, Marquette Senior High School, Marquette; Liesel Litzenburger, author, Now You Love Me, The Widower, Grand Rapids; Nancy Robertson, State Librarian, Lansing; Marta Salij, former book critic, Detroit Free Press, Detroit; Sandra Seaton, playwright, The Bridge Party, A Bed Made in Heaven, East Lansing.

How do people participate in The Great Michigan Read?
• Read The Nick Adams Stories or listen to the audio version performed by actor Stacy Keach.
• Visit the website greatmichiganread.org
• Attend a program at more than 100 Great Michigan Read communities (event calendar at website).
• Use the reader’s guide as a companion to The Nick Adams Stories.
• View the Up North with the Hemingways exhibit.
• Listen to Great Michigan Read radio programs on the Michigan Talk Network.
• Watch Great Michigan Read programs on Michigan PBS television stations.
• Have your local non-profit cultural organization or library apply for a grant.

The Great Michigan Read Participating Communities
The MHC encourages other Michigan communities to join the more than 100 organizations currently participating in The Great Michigan Read. Each of the following libraries and cultural organizations will participate through discussion groups, speakers, film series, and other programs that focus on The Nick Adams Stories, author Ernest Hemingway, and the people and places of Michigan. Participating organizations will receive a kit including: reader’s guides, posters, bookmark, and other promotional materials. This list is current as of July 6, 2007.

Adrian Public Library
Allegan Public Library
Alpena County Fletcher Public Library, Besser Museum for Northeastern Michigan
Ann Arbor: 826michigan
Baldwin: Pathfinder Community Library
Barryton Public Library
Big Rapids: Artworks, Big Rapids Community Library
Burnips: Salem Township Library
Calumet Public School Library
Camden Township Library
Center Line Public Library
Charlevoix Public Library
Charlotte Community Library
Chase Township Public Library
Chesterfield Township Library
Clawson: Blair Memorial Library
Clinton Township: Clinton-Macomb Public Library (Main Branch), Clinton-Macomb Public Library (South Branch), Macomb County Library
Colon Township Library
Coopersville: Northeast Ottawa District Library
Dansville Library
Dearborn Heights City Libraries
Dorr Township Library
Douglas: Saugatuck-Douglas District Library
Dowagiac District Library
Eastpointe Memorial Library
Engadine Library
Escanaba Public Library
Evart Public Library
Fennville District Library
Flint Public Library
Fremont Area District Library
Gladstone School and Public Library
Grand Haven: Loutit District Library
Grand Rapids Public Library
Hamburg Township Library
Hamtramck Public Library, City of Hamtramck
Hartford Public Library
Hastings Public Library
Highland Township Public Library
Hillsdale Community Library
Holland: Herrick District Library
Holt: Holt-Delhi Library
Hopkins Public Library
Howell Carnegie District Library
Idlewild Public Library
Iron Mountain: Dickinson County Library
Ironwood Carnegie Library
Jamestown: Patmos Library
Lakeview: Tamarack District Library
Lansing: Capital Area District Library, Foster Library, Library of Michigan, South Lansing Library
LeRoy Community Library
Leslie Library
Luther Area Public Library
Marion: M. Alice Chapin Memorial Library
Marquette: Peter White Public Library, Marquette Senior High School
Mason: Mason Library, Aurelius Library
Mecosta: Morton Township Library
Midland: Midland County Historical Society, Grace A. Dow Memorial Library
Milan Public Library
Moline: Leighton Township Library
Morley and Stanwood: Walton Erickson Public Library
Mount Pleasant: Chippewa River District Library
Munising School Public Library
Muskegon: Hackley District Library, Muskegon Area District Library
Newberry: Tahquamenon Area School Public Library
New Buffalo Township Public Library
Niles District Library
Novi Public Library
Okemos: Hope Borbas Okemos Library
Ontonagon Township Library
Otsego District Public Library
Petoskey Public Library
Plainwell: Charles Ransom District Library
Ray: Wolcott Mill Historic Center
Reed City Public Library
Remus: Wheatland Township Library
Roseville Public Library
Saginaw: Castle Museum, Public Libraries of Saginaw, Saginaw Township Community Schools
Sault Ste. Marie: Bayliss Public Library
Schoolcraft Community Library
Shelby Township Library
Southfield Public Library
Spring Lake District Library
St. Clair Shores Public Library
St. Ignace Public Library
St. Joseph/Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library
Standish Historical Depot
Sterling Elementary School
Sterling Heights Public Library
Stockbridge Library
Tekonsha Township Library
Three Rivers Public Library
Tustin Community Library
University Center: Mevin J. Zahnow Library at Saginaw Valley State Univ.
Wayland: Henika District Library
Webberville Library
West Branch Public Library
Whitehall: White Lake Community Library
Williamston Library
Zeeland: Howard Miller Library

Sponsors
The Great Michigan Read is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University, Michigan Hemingway Society, Library of Michigan, LaSalle Bank, Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Detroit Media Partnership, The Detroit Free Press, and The Detroit News.

The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state’s independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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