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visit The Great Michigan Read website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- September 18 , 2007
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

(LANSING)----The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) announces that Meijer, Inc., awarded the Council $15,000 to help support The Great Michigan Read. The Great Michigan Read is a new statewide literary reading initiative to engage all Michiganians with reading The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway. The Nick Adams Stories is a coming of age tale inspired by the author’s boyhood experiences in Northern Michigan. Funds from the award will support Great Michigan Read programs. Copies of The Nick Adams Stories and reader’s guide created by the MHC to accompany the book are available at Meijer stores in Michigan.

“The Michigan Humanities Council appreciates the support from Meijer to bring Great Michigan Read programs to Michiganians across the state,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council. “Our partnership with Meijer provides a unique opportunity for this literature program to reach a wider audience through the Meijer stores and their community-based outreach efforts. ”

"Ernest Hemingway's career was shaped by his childhood experiences in Michigan," said Hank Meijer, co-chairman of Meijer Inc. "We're delighted to help readers young and old across our state come together around his great stories. This project will help create a sense of community that stretches across our two peninsulas."

The MHC is the first organization to implement a program for an entire state to read one of Hemingway’s works. To date, 142 cultural organizations in more than 100 communities across the state are participating in The Great Michigan Read. Reader’s guides, bookmarks, posters, and other resources are available to participating organizations. On August 21, the MHC announced a touring exhibit, Up North with the Hemingways, will visit 28 sites in Michigan from September 7, 2007, through July 7, 2008. Additional resources include radio and television features, podcasts, speakers bureau, driving tours, website (www.greatmichiganread.org), and grant programs to help engage communities in reading and rediscovering literature.

More information is available at www.greatmichiganread.org or by contacting the MHC at 517-372-7770. The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state’s independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Meijer is a Michigan based family owned and operated grocery and general merchandise supercenter retailer operating 181 stores throughout Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. The Meijer Family has led the company since its inception in 1934.

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