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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- December 17, 2007
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

The Great Michigan Read exhibits on display:
in Cadillac now through Dec. 31; in Traverse City, Dec. 21 – Jan. 7

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, is now on display at the Cadillac Wexford Public Library (411 S. Lake St., Cadillac) through December 31.   An additional copy of the exhibit will also be on display at the Traverse Area District Library (610 Woodmere Ave., Traverse City) from December 21 through January 7. The exhibit will visit 29 sites in the state of Michigan through July 7, 2008 (see below). 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.

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 Cadillac Wexford Public Library is open Mondays through Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The library is closed on Wednesdays.  Over the holidays, the library will be closed December 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, and January 1.  For more information about the exhibit and programs at the Cadillac Wexford Public Library, please call231-775-6541.

“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.           

Cadillac Wexford Public Library director Kathy Kirch stated, ““We expect that the Hemingway Exhibit display  will generate a lot of demand for our multiple copies of The Nick Adams Stories from confirmed admirers of the author and attract new readers too.”

"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 100 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.