The Great Michigan Read exhibit in Lansing now through May 4; Valerie Hemingway on April 23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- April 18, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

also in PDF

(LANSING)----The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) announces that the exhibit, Up North with the Hemingways, is on public display at the Michigan Library and Historical Center, 702 West Kalamazoo St., Lansing, now through May 4, 2008. 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 exhibit will visit 29 sites, including Lansing, in the state of Michigan through July 7, 2008 (see below or log onto the website, www.greatmichiganread.org).

The Up North with the Hemingways 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.

"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.

Valerie Hemingway Apr 23 – Media Availability at 4:30 pm; Book Signing at 5 pm; Presentation at 5:30 pm

In addition, Valerie Hemingway will visit the Library of Michigan on Wednesday, April 23. She is author of Running with the Bulls, a memoir of her years as Ernest Hemingway’s secretary and her later marriage to his son, Gregory Hemingway. She will be available to the media at the Lake Erie Room in the Library of Michigan at 4:30 p.m.; will sign copies of her book at 5:00 p.m.; and will make a presentation in the Forum Room from 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. Ms. Hemingway’s visit to Lansing is one of six cities she will visit in Michigan from April 23 – 29. The event is free to the public.

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 200 organizations and more than 135 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 - October 26, 2007. Durand Union Station, Durand.
October 29 - November 2, 2007. Baker College of Owosso, Owosso.
November 2 - 20, 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 - Jan. 7, 2008. Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City.

2008

January 4 - 21, 2008. Standish Historical Depot, 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, 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.

Share Your Hemingway Story

The Council invites people to share their personal stories about Ernest Hemingway and his time in Michigan. Stories can be submitted at www.greatmichiganread.org/memories.php and may be published on the Internet and in a future Council newsletter.

The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. For additional information, please visit: www.michiganhumanities.org or call 517-372-7770.

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The Great Michigan Read exhibit in Lansing now through May 4; Valerie Hemingway on April 23

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