Benedict College Participates in National Program to Promote Literary Reading
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Monday, June 30, 2008
Columbia, SC---January 29, 2008---- Benedict College and Richland County Public Library are bringing together the Columbia, SC community for the National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) "The Big Read." Ernest J. Gaines winning novel, "A Lesson Before Dying," is the topic for "The Big Read's" series of reading and discussion events.
From February 1st through March 23nd, the College, along with our partner organizations, will celebrate "A Lesson Before Dying" with a full calendar of events including a community-wide book discussions, citywide essay contest, panel analysis, and dramatization.
Benedict College Big Read kickoff will take place at the Richland County Public Library at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 3, 2008. The Richland County Public Library will celebrate the Big Read and the nineteenth National African-American Read In with the classic novel "A Lesson Before Dying." The Public Library will continue its cooperative programs celebrating reading throughout the Big Read celebration from kickoff to March 23, 2008.
The novel "Lesson Before Dying" has a long history of championing social justice. This novel poses one of the most essential questions literature can ask: Knowing we're going to die, how should we live? It's the story of an uneducated young black man named Jefferson, accused of the murder of a white storekeeper, and Grant Wiggins, a college-educated native son of Louisiana, who teaches at a plantation school.
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture and encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. The program provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities while rediscovering the joy of reading. Benedict College is one of the 127 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read programs. The NEA has funded The Big Read with more than 300 programs in the nation's towns and cities.
The Richland County Public Library and its branches, Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina Arts Commission, First Nazareth Baptist Church, S.C. State Library, South Carolina Literary Arts, and the Reserved Officers Training Corps are key partners for The Big Read at Benedict.
For more information about The Big Read activities, please contact Ms. Kymm Hunter at (803) 705-4519, Mrs. Carolyn Wigfall at (803) 705-4366 or Dr. Linda Quillian on (803) 705-4789.
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Date: February 1 March 22, 2008
The Big Read Trivia Challenge for Teens
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Blythewood Branch, Richland County Public Library
218 McNulty Road, Blythewood, SC 29016
The Blythewood Branch of the Richland County Public Library invites teens to test their knowledge of the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines by taking quick, weekly quizzes. A new quiz will be posted every Monday between February 1 March 22. Weekly winners will be drawn from those who answer correctly.
Date: February 1 March 21, 2008
The Big Read Word Search Contest
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: The Link, Ballentine
1321 Dutch Fork Rd., Irmo 29063
The Link, Ballentine invites patrons to explore the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines by participating in The Big Read Word Search Contest. A winner will be selected on March 21.
Date: February 1 March 11, 2008
The Big Read Teen Trivia Contest
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Eastover Branch, Richland County Public Library
608 Main Street, Eastover, SC 29044
The Eastover Branch of the Richland County Public Library invites teens to test their knowledge of the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines by participating in a trivia contest from February 1 March 11.
Date: February 2, 2008
6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.
Film Screening - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Sandhills Branch, Richland County Public Library
1 Summit Parkway, Columbia, SC 29229
The Sandhills Branch of the Richland County Public Library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, followed by an informal discussion.
Date: February 3, 2008
3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
Read In - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: 1431 Dept., Main Library, Richland County Public Library
1431 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201
The Main Library of the Richland County Public library will host a Read-In of Ernest Gaines' classic novel A Lesson Before Dying in an effort to promote literacy for both the Big Read and the Nineteenth National African American Read-In.
Date: February 5, 2008
6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.
Film Screening - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: North Main Branch, Richland County Public Library
5306 North Main Street, Columbia, SC 29203
The North Main Branch of the Richland County Public Library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, followed by an informal discussion.
Date: February 18, 2008
6:00 p.m
Film Screening - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Southeast Regional Branch, Richland County Public Library
7421 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, SC 29209
The Southeast Regional Branch of the Richland County Public Library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying. An informal discussion will follow and participants will be invited to sample traditional foods from Louisiana.
Date: February 19, 2008
7:00 p.m. 8:15 p.m.
Book Discussion A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Bostick Auditorium, Main Library, Richland County Public Library
1431 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201
The Main Library of the Richland County Public library will host a book discussion of Ernest Gaines' classic novel A Lesson Before Dying, lead by a guest lecturer from Benedict College.
Date: February 19, 2008
6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.
Film Screening - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Wheatley Branch, Richland County Public Library
931 Woodrow Street, Columbia, SC 29205
The Wheatley Branch of the Richland County Public Library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying.
Date: February 20, 2008
6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.
Film Screening - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Northeast Regional Branch, Richland County Public Library
7490 Parklane Road, Columbia, SC 29223
The Northeast Regional of the Richland County Public Library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying.
Date: February 23, 2008
10:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
Harambee Festival Community Celebration
Community: Benedict College-Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Fine Arts and Humanities Center
1600 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204
Crafts, music, entertainment, food and fun have marked this event as a community favorite for the past two decades on the Benedict College campus. Exhibits, book displays at vendor stations and art designs inspired by theme from A Lesson Before Dying will highlight Benedict's community launch of The Big Read.
1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m.
Charles Brooks' Theatre Ensemble will provide a stage production adapted from the novel, A Lesson Before Dying.
Date: February 24, 2008
3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
Play A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Bostick Auditorium, Main Library, Richland County Public Library
1431 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201
The Main Library of the Richland County Public library will host a performance by Benedict College actors of a play based on the classic novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines.
Date: February 26, 2008
7:00 p.m. 8:45 p.m.
Film Screening - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: St. Andrews Regional Branch, Richland County Public Library
2916 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210
The St. Andrews Regional Branch of the Richland County Public Library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying.
Date: February 27, 2008
11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m
Theme Art Exhibit and "Read In"
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Fine Arts and Humanities Center
1600 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204
Benedict College students will display art designed to pursue themes andmotifs delineated in A Lesson Before Dying. Majors in the School of Humanities, Arts,and Social Sciences will provide a revolving stage to render continuous reading from Gaines' novel.
Date: February 27, 2008
5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.
Dramatization from A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC. 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Fine Arts and Humanities Center
1600 Harden Street, Columbia SC 29204
A play adapted from Ernest Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying will be presented to the community by the Charles Brooks' Theatre Ensemble. Refreshments will be served and copies of the book will be awarded as door prizes.
Date: March 3, 2008
Time: 5:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m.
Live from the Library
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Location: Richland County Public Library
1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29201
WLTX TV morning news anchor, Curtis Wilson, will televise live from the Richland County Public Library to promote the Benedict College Community Calendar of Events for The NEA Big Read, the city-wide essay contest, and the Big Read Awards Program. Guest students will share with the viewing audience school projects aligned with the study of Gaines' novel.
Date: March 8, 2008
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Dramatization and Creative Writing
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Columbia Museum of Art
1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
The Charles Brooks' Theatre Ensemble will provide a theatrical reenactment of novel excrepts to motivate patron book discussion and engagement in creative writing responses to major themes in A Lesson Before Dying.
Date: March 9, 2008
3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
Film Screening and Discussion -- A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Bostick Auditorium, Main Library, Richland County Public Library
1431 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201
The Main Library of the Richland County Public library will present a special screening of the film based on the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. A discussion of the film will be lead by a guest lecturer from Benedict College.
Date: March 11, 2008
7:00 p.m. 8:45 p.m.
Book Discussion - A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: St. Andrews Regional Branch, Richland County Public Library
2916 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210
The St. Andrews Regional Book Group will host a discussion of Ernest Gaines' classic novel A Lesson Before Dying, lead by a guest lecturer from Benedict College.
Date: March 15, 2008
Time: 5:00 p.m
Deadline for Citywide Essay and Visual Arts Contest
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Benedict College, Fine Arts and Humanities Center
1600 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204
Students between the ages of 12 and 22 are invited to participate via the Benedict website by submitting Big Read applications to compete with their essays and book cover designs.
Date: March 15, 2008
Time: 2:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m.
Off the Wall . . . to the Stage and the Page
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Columbia Museum of Art
1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Visual Arts displays and theatrical readings from the novel are engaged to launch participants into session two of a creative writing workshop at the Columbia Museum of Art.
Date: March 29, 2008
Time: 5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
The Big Read Awards
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Benedict College The David H. Swinton Center
1600 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204
Television personality, Mr. Curtis Wilson of WLTX and WWDM, will serve as Master of ceremony to present award-winning entries for the city-wide essay and book cover design contest. Local political officials will present the awards.
Date: February through March
Online
Big Read Online Book Club A Lesson Before Dying
Community: Benedict College Columbia, SC 29204
Book: A Lesson Before Dying
Event Location: Online
Richland County Public Library
1431 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201
There will be a Big Read Online Book Club that will be coordinated by Information Services Librarian, Iris Abney on the classic novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. This book club can be found on the RCPL website under Book Buzz.
See also: The Big Read Community Information & Calendar of Events (NEA)
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Source: Office of Communications and Marketing
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