2009 BIG READ – D.C.
PRESENTED BY
WASHINGTON, D.C. IS READING
a SPONSORS FOR THE 2009 BIG READ – D.C.
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. For information visit www.NEABigRead.org.
eart unter
The
Lonely
by Carson McCullers
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 2009 BIG READ – D.C. CONTACT: The Humanities Council of Washington, DC 925 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Tel. (202) 387-8391 Fax. (202) 387-8149 dcbigread@wdchumanities.org www.wdchumanities.org Visit the Big Read – D.C. blog at www.dcbigread.blogspot.com for news and reading tips. Join the Big Read DC on Facebook (logo – www.facebook.com). Follow us on Twitter (logo - www.twitter.com/BIGREADdc)
APRIL 23 – MAY 28, 2009 presented by
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he Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is
the Big Read - D.C. pick for 2009. Published in 1940, this was the first novel written by Carson McCullers, of Columbus, Georgia at twenty - three years old. McCullers penned this novel during the Great Depression, a time of extreme economic distress, social upheaval, and despite hardship, a time for dreams and new beginnings.
The novel is set in a small mill town in Depression-era Georgia. At the center of the story is John Singer, a deaf man who boards with the Kelly family after his fellow deaf companion is sent away to an insane asylum. Singer becomes the confidant of four town misfits: Mick, the teenage daughter of the Kelly’s who dreams of becoming a musician; Benedict Mady Copeland, the town’s black doctor; Jake Blount, an alcoholic socialist; and, Biff Brannon the owner of the local café. Native Washingtonian, George Pelecanos is a writer, producer and our honorary chair for 2009. A wordsmith in his own right, Mr. Pelecanos’s experience as a Washingtonian informs the subject of his novels and the HBO series, “The Wire.” This year’s festivities surrounding the Big Read – D.C. affords readers and writers the opportunity to experience The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter through the lens of our own D. C. experience and perspectives. SpeakeasyDC storytellers theater opens our city read with an evening of real - life stories inspired by McCullers’ novel. “New Deal Washington,” our 2009 walking tour, explores D.C. in the times of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is set, the New Deal, and the people who created its innovative programs. Students from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, DC Public
Schools, and Humanities Council’s Soul of the City project will write and publish a book of poems in a Book-in-a-Day workshop led by poet/publisher Kwame Alexander. The book launch for this hearing and deaf student collaboration will be our final program, and inspire a new generation of writers like the young author of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. The Big Read – D.C. is part of The Big Read, a nation-wide initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts—that promotes the joy of reading on a city-by-city basis and fosters literary community—in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.
Be part of the story! The 2009 Big Read – D.C. is presented by the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities with support from community partners: Barnes & Noble Booksellers Busboys and Poets
Schedule of Activities and Events
AWARDS
Schedule is subject to change. Updates with additions are available on-line at www.wdchumanities.org, or call (202) 387-8391 for information. See a schedule of DC Public Library activities and events.
Larry Neal Writers Awards Ceremony
CELEBRATIONS KICK-OFF Humanities Council of Washington, DC www.wdchumanities.org Saturday, April 25, 11 AM Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue, NE Elstad Auditorium Ph. (202) 387-8391 Email dcbigread@wdchumanities.org
Cultural Tourism DC District of Columbia Public Library DC Central Kitchen DC WritersCorps, Inc. District of Columbia Public Schools Gallaudet University Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Levine School of Music Literacy Volunteers and Advocates The Oracle Set Book Club PEN/Faulkner Writers in Schools SpeakeasyDC Washington DC Jewish Community Center
Friday, May 8, 6 PM Elizabethan Theatre at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol Street, SE The Big Read-D.C. Special Recognition Award for Creative Expression will be presented at the Larry Neal Writers Awards Ceremony. As part of the Big Read – D.C. celebration of author Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, a special prize will be given in each age group to writers who compose an essay on the theme of courage.
BOOK DISCUSSIONS AND PANELS
The official kick-off event for the 2009 Big Read – D.C. featuring Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Special guests include the 2009 honorary chair, George Pelecanos, crime author and writer/producer of the acclaimed HBO series “The Wire.” Co-sponsored with the Gallaudet University Community Relations Council.
The Story of Carson McCullers, W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee, Under One Roof in Wartime America Chapters Literary Arts Center www.library.gallaudet.edu
THE LAST CHAPTER – CLOSING EVENT
Thursday, May 14, TBA PM Location: TBA
Capitol Hill Chorale Chapters Literary Arts Center
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities www.dcarts.dc.gov
Humanities Council of Washington, DC www.wdchumanities.org Big Read Book-in-a-Day Book Launch Thursday, May 28, 6 – 8 PM Busboys and Poets (downtown), 5th & K Streets, NW Ph. (202) 387-8391 Email: dcbigread@wdchumanities.org High school students from DC Public Schools, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and the Humanities Council’s Soul of the City program host a book launch party and signing for their Big Read – D.C. “Book-in-a-Day” book. To learn more about the Book-in-a-Day literacy program, visit www.bookinaday.com.
An evening with Sherill Tippins, author of February House
Ph. TBA Email chapters.literary@erols.com Sherill Tippins brings to life the story of what was possibly the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century. Known as February House, its residents included, among others, Carson McCullers, W. H. Auden, Paul Bowles, and the famed burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. This ramshackle Brooklyn brownstone was host to an explosion of creativity, an extraordinary experiment in communal living, and a nonstop yearlong party fueled by the appetites of youth.
FILMS
as the gaps created by surveys of southern culture that rarely assess the contributions of Jews and histories of Jews in America virtually exclude those living in the South.
Focus In: The Cradle Will Rock Busboys and Poets www.busboysandpoets.com Sunday, May 10, 8 PM Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th Street, NW Ph. (202) 387-7638
PERFORMANCES
Focus In film series presents “The Cradle Will Rock,” Tim Robbin’s 1999 dramatization based on a “mostly true story” about the mayhem surrounding Marc Blitzstein’s worker’s opera, “The Cradle Will Rock,” directed by Orson Welles for the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project at the height of the Depression.
Outside Looking In: A SpeakeasyDC Tribute to The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter SpeakeasyDC www.speakeasydc.org Thursday, April 23, 7:30 PM Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th Street, NW Ph. (240) 888-9751 Email info@speakeasydc.org For the third year in a row, SpeakeasyDC pulls together a stellar cast of performers to tell true stories from their own lives that reflect the themes in this year’s Big Read – D.C. book selection. Storytellers include Hari Jones, historian for the African American Civil War Memorial; Rita Daniels, Executive Director for Literacy Volunteers and Advocates; Andrew Korfhage, writer and storyteller; and Kathy McGregor, registered nurse and labor organizer, National Nurses Organizing Committee.
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“The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” with an introduction by Dr. Eliza McGraw, author of Two Covenants: Twentieth-Century Representations of Southern Jewishness Washington DC Jewish Community Center www.washingtondcjcc.org/film Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 PM Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater 1529 16th Street, NW at Q Street Ph (202) 777-3248 info@wjff.org Dr. Eliza McGraw, author of Two Covenants: Twentieth-Century Representations of Southern Jewishness (LSU Press, 2005), will introduce the 1968 film adaptation of Carson McCullers’ book (starring Alan Arkin), focusing on the character John Singer’s Jewish identity as well
A Glimpse Into Deaf Culture Through Dance The Oracle Set Book Club Sunday, April 26, 3 PM – 5 PM Gallaudet University Alumni House, 800 Florida Avenue, NE Email bettie.waddy-smith@gallaudet.edu Dance per formance by the National Deaf Dance Academy - assistant director and choreographer Tara Downing. Review of The Hear t Is a Lonely Hunter by a deaf reviewer. Interpretation available for deaf and hearing audiences. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven Capitol Hill Chorale, under the direction of Frederick Binkholder and Capital City Sym-
phony, under the direction of Victoria Gau Tickets: $23 preferred seating; $18 general seating; free for children under 16. Saturday, May 16, 7PM Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 4th Street and Independence Avenue, SE Tickets available through Brown Bag Tickets after April 15. Brown Bag may be accessed through the www.capitolhillchorale.org website. Tickets at the door sold on a spaceavailable bases. Sunday, May 17, 5 PM Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1331 H Street, NE Tickets available on-line at www.atlasarts. org/tickes.php www.capitolhillchorale.org and www.capitalcitysymphony.org Ph (202) 547-1444 Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in D. Minor was one of Carson McCullers’ favorite music compositions. One can see this in the Mick Kelly character who listens to the symphonies on the radio in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. The Capitol Hill Chorale (winner of the Washington Area Music Association’s WAMMIE for Best Choral Group for 2007) and the Capital City Symphony join musical forces to perform Beethoven’s extraordinary symphony No. 9 in D Minor, “Choral: Ode to Joy.”
READINGS David A. Taylor Book Signing and Discussion Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook Tuesday, April 28, 3 PM Center for the Book, Books & Beyond Program Library of Congress, Mumford Room Madison Building, Independence Ave., SE between 1st & 2nd Streets Ph. (202) 707-5221
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Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America (Wiley & Sons) is about a handful of people who were on the Federal Writer’s Project in the 1930s and provides a glimpse of America at a turning point. This particular handful included some who went from poverty to great things later: John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, May Swenson, and Studs Terkel. Co-sponsored with the American Folklife Center. Author Reading: George Pelecanos, The Way Home Politics and Prose www.politics-prose.com Thursday, May 14, 7 PM Politics and Prose, 1515 Connecticut Avenue, NW Ph. (202) 364-1919 George Pelecanos, Big Read – D.C. 2009 honorary chair, will read from his new book, The Way Home. The Way Home is a novel
of fathers, sons, and hard-fought redemp-
The Veteran’s History Project
tion. A young man from a well-to-do section
www.historydc.org
of Washington, D.C. is sent into the juvenile
Saturday, May 9, 10 AM – 12 PM
justice system after a series of troublesome
The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., 801
and rebellious criminal acts. Years later, the
K Street, NW
young man, along with some of the former
Ph. (202) 383-1830
inmates of the correctional facility, tries to
Email education@historydc.org
make things right, his mistakes firmly in the
The Veterans History Project of the American
past. But old habits and instincts rise to the
Folklife Center of the Library of Congress
surface, threatening his newfound stability
collects and preserves the remembrances of
with sudden treachery and violence.
American war veterans. This free oral history workshop offered at the Historical Society of
TOURS AND EXHIBITS
Washington, D.C. will give you a chance to
Walking Tour: New Deal Washington
work with experts from the Veterans History
Humanities Council of Washington, DC
Project and learn methods and techniques for
www.wdchumanties.org
collecting and preserving the stories of veter-
Sunday, May 3, 11 AM – 12:30 PM
ans from your family and in your community.
Saturday, May 16, 11 AM – 12:30 PM
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Meet in front of the DAR Constitution Hall, 311
Southern Flavor: Food Tasting at Eatonville Restaurant
18th Street, NW
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of
Tour limited to 25 persons;
American History
PM, Reservations Required
reservations required
www.nmaahc.si.edu
Meet in the Lobby of the Edward Miner “Gal-
Wednesday, May 13, 6 PM
Sunday, May 17, 3 PM
laudet” Memorial Building, Gallaudet Campus
Eatonville, 2125 14th Street, NW (Union Row)
800 Florida Avenue, NW
Ph. (202) 387-7638
Ph. (202) 387-8391 Email dcbigread@wdchumanities.org
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of
Every Monday through Friday, 10 AM and 2
Ph. (202) 651-5050
www.busboysandpoets.com
This walking tour of the Foggy Bottom and
American History, 14th St and Constitution
Downtown neighborhoods surrounding the
Ave NW
White House gives us the opportunity to see
Ph. (202) 387-8391
Tour the state-of-the-art academic facilities,
at Eatonville, a new sister restaurant to
the Federal core of Washington with new eyes,
Email dcbigread@wdchumanities.org
historic buildings, beautiful grounds designed
Busboys and Poets, inspired by the 2007 Big
by renowned landscape architect Frederic
Read – D.C. author, Zora Neale Hurston and
Olmsted and other highlights of Gallaudet
her childhood Florida hometown. McCullers
as we imagine how it looked during the Great Depression. Learn about the New Deal, and the people who created its innovative programs. The tour examines the period in which The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is set. The tour takes place rain or shine. Be prepared for extensive walking, standing, and a few stairs. Free Admission, but advance registration is required; limited to 25. ASL interpretation available (please include request with your reservation). A self-guided tour is available to download from www.wdchumanities.org. The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise
A special 2009 Big Read – D.C. docent-led tour with curator Paul Gardullo, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History
Email visiters.center@gallaudet.edu
University, the world’s leading university for
and Culture, and Donna Wells, Prints and Pho-
liberal arts education and career development
tographs librarian for the Moorland Spingarn
for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate
Research Center at Howard University. This
students. Tours last about one hour and
exhibit illuminates African American life in
are conducted in American Sign Language.
Washington, D.C. from the turn of the 20th
Interpreters are provided for visitors who do
century through the 1970s as captured by
not sign, but must be requested at least two
the Scurlock family photographers. The tour
weeks in advance. Reservations are required.
Meet the chef and savor traditional and new influences on southern cooking and flavor
and Hurston were both southern writers.
will highlight stories and photos from the collection from the 1930s.
WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS
Tours of Gallaudet University Gallaudet
Oral History Workshop
University (www.gallaudet.edu)
The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. and
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District of Columbia Public Library Events Visit www.dclibrary.org American Sign Language Interpreters will be provided for any D.C. Public Library events with two weeks advanced notice. Call the phone number associated with the event you would like to attend to submit your request.
BOOK DISCUSSIONS AND PANELS Southeast Library Fiction Book Club Thursday, April 23, 7 pm Southeast Neighborhood Library, 403 7th Street, SE Contact: (202) 698-3372 Ages 18 and up. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Wednesday, April 29, 6 pm Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, 3160 16th Street, NW Contact: (202) 671-0200 Young Adults – Seniors. Washington Highlands Adult Book Club Monday, May 4, Noon Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library, 115 Atlantic Street, SW Contact: (202) 645-5881 Young Adults – Seniors. Senior Brown Bag Book Discussion Tuesday, May 5, 1 pm Southeast Neighborhood Library, 403 7th Street, SE Contact: (202) 698-3372 Seniors. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Wednesday, May 6, 7 pm Northeast Neighborhood Library, 330 7th Street, NE
Contact: (202) 698-3320 Young Adults – Seniors. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Wednesday, May 13, 6 pm Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, 3160 16th Street, NW Contact: (202) 671-0200 Young Adults – Seniors. Shepherd Park Afternoon Book Club Wednesday, May 13, 1 pm Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library, 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW Contact: (202) 541-3966 Adults. Capitol View Afternoon Book Club Wednesday, May 13, 1 pm Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Avenue, SE Contact: (202) 645-0575 Young Adults – Adults. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Monday, May 18, 2009, 6:30 pm Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, 5625 Connecticut Avenue, NW Contact: (202) 282-0021 All ages. Book Talk with Professor Robert Combs Monday, May 18, 7 pm West End Neighborhood Library, 1101 24th Street, NW Contact: (202) 724-8707 English Professor Robert Combs of George Washington University will discuss Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, and show clips from the 1968 film adaptation. Young Adults – Seniors.
Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Tuesday, May 19, 6 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 221 Contact: (202) 727-1281 Young adults – Adults. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 pm Palisades Neighborhood Library, 4901 V Street, NW Contact: (202) 282-3139 Young adults – Seniors. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Wednesday, May 20, 6 pm Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Interim Library, 945 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Contact: (202) 671-0265 Young Adults – Seniors. Southern Misfits and Madness Thursday, May 21, 6:30 pm Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW Contact: (202) 282-3072 Professional writer and poet Lorraine Drumheller does a biographical sketch of Carson McCullers, and talks about the characters in the book. Drumheller teaches English Literature and Composition at George Mason University. Young Adults – Seniors. Book Discussion – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Thursday, May 21, 7 pm Georgetown Interim Library 3307 M Street, NW Contact: (202) 724-8783 Young Adults – Seniors.
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FILMS Deaf Characters in Popular Films - The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter View the award-winning film, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, based on the Carson “McCullers”’ novel. The film stars Alan Arkin as a deaf and mute whose positive impact on those around him doesn’t erase his own isolation. (123 mins.) (PG) Tuesday, April 21, 6 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Auditorium A-5 Contact: (202) 727-1295 Young Adults – Adults. Monday, April 27, 6 pm Woodridge Neighborhood Library, 1801 Hamlin Street, NE
Contact: (202) 541-6226 Young Adults – Adults. Tuesday, May 5, 2 pm Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, 5625 Connecticut Avenue, NW Contact: (202) 282-0021 Young Adults – Seniors. Saturday, May 16, 1 pm Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library, 115 Atlantic Street, SW Contact: (202) 645-5881 Young Adults – Seniors.
Also, see these films at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library: Film - The Spiral Staircase Tuesday, April 28, 6 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW A thrilling murder mystery, starring Dorothy McGuire as a mute, who may be the next victim of a serial killer. With George Brent, Ethel Barrymore and Elsa Lanchester. (83 mins.) (PG) Film - Johnny Belinda Tuesday, May 5, 6 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW Adapted from Elmer Blaney Harris’ play, and based on true events, Jane Wyman, in an Academy Award-winning performance, stars as a deaf and mute who, after being raped and impregnated, is tormented by unsympathetic townsfolk. (102 mins.) (PG)
LIBRARY DISPLAYS Scenes of Washington, D.C. in the 1930s Wednesday, April 1 – Saturday, May 23, 2009, Library Hours Great Hall, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW Ph. (202) 727-1312 View photos and newspapers from the archive of the Library’s Washingtoniana Division. All ages. Book Display: Carson McCullers Thursday, April 23 – Saturday, May 23, 2009, Library Hours All D.C. Public Libraries. For D.C. Public Library locations visit www.dc.library.org. On display and available for check out is The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers in paperback, audio book, Playaway and DVD. Also find other books by and about McCullers and other related topics. All ages.
OTHER ACTIVITIES Chess for all Sizes Saturday, May 23, Noon Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Auditorium A-5 Contact: (202) 727-5535 Become a chess master like John Singer in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, and play oneon-one or as a team on a jumbo chess board. All ages.
More Popular Books by Carson McCullers
READINGS The Big Read Marathon Saturday, May 2, 10 am – 4 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Great Hall Contact: (202) 727-1295 Enjoy a fun-filled day of guest readings, music and dramatic interpretation, a relationship workshop, chess and book bingo, and community service highlighting Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. All ages.
WORKSHOPS AND DEMONSTRATIONS Express Yourself! with Susan Froetschel Wednesday, May 13, 11 am Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, A-10 Contact: (202) 727-5535 Participate in a book discussion and creative writing workshop with mystery author Susan Froetschel, who will direct an interactive session on Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Registration Dates: April 23 - May 10. Space is limited to 50 people. Young Adults.
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1. Hallie Flannigan with Virgil Geddes (left) and Harry Hopkins in the lobby of Experimental Theatre in NYC. PHOTO CREDIT: the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 2. David Taylor. Book Cover of Soul of a People. 3. Gallaudet Univerity, Showing College Hall, Chapel Hall, And Fowler Hall. PHOTO CREDIT: Gallaudet University Archives. 4, 5. Carson McCullers and Zora Neale Hurston. 6. xxxxxxxxxxxxx. 7, 8. Carson McCullers (1941), (1946). Book Covers of Reflections in a Golden Eye and The The Member of the Wedding. PHOTO CREDIT: Houghton Mifflin Publisher. 9. Carson McCullers (1951). Book Cover of The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. PHOTO CREDIT: Graham Michael Hardy.