"A good book is worth the time," says Erik Carlson, University of Arkansas Fort Smith assistant professor of English. "More importantly, it takes time for a good story to sink in and work on us."
The ReadThis! Community Literacy Program will officially open next week with a Book Launch announcing the 2014-15 book selection, "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan.
FYI
ReadThis!
‘The Joy Luck Club
Book Launch & Mahjong
When — 2 p.m. Thursday
Where — Latture Conference Center
Reading
When — All day March 5
Where — Campus Center
Movie Screening
When — 2 p.m. & 5 p.m. March 16
Where — Reynolds Room
Book Signing
When — 5:30 p.m. March 18
Where — Stubblefield Center
Info: [email protected], uafs.edu/languages/…
All events are free to the public and held on venues on the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus.
Composition II students have already been working with the book, Carlson says, but the outreach nature of the program allows for community members to take part in the six-week immersive study culminating in an author talk and book signing in March.
"There are lots of ways to dig into a book, and it takes time to try them," he says. UAFS will host several events before Tan's visit, including Mahjong workshops, book readings and a film screening which Carlson hopes will help community readers absorb the the text.
Tan's novel is the fifth book in the ReadThis! series, which started with Arkansas serial "True Grit," and is the first novel written by a woman chosen by the UAFS committee. Unlike previous selections, "The Joy Luck Club" provides a valuable opportunity to explore female characters, experiences of first and second generation immigrants and cultural identity and difference, Carlson says.
"The ReadThis! advisory board chose 'The Joy Luck Club' as this year's common read because, by examining intergenerational relationships in immigrant families, it open questions relevant to the members of our diverse community," Carlson explains.
Between 2,000 and 4,500 people participate in the program every year, and area libraries, book clubs and galleries coordinate events arranged during the series, providing multiple opportunities to connect to the text, he says.
"A good book raises lots of questions that drive people to seek the source," Carlson says. "Listening to the author sheds new light on a novel.
"You can't read a book the same way once you realize how much spiritual and emotional effort it represents and how complicated its relationship to the author is," he continues. "If you think a book is worth days of reading, it's enlightening to meet the person who thought it was worth years of writing."
-- Allison Carter
NAN What's Up on 01/23/2015