Spring Break
Eau Claire Big Read kicks off on Saturday
Second annual event will last a month, committee chooses The Maltese Falcon
Renee Rosenow
Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: News
A human chain of more than 40 people stood in front of L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 400 Eau Claire St., Saturday to carry in over 200 copies of The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.
This was the kick off of the second annual Eau Claire Big Read.
Chris Cox, assistant director of the McIntyre Library said the Big Read will last for about a month, until April 26 with book discussions, film showings and book slams.
He said the event is funded with a grant from the Arts Midwest and the National Endowment of the Arts.
Along with those, Cox said the UW-Eau Claire Foundation donated a substantial amount of money to provide copies of the book to the public.
Cox said this would enable them to fundraise with the book and help make the Big Read an annual event without the grant.
He said the Big Read partners with area public schools, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Volume One and others.
The Maltese Falcon was chosen by the Executive Committee of the Big Read from 16 other novels that the NEA supports, Cox said.
"People see the novel as the prototypical detective or mystery novel," Cox said. "It offered enough layers that people of all ages would have something to talk about with other people in the community."
"The Big Read is a good example of the community collaboration that sets a community apart," Mike Huggins, Eau Claire City Manager said in an opening ceremony for the Big Read event.
He said reading The Maltese Falcon as a community amplifies the experience of the book by giving people the opportunity to discuss the it
"The importance of reading has been underscored time and time again," Huggins said.
Stephanie Schiefelbein, a junior English major and president of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society, is helping out with the Big Read and said they are doing skits around campus as well as in local schools in "theatre troops" to help promote the book.
"It gets people excited about reading … it gets people of all ages together," Schiefelbein said. "It is a chance for everybody to get together and discuss."
Cox said the rate of reading among young people is declining and the Big Read can help change this. He said The Maltese Falcon is "exceedingly readable" and will get the Eau Claire community excited about reading.
Cox said the event will conclude a ceremony at DeLong Middle School, 2000 Vine St., at 2 p.m. on April 26.
This was the kick off of the second annual Eau Claire Big Read.
Chris Cox, assistant director of the McIntyre Library said the Big Read will last for about a month, until April 26 with book discussions, film showings and book slams.
He said the event is funded with a grant from the Arts Midwest and the National Endowment of the Arts.
Along with those, Cox said the UW-Eau Claire Foundation donated a substantial amount of money to provide copies of the book to the public.
Cox said this would enable them to fundraise with the book and help make the Big Read an annual event without the grant.
He said the Big Read partners with area public schools, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Volume One and others.
The Maltese Falcon was chosen by the Executive Committee of the Big Read from 16 other novels that the NEA supports, Cox said.
"People see the novel as the prototypical detective or mystery novel," Cox said. "It offered enough layers that people of all ages would have something to talk about with other people in the community."
"The Big Read is a good example of the community collaboration that sets a community apart," Mike Huggins, Eau Claire City Manager said in an opening ceremony for the Big Read event.
He said reading The Maltese Falcon as a community amplifies the experience of the book by giving people the opportunity to discuss the it
"The importance of reading has been underscored time and time again," Huggins said.
Stephanie Schiefelbein, a junior English major and president of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society, is helping out with the Big Read and said they are doing skits around campus as well as in local schools in "theatre troops" to help promote the book.
"It gets people excited about reading … it gets people of all ages together," Schiefelbein said. "It is a chance for everybody to get together and discuss."
Cox said the rate of reading among young people is declining and the Big Read can help change this. He said The Maltese Falcon is "exceedingly readable" and will get the Eau Claire community excited about reading.
Cox said the event will conclude a ceremony at DeLong Middle School, 2000 Vine St., at 2 p.m. on April 26.
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