September 3, 2008
For Immediate Release
For an Interview:
Krystin Anderson
(801) 229-7379
Rex Ellis, a nationally acclaimed storyteller and historian, will be sharing stories and songs as part of his lecture September 9 at 2:30 p.m. in the UVU Library Lecture Hall. His presentation, “Return to Maycomb,” is part of the Orem Public Library’s six-week Big Read program that is celebrating Harper Lee’s classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Ellis has been a featured storyteller at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival and has written several books. He is director of exhibits and programs at the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, and former vice president of the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
This is Ellis’s first time participating in the Big Read program. The Big Read is a national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The purpose is to provide citizens the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. Orem Public Library chose “To Kill a Mockingbird” as this year’s book to read and celebrate.
“It is our hope that those who join us in reading Harper Lee’s novel will find themselves more tolerant, kinder and more appreciative of all their neighbors, as well as take the opportunity to pause and reflect on the good people, memories and events that have shaped their lives,” said Lori Stevens, a division manager at Orem Public Library.
Other Big Read events and activities are held daily at the Orem Public Library and continue through Oct. 17. All activities have a “To Kill a Mockingbird” theme that include live music, reader’s theatre, book talks, teen reader discussions, lectures, storytelling, puppetry and film screenings.
For a complete schedule of events, visit www.orembigread.org.
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College Marketing Contact:
Megan Laurie
(801) 863-7149
Written by:
Britnee Nguyen
(801) 863-8504