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Together We Read

Over the next several months the City of Paterson will be engaging
in an extremely exciting experience. Imagine...everyone in the city
reading and discussing the same book!!
That’s what ONE BOOK ONE PATERSON is all about! The National
Endowment for the Arts Big Read program has afforded Paterson the
opportunity to read Ernest J. Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying as a
collective body. The book is the late author’s eighth novel, published
in 1993. It is a fictional work based in part on the life of Willie Francis,
a black teenager sentenced to death twice in Louisiana. There are a
number of significant themes running throughout the novel including:
constructive lying, religion, cynicism and hope, women and femininity,
education and “The Inescapable Path.” All these themes set the tone
for awesome topics of discussion.
Spearheaded by a group of community stakeholders the citizens of
Paterson will partake in a variety of special events planned around
this wonderful novel. Some of the events include book talks, online
discussions, book clubs, theatrical performances, and essay and art
contests.
The book can be borrowed from the Paterson Public Library or
you can receive a copy of your own when you attend the ONE
BOOK ONE PATERSON launch event on Thursday, February 6,
2020 in the Assembly Room of the Danforth Free Public
Library, 250 Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07501.
Community Partners who are interested in hosting a Book Club or
other event should complete the interest survey found here.

Comments

  1. rosiegJanuary 31, 2020 at 4:51 PM

    I'm half way through the book and looking forward to some robust discussions!

    ReplyDelete

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