The Big Read Lynchburg Blog

The Falcon as a Symbol

2010-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Maltese falcon really existed, if not in a form Hammett’s readers would recognize. It dates back to the Knights of Malta, a religious order founded as the Knights Hospitaller in the year 1080 to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims to Jerusalem. In 1530, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain gave the order a large territory, including Malta, in exchange for an annual fee of a single – live, not bejeweled – Maltese falcon. Even though it has no territory today, the order survives and is considered a sovereign state, with observer status at the United Nations.

Dashiell Hammett drew on the history of the Knights of Malta when creating the plot hook for The Maltese Falcon. He explained this historical influence by saying simply, “Somewhere I had read of the peculiar rental agreement between Charles V and the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.” The Crusades probably intrigued Hammett because of their mythic association with the Holy Grail, the cup used by Jesus at the last supper. The association with the Crusades subtly elevates Sam Spade to a knight on a noble errand, a ploy that intensifies the quest and, considering how ignoble many of Hammett’s characters are, mocks it at the same time.

Falconry, the sport of using trained birds to hunt small prey, dates back thousands of years. Well- trained birds were prized for their beauty, skill, and practicality. A fearsome hunter, the falcon has long been a symbol of prowess and ruthlessness – not unlike Sam Spade, the detective who pursues it in Hammett’s novel. Early Christians borrowed pagan symbols like the falcon, but altered their meaning to reflect their own values. Because they are relentless hunters, wild falcons often symbolized evil, while tamed falcons represented Christian conversion and repentance. Coats of arms from the Middle Ages often included falcons as a symbol of a pursuer, one who will not rest until his objective is achieved. This single-minded imperviousness to distraction, too, can’t help reminding readers of Spade and his fellow falcon-hunters.

A valuable prize that everyone in a story is chasing, as with Hammett’s falcon, is sometimes called a “maguffin.” Film director Alfred Hitchcock popularized the term to describe the elusive objects that so many of his heroes and villains pursued. In each case, the nature of the object is less important than how much everyone wants it. In the book, greed destroys any hope the characters have for contented lives, yet they cannot give up the chase. They are driven by uncontrollable yearnings that eat away at their humanity and contaminate relationships. Reversing the lead-into-gold transformation familiar from alchemy, the Maltese falcon has been reduced from gold to lead, and down with it go the lives of all who vainly chase it.

Excerpt taken from the National Endowment for the Arts Reader’s Guide. For more insider information on The Maltese Falcon, click here.

Film Noir Fridays: Double Indemnity

2010-01-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

Join us on Fridays throughout the Big Read program for special cinematic journeys through the shady underbelly of film noir. The series continues tomorrow night at the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College with Double Indemnity.

Billy Wilder's classic 1944 film, a familiar brew of lust, larceny, and lethal intentions, stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck as a hot-blooded couple who become embroiled in murder. Framed in flashback, the story is told by the dying Walter Neff (MacMurray), beginning with his first meeting with the seductive Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck) during a routine renewal of her husband's car insurance. Neff's obsession with Phyllis leads Neff to contemplate the possibility of finding a way to kill her husband while making his death look like an accident. Co-starring Edward G. Robinson as Neff's boss, Barton Keyes , an omniscient insurance investigator, Double Indemnity is brilliant noir, with an irresistible plot, stylized hard-boiled dialogue, and a classic femme fatale.

The film was inspired by a 1927 crime orchestrated by a married Queens woman and her lover. Ruth Snyder persuaded her boyfriend, Judd Gray, to kill her husband Albert after having her spouse take out a big insurance policy—with a double-indemnity clause. The murderers were quickly identified and arrested. The Snyder-Gray murders also inspired the films The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and Body Heat (1981).

Dr. Julio Rodriguez, Associate Professor of American Culture, will present a brief lecture prior to the screening and facilitate a discussion afterward. Dr. Rodriguez's scholarship on representations of masculinity in film and the film noir genre guarantee a discussion that you will not want to miss!

Just the Facts:
Date: January 29, 2010
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Maier Museum of Art, Randolph College (map it!)
Cost: FREE

Not convinced? Check out the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes to see what film critics and film lovers have to say!

Classic, before Bogart

2010-01-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Proudly and eloquently, Julie Rivett stands on the bridge between Dashiell Hammett and the rest of the world.

Hammett’s timeless detective story, “The Maltese Falcon,” is what Lynchburg will be reading this year as part of the nationwide Big Read project, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. Every participating community chooses a communal book from a list of 75, and Rivett is visiting a number of those that picked Hammett.

“I’m very excited about the Big Read,” she said in a telephone conversation from Los Alamitos, Calif. “It’s hugely rewarding to help people see the book in the way that I see the book.”

Rivett will give a talk on her grandfather and his signature work at Lynchburg College’s Hall Campus Center on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

“There’s a lot more to the ‘Maltese Falcon’ than Humphrey Bogart,” she said. “It really was a classic.”

Of course, she’s prejudiced. But then, in a way, she’s also the person best situated to evaluate Dashiell Hammett’s life and career with equal parts familiarity and objectivity.

Hammett died in 1961, and Rivett’s last contact with him came when she was 3 years old. Yet she grew up with stories about him from her mother, then edited more than 600 of his personal letters for a book.

To those who have seen the movie, released in 1941 and recycled endlessly ever since, the character of Sam Spade is most closely identified with Humphrey Bogart, his on-screen alter ego. As far as Rivett is concerned, however, there is more of Dashiell Hammett in Spade than anyone else.

“Oh, yes, you can really see it,” she said. “That’s one reason the book fascinates me so much.”

Unlike many crime writers, whose lives pale in comparison to those of their creations, Hammett was a fascinating character in his own right.

He worked for years as a private detective in San Francisco (grist for several of his novels) and served in two World Wars. He is also perhaps the only former member of the American Communist Party to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Blacklisted in the early 1950s for his former Communist activities, he was jailed for contempt of court after taking the Fifth Amendment at a Congressional hearing.

Throw in Hammett’s life-long struggle with tuberculosis and emphysema and alcohol, his much-publicized 30-year romance with playwright Lillian Hellman and his enigmatic personality, and it’s not surprising that the Maryland native seems to have stepped out of one of his books.

At the same time, however, Rivett grew up hearing of a man who loved children and animals, had a sly, dry sense of humor and fulfilled his obligations.

“One misconception that people have about my grandfather is that he abandoned his family,” she said. “That was never the case. He and my grandmother couldn’t live together for a long time because of his tuberculosis, but he always took care of his family monetarily.”

She even defends Sam Spade against charges of amorality from critics.

“He was a pragmatist,” she said. “He had his own moral code, and he stuck to it.”

Hammett wrote only five novels, the last of which was “The Thin Man.”

“That’s really where he made his money, from ‘The Thin Man,’” said Rivett. “At one point, he (Hammett) was getting $1,200 a week from book and movie money, which was a lot in the early ’50s.”

If you decide to plunge into the Big Read and make the acquaintance of one of the first “hard-boiled” detective characters, Rivett has a suggestion.

“Watch for the body language versus the dialogue,” she said. “My grandfather always knew when people were lying. It came from being a detective.”

"Classic, before Bogart" by Darrell Laurant, The News & Advance, January 24, 2010

Film Noir Fridays: Chinatown

2010-01-22T09:45:00.001-08:00

Join us on Fridays throughout the Big Read program for special cinematic journeys through the shady underbelly of film noir. The series kicks off tonight at Sweet Briar College as private investigator J.J. Gittes becomes embroiled in a mysterious murder investigation. The 1974 neo-noir film features many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. It stars Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, and went on to win numerous awards, including the 1974 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

The story, set in Los Angeles in 1937, was inspired by the historical disputes over land and water rights that had raged in southern California during the 1910s and 20s, in which William Mulholland acted on behalf of Los Angeles interests to secure water rights in the Owens Valley.

Will J.J. uncover the massive conspiracy? Forget it, Jake, its Chinatown.

Just the Facts:
Date: January 22, 2010
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Sweet Briar College, Fitness/Athletic Center Class of ’48 Movie Theatre (map it!)
Cost: FREE

Not convinced? Check out the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes to see what film critics and film lovers have to say!

The Scoop on Detective Fiction

2010-01-21T11:53:00.001-08:00

Credit for creating the first true detective probably belongs to Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), whose story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” pioneered the idea of a lone mastermind sifting clues and out-thinking everyone around him. The most popular fictional detective surely remains Sherlock Holmes, the London-based amateur sleuth created by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). Dashiell Hammett transplanted the genteel British detective story to America and gave it an urban realism that would have baffled Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hammett wrote more than eighty short stories and five novels. His crisp style and vivid slang created a gritty, street-level realism that registered strongly with the public.

Often set in large, corrupt cities, Hammett stories tend to feature an independent-minded detective, a working man at odds with his violent society. His motivations-whether monetary reward, a search for truth, or the preservation of his integrity-remain for the reader to decide. In a phrase popularized by the great newspaperman Damon Runyon, a Hammett detective was “hardboiled”: fundamentally a good egg, but far from soft. Hammett’s genius lay in devising a style to match his masculine heroes. Hammett never wasted an adjective, refining a tightly visual vocabulary until everything inessential was boiled away. The stories are often set in large cities where graft and corruption are commonplace. The hard-boiled hero is usually a man at odds with society, whose motivation stems not from monetary reward but from a personal code and the search for truth.

“I’m one of the few – if there are any more – people moderately literate who take the detective story seriously. I don't mean that I necessarily take my own or anybody else's seriously – but the detective story as a form. Some day somebody's going to make ‘literature’ of it ... and I'm selfish enough to have my hopes.” -Dashiell Hammett, 1928

Hammett stories were popular in the pulps, his serialized novels found mainstream publishers, and filmmakers have enthusiastically adapted his work to the screen. He is credited with bringing detective fiction from pulp into the literary mainstream. His crisp writing style and use of slang brought the language of the streets to the page, creating an urban realism that registered strongly with the public. He developed his style by writing case reports during his stint as an operative for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. This “just the facts” approach colored his writing, creating highly readable, fast-moving stories. Hammett strove for the highest standard in dialogue, setting, and pacing.

Hammett employs a spare style with plain sentence structure and fairly accessible language. Conversations in his stories convey messages beyond the literal meaning of the page’s words. The pacing of Hammett’s writing and his penchant for hairpin plot turns are what endeared him to readers of the pulps, and later to millions of fans of detective fiction. The Maltese Falcon has an intricate series of plot twists, but the story is told in a straightforward, uncomplicated way. Hammett’s style has influenced a host of later writers of detective fiction, including Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Dorothy B. Hughes, and Walter Mosley.

Excerpt taken from the National Endowment for the Arts Reader’s Guide. For more insider information on The Maltese Falcon, click here.

High-Velocity Falcons

2010-01-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

Excited about meeting our live birds tomorrow at The Maltese Mystery Day? We won't have any peregrine falcons on hand but you can check out this amazing video from National Geographic which tests how fast a peregrine falcon flies.

High Velocity Falcon

[Hint: falcons definitely fly faster than humans skydive!]

See you tomorrow, bird brains!

Maltese Mystery Day

2010-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Maltese Falcon is officially on the fly over Lynchburg! The mysterious twists and turns of Hammett's classic noir novel will begin with a special Maltese Mystery Day hosted by Amazement Square on January 16th.

Just the Facts:
Date: January 16, 2010
Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location: Amazement Square (map it!)
Cost: Special all-day reduced admission rate of $3.00/person

We'll be handing out free information regarding both our Big Read and Little Read selections, including limited copies of both books. You'll also be able to pick up event calendars, reader's guides, audio guides, temporary tattoos, and more!

Programming Highlights:

A live bird presentation from the Wildlife Center of Virginia

A special program by evidence technicians with the Lynchburg Police Department

The Physics of Flight with Dr. Peter Sheldon of Randolph College

A special visit from our furry friends at the Humane Society

Hands-on forensic science stations with fun activities for all ages

For more information, visit The Big Read Lynchburg or call Amazement Square at 434-845-1888.

Who is Dashiell Hammett?

2010-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

It’s possible that more people attended Dashiell Hammett’s birth than his funeral. Samuel Dashiell Hammett was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, on May 27, 1894, on the family farm called, with a touch of fateful poetry, Hopewell and Aim. Hammett grew to be a solitary teenager, quick to fight and hungry to read, a frequenter of libraries. The family’s shaky finances obliged him to quit school at fourteen and go to work.

In 1915 Hammett joined the Baltimore office of Pinkerton’s National Detective Service and subsequently filed three years of case reports, whose sparsely embellished style colored most everything Hammett ever wrote. When Hammett joined the U.S. Army in 1918, he never got closer to World War I than Camp Meade, Maryland, where he drove an ambulance until his tuberculosis led to an honorable discharge. Hammett then resumed his Pinkerton career in Washington state, where TB eventually landed him back in a military hospital.

There he met Josephine “Jose” Dolan, a nurse whose care proved so attentive that they moved to San Francisco and married in July of 1921. They welcomed their first daughter four months later. In October 1922, after a year of scribbling at the San Francisco Public Library, Hammett sent H.L. Mencken a very short story called “The Parthian Shot” for his magazine The Smart Set. The story was published, launching Hammett's career.

From The Smart Set, Hammett soon graduated to detective stories in the pulp magazine Black Mask about a nameless detective. In time, self-contained stories gave way to installments of serial novels, which Hammett then reworked into the books Red Harvest (1929) and The Dain Curse (1929). He published The Maltese Falcon in 1930, moved to New York, and wrote The Glass Key (1931) and The Thin Man (1934), his last novel.

By 1934, Hammett was written out. Though he had separated from Jose five years before and begun a lasting affair with the playwright Lillian Hellman in 1931, though he remained a devoted absentee father to his girls in southern California. More and more, Hammett concentrated his energies on politics. He gave considerable sums of money to help fight fascism in Spain, co-published a magazine called Equality, and gave many political speeches. In 1942, he rejoined the U.S. Army during World War II as an unhealthy forty-eight-year old private and served three years in Alaska, editing the base newspaper called The Adakian.

But his military service didn’t save him during the anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950s, when he spent six months in jail for contempt of court. Senator Joseph McCarthy even succeeded in yanking three-hundred copies of Hammett's books from State Department libraries around the world, until they were restored by order of one highly placed fan: President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

None of this persecution was good for Hammett's ever-precarious health and finances. He died on January 10, 1961, in a New York hospital. Hellman, his sister, and three cousins buried him three days later in the military cemetery at Arlington, Virginia, roughly forty miles from his birthplace at Hopewell and Aim.

Excerpt taken from the National Endowment for the Arts Reader’s Guide. For more insider information on The Maltese Falcon, click here.

What is The Maltese Falcon?

2010-01-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Maltese Falcon (1930), set the standard by which all subsequent detective fiction would be judged. Hammett's clean prose and sharp ear for dialogue produced an exceedingly readable novel with enough twists to keep the reader turning the pages in search of clues.

Set in San Francisco, the story takes place over a six-day period in December 1928. A tough, independent detective, Sam Spade is hired by the beautiful and mysterious “Miss Wonderly,” who walks into his office pleading desperately for help finding her sister. This bogus job gets Spade's partner, Miles Archer, and a thug named Thursby killed that same night. Though he disliked Archer, Spade’s personal moral code dictates that “when a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it.”

The police question Spade’s innocence because he and Archer’s wife were having an affair. After Miss Wonderly summons Spade to her hotel the next day, she confesses that her real name is Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Spade knows he’s being manipulated but remains uncertain about Brigid’s motives. He returns to his office, where the shadowy Joel Cairo pays a surprise visit and offers five thousand dollars for the return of a jewel-encrusted black bird.

Spade soon realizes that O’Shaughnessy, Cairo, and Cairo’s boss, Casper Gutman, are all seeking an elusive falcon statuette once owned by the legendary Knights of Rhodes. Spade is not a man to shy away from a fight, but he is also clever enough to play along in order to find the falcon and prove himself innocent.

Who murdered Spade’s partner? Where is the Maltese falcon? Is Brigid O’Shaughnessy as guileless as she claims? Will Spade risk himself to save her? Among many other things, The Maltese Falcon is about what it’s like to want something – a fortune, a lover, or even respect – so badly that you would kill for it, give up a chance at happiness to get it, until finally the chase itself means more to you than what you’re chasing.

Excerpt taken from the National Endowment for the Arts Reader’s Guide. For more insider information on The Maltese Falcon, click here.

Big Read Lynchburg 2010

2009-12-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Has really been over a year since our last Big Read program? It's hard to believe that all those wonderful discussions, programs, and bonding over Bradbury happened in 2008. Reminiscing about Fahrenheit 451 does make me eager for the 2010 Big Read to take flight.

We have some wonderful things in store for The Maltese Falcon including:

• Film Noir Fridays film series, where you can enjoy free film screenings at local colleges
• An all-ages murder-mystery game at the Lynchburg College Library
• “Maltese Mystery Day” at Amazement Square on January 16th, featuring hands-on forensic science activities, crime solving, falcons, and more!
• Lively community book discussions held at locations throughout Lynchburg
• Speakeasy Night at Rivermont Pizza - come enjoy Mint-tease Falcons, a costume contest, and sweet jams
• “Art on the FLY” art contest with cash prizes for students in grades 6-12

Want to be involved? Join our Facebook group and spread the word!

November 13th Event!

2008-11-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

We're nearing the end! We've loved seeing so many of you coming out to discuss and celebrate Fahrenheit 451.

Our final event is November 13th at Lynchburg College. Come be part of a discussion of Bradbury's work by Jim Cox, a local Bradbury scholar. Afterward, we'll be screening the 1965 film. This event is being presented in conjunction with Lynchburg College's "Year of the Citizen."

Celebrate the Big Read Lynchburg and Oktoberfest

2008-10-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

This week we're having two book discussion at Daddy Bim's Barbeque on Old Forest Road at 7pm on October 28th and 29th. Come out, discuss the book, and check out Daddy Bim's special Oktoberfest Supper Club. The menu consists of:

- Shrimp and sausage potato pancakes with sour cream sauce and Granny Smith apple coleslaw
- Bavarian Beer Cheese Soup with toasted onion ring
- Daddy Bim's Own Sauerbraten and Braised Red Cabbage with roasted new potatoes
- Black Forest Bread pudding with Chocolate cherry Brandy Sauce

The supper club is $25--and trust me, it's enough food to take home in a box. Make reservations for the supper club menu at 847-5003. If Oktoberfest isn't your cup of tea, Daddy Bim's fabulous regular menu is also available.

Scorpy reads Fahrenheit 451

2008-10-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

Did you know that even Scorpy read Fahrenheit 451? You can read this and all of Scorpy's adventures at his new site.

We still have several exciting Big Read events coming up!

** October 26, Erin Dunn will be moderating a discussion on Censorship in Art and Literature at the Maier Museum at 2pm!

** Join us at book discussions at Daddy Bim's Barbeque on October 28th & 29th at 7pm -- call (434) 847-5003 to make a reservation for their Oktoberfest themed supper club.

** Amazement Square is hosting a poetry slam on November 6th. We want to see all you aspiring poets out for a wonderful evening of sharing and listening!

Bulldog and Tomcat Ideas

2008-10-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last night I got to see Heritage High School's excellent production of Fahrenheit 451. I wanted to share Director Larry Hart's comments from the playbill about the play and book.

"In a world..." -- to steal the ever popular opening line of so many movie trailers spoken by the late great Don LaFontaine-- but seriously; in a world where the printed word is outlawed what happens to individuality and the life of the mind? While such a scenario may seem far fetched to many, to others it may seem chillingly similar to our modern reality.

The ironies at the heart of Fire Chief Beatty make him, in my opinion, the most memorable character in Ray Bradbury's classic novel. Many of his lines, though first put down on paper over a half a century ago, ring truer today than when they were first written.

Examples:

"... Zip, bam, whip, run, jump, lots of action, plenty of scores... Organize and super organize super-super sports so you talk all the time, but all the talk is scores, nice safe stuff, scores for basketball, scores for baseball, football, tennnis, scores, scores, no substances, no politics, no philosophy, not a shred of a bulldog or tomcat idea... let's have a nation where everyone is not only born equal but damn well crushed down and made equal, right? Right!"

So, in a world where a 52" flat screen television consumes one whole wall of the "family room" and where sports occupy a complete section of the newspaper and the evening news, not to mention many channels reserved exclusively for specific sports on the dish-- golf channel, anyone?-- in this world, perhaps it is not so inconceivable to imagine that society might just give up on the printed word.

I've heard it told many times that Fahrenheit 451 was considered very controversial when it was first printed and that, ironically enough, it was banned by several conservative groups. I have heard also that Ray Bradbury's inspiration for the novel came from the book burning in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s. I'm pleased that Amazement Square has joined with the Big Read and offered the city of Lynchburg such a challenging book to bring us all out of our comfort zones. Hopefully, we will be inspired by both book and play to talk about its major themes and broader implications to our world and to our future. I'm honored to be a part of this project and to be able to share this great work with so many open minded young people. It is my desire that they will leave this show thrilled with theneed to share every bulldog or tomcat idea that they have with the entire world and not just live their lives statistically.

L. Biff Hart
Director of Pioneer Theater

Thanks Larry and the whole cast for such an awesome show!

2008-10-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Heritage High School's Pioneer Theater is presenting the stage adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 this week! The show is running October 16 - 18 at 7pm with a matinee at 2pm on the 19th.

The play is going to be really great and we hope to see as many people as possible out to support the cast and crew's hard work, as well as supporting the Big Read! We look forward to seeing you there!

Caught reading!

2008-10-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Have you seen our flickr yet? We have pictures from our events, as well as some of our Big Read themed Scorpy series available. We're hosting a special Flickr contest, where we challenge you to submit a picture reading Fahrenheit 451 in the most creative location. We'd love to see where you guys are reading!

We were sent this website today that explores different literary quotations and allusions used in Fahrenheit 451. It's amazing stuff--especially since Bradbury wrote the book in only nine days!

Finally, tonight we're having a book discussion at Barnes and Noble booksellers and tomorrow we'll be screening the film in Amazement Square's Education Warehouse. We'll see you there!

The Amazing Adventures of Scorpy Bug Explores the Big Read Lynchburg

2008-10-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

Have you all been reading the Amazing Adventures of Scorpy Bug this week? Scorpy has been exploring all sorts of Big Read events. Rumor has it that he'll be reading Fahrenheit 451 next week.

If you missed it in the paper, here are Scorpy's Big Read adventures:

Wow! What a Kick-Off!

2008-09-29T07:14:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Kick-Off Carnival on Saturday! We had over 400 visitors to our Education Warehouse to help kick-off the Big Read Lynchburg! It was great seeing so many people having so much fun!

One highlight of the day was the performances by Two of a Kind. Even better? They wrote a Big Read theme song with the help of some of our visitors. Be warned: the song is very catchy. I spent the rest of my weekend humming "It's the Big Read, the Big Big Read, it's the Big Read.... The Big Read."

I also had a great time talking to Pioneer Pete, Heritage High School's Pioneer mascot. Pete was definitely getting amped up for Pioneer Theater's production of Fahrenheit 451, which is going on October 16-19. I'm just telling you guys--if Pioneer Pete is there, it's bound to be a great time.

But of course, the Kick-Off carnival is just the beginning to the Big Read Lynchburg. We have lots of events coming up--just check out our community calendar for more details. Here's just a selection of the events that we have going on in the next two weeks:

* October 2: Book Discussion @ The White Hart
* October 3: Book Discussion @ The Mezzanine Cafe
* October 4: Candace Ransom, children's author, will be doing a meet and greet @ Amazement Square
* October 9: Book Discussion @ Barnes and Noble
* October 11: Create Book Art @ Amazement Square

And we have so much more going on! We look forward to seeing you out and reading!

What Page Are You On?

2008-09-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Who's getting excited for The Big Read Lynchburg? Everyone over here is working hard getting read for our big Kick-Off Carnival on Saturday, September 27th and we can't wait to see you out there. There will be games, food, jugglers, musical performances, and much much more starting at 11am outside of Amazement Square at 27 Ninth Street, Lynchburg VA. Even better-- the 27th is also Museum Day so you can attend Amazement Square for free too, if you bring your museum day admission card.

So that's a free trip to Amazement Square, free Fahrenheit 451 goodies, games, activities, and music. It sounds like a fun afternoon to me!

As we finish rolling out our bean bag tosses and dusting off our juggling clubs, please take some time to invite your friends, families, and acquaintances to the Big Read Lynchburg. We have loads of events and contests going on from September 27 - November 13th and we'd like to see as many people come out as possible. Join our facebook group, and add us on flickr and youtube.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

What makes a classic novel?

2008-09-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Public Radio ran a great segment today about classic novels for teens, begging the question does Catcher in the Rye still resonate with teens? It's been well over fifty years since Holden Caufield's romp through New York City raised eyebrows of parents and teachers across the country. But, now, arguably, the book has lost its shock value and the question becomes whether the book stands on its own merits?

Similarly, Fahrenheit 451 has to endure the test of time. For teenage readers, Bradbury's vision of a world with wall-sized televisions and in-ear listening devices can hardly sound like the future, but rather a description of the modern world by an astonished outsider. Just as Catcher in the Rye can no longer fall back on swears and salaciousness to get the attention of teenage readers, Fahrenheit 451 can hardly call itself science fiction.

It's the themes of Fahrenheit 451 which make it timeless--fear of censorship, of government having too much power, of technology replacing individual thought, of being deprived of our right to think freely and critically about the world around us.

In any case, the MPR link is a good listen for someone who has the time. They also ask for suggestions for the new canon of teenage literature. Do you have any suggestions? Leave us a comment!

Welcome!

2008-09-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to The Big Read Lynchburg!

This fall, Amazement Square, the Lynchburg Public Library, Lynchburg City Schools, and many other community organizations and local businesses, are teaming up to present The Big Read Lynchburg, a community-wide reading initiative. We will explore Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 through book discussions, contests, film, stage adaptation, panel discussions, and more.

But first, why? Why Amazement Square? Why The Big Read? Why Fahrenheit 451?

Why is a very important question, especially when taken in the context of Fahrenheit 451, a book that's main character's undoing and rebirth is a direct result of his asking this very question. When Guy Montag wants to know why a woman would rather be burned to death than to give up her books and why the government insists on burning the books in the first place, he finds an entirely new world, one where critical thinking and imagination is allowed, something he's never experience before.

As an educational organization, Amazement Square prides itself in creating a new generation of informed thinkers and imaginative minds. Believing in the importance of making reading a lifelong activity, the museum has celebrated "The Year of Authors" in 2008, profiling a new children's author each month through hands on, interactive programs and activities. While this program suits the museum's target demographic of children ages 4-13 and their families, the museum recognized the need to host a reading program that would reach the entire community, regardless of age or background. The National Endowment of the Art's informative study, Reading At Risk, explains it in much greater detail, with many more facts and statistics, but let us just say that reading is in danger here in America. College students, young professionals, and adults all report a considerable decrease in reading over the past decade. What's more, the NEA has found that people who do read regularly are almost twice as likely to engage in civic activities such as volunteering and attending or participating in arts, sports, and other community activities.

The Big Read, a major initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museums and Library Services, fit what we were looking for. The program is designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. Across the nation, hundreds of communities of varying sizes and demographics take part in this community activity. Here in Virginia, there are Big Reads occurring in Charlottesville, Abingdon, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Virginia Beach, Wise, and Martinsville.

Finally, what a better book to get the community involved in reading than Fahrenheit 451, where reading and books is all but extinct. Bradbury's harrowing vision of the future rings all too close to home: in-ear listening devices, overly zealous television news anchors reporting half truths, and wall sized television sets that have replaced books and reading and other intellectual pursuits. The reader follows Guy Montag as he discovers the importance of reading, books, and even asking important questions of authority, life, aned family. As the readers follows Montag, one can't help but be re-introduced to what we always loved about books: that they can take us to places that we couldn't even dream of and that they make us explore and questions the world around us and even our daily lives.

Exploration is a key theme, that we hope you will take with you as you participate in The Big Read Lynchburg. We hope that you will explore our many events, book discussions and contests. Perhaps attend an event at a location you've never been to, talk to someone you've never spoken with before. We hope that this book and our activities will help you explore the world around you and help you reconnect with a love for literature that is so easy to forget in our busy lives.

Check back with us soon for more Big Read related content!