By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo is one of ten cities in the nation chosen to participate in a national program to promote reading. It's being called "The Big Read."
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a $25,000 grant to the Just Buffalo Literary Center for "The Big Read." Just Buffalo has chosen Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" as the novel that will be read and discussed in our area. Just Buffalo's Mike Kelleher says his agency already has experience with its annual "If All Buffalo Read the Same Book."
"I think the cities they asked to apply for the grant were chosen because they already had expertise running these kinds of programs," Kelleher said. "So, they wanted to have a strong base of support to get the program off the ground."
The NEA is embarking on the national program in the wake of its landmark 2004 study that found literary reading in the United States is on a steep decline.
"The idea nationally is to create a large-scale program that combats this by making reading a kind of public event that people can see," Kelleher said.
Kelleher says "Fahrenheit 451" was chose for a couple of reasons.
"We thought it was a timely subject because there is a lot of fear about the loss of civil liberties in America in the post-9/11 era," Kelleher said. "But locally, we thought it was important to emphasize the importance of books."
This, as the Buffalo and Erie County Library System closes 16 branches because of reduced funding.
"The Big Read" kicks off May 1st. Kelleher said plans call for panel discussions, a screening of the film based on the book, and much more.
If the pilot involving the ten cities succeeds, he says the NEA will try to expand it to more cities in future years.