Building Bridges: A Selection of Classic Black Literature
"Education, after all, is a matter of building bridges."
– Ralph Ellison
Building Bridges: A Selection of Classic Black Literature is a unique book group experience offering readers the opportunity for immersion in great books by black authors over the course of four monthly discussions from February - May 2011 at the L.H. Bluford Branch.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Building Bridges: A Selection of Classic Black Literature is a unique book group experience focused on enduring works by black American authors: Toni Morrison, author of The Bluest Eye, her debut novel that set the tone for a Nobel Prize-winning legacy; Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man, a novel that is an essential part of any conversation about the Great American Novel; James Baldwin, author of The Fire Next Time, an incendiary part-autobiographical essay on American racial tensions in the early 1960s; and Dorothy West, author of The Wedding, a nuanced and controversial family drama.
The Bluford Branch will host participants for conversations about these featured books with the guidance of expert discussion leaders and a small cadre of like-minded readers; these discussions will take always take place on Sundays at 3 p.m. from February through May 2011.
The Bluford Branch has reserved copies of all four novels, available for check-out by participating readers.
This program is free, but space is limited. Participation in Building Bridges: A Selection of Classic Black Literature is contingent on completion of a Reader Profile Form, a quick survey that will help the Library assemble a diverse group of readers. This form is available online.
Those readers who are not selected at this time will receive a customized list of recommended readings (prepared by Library Readers' Advisors) based on the information submitted on this form, as well as early notification about future book group programs.
PRESENTERS:
Carmaletta Williams is an administrator at Johnson County Community College specializing in black literature and whose academic interests include the works of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. She has studied at Harvard University and Yale University. Williams will join the discussions of The Bluest Eye and Invisible Man.
John Edgar Tidwell is an English professor specializing in black literature at the University of Kansas, where he is researching a book on the poet Sterling Brown. He has served as a visiting fellow at both Harvard University and Yale University. Tidwell will join the discussion of The Wedding.
Kaite Stover is the Head of Readers’ Services for the Kansas City Public Library, where she serves as the resident expert on book groups. She hosts workshops and presentations nationwide that focus on improved book group experiences. Booklist magazine publishes her side of its regular column “He Reads/She Reads.” She is the lead coordinator for Building Bridges: A Selection of Classic Black Literature.
Bernard Norcott is a technical assistant at the L.H. Bluford Branch, where he also facilitates the ongoing bi-monthly Black Classics Book Group. He holds master’s degrees in Ancient Greek from Loyola University Chicago and in English Literature from Syracuse University. He teaches Greek mythology at Johnson County Community College.
BOOK GROUP SESSIONS:
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 3 p.m.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 3 p.m.
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 3 p.m.
The Wedding by Dorothy West
Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 3 p.m.
