“What if everybody read the same book?” That’s the question asked by the 10th annual Everybody Reads campaign, which kicked off this month. The program, created by Multnomah County Library and sponsored by Portland State, attempts to foster community engagement and learning through the wide-spread reading of a specific book selected by MCL.
The selection for the 2012 Everybody Reads campaign is Heidi Durrow’s novel The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, which carries the major themes of race and personal identity and centers on a young biracial woman who in the face of family tragedy moves to Portland to live with her black grandmother. The girl must learn to navigate the community and the world around her as she searches to cope with grief and the challenges of being biracial. Each Everybody Reads event scheduled throughout the term will focus on discussions of these themes.
“The easiest way to participate is to pick up a copy of the book and read it,” said J. David Santen, senior writer with the Office of University Communications. “Copies are available for free from area libraries or at a reduced cost at area bookstores. You can also download audio copies from Multnomah County Library. Then, come by one of the discussions. Some will discuss the book, but others will expand on social and historical context of the book, including Portland’s own uneasy history with racial relations.”
Everybody Reads was designed to facilitate group discussion on topics that affect the community. At PSU, the idea is for a group of students, faculty and staff to come together to read the book and then spend the next few months learning more about what it represents and discussing its message.
The first event of this year’s campaign occurred on Feb. 6 and was a round-table discussion of the novel. The panel featured several PSU professors who discussed the novel and its themes. Over the next several weeks, different events will continue to explore those themes in more intricate detail. A full list of Everybody Reads events can be found via the PSU website at www.pdx.edu/insidepsu/everybody-reads-2012.
The next Everybody Reads event is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. PSU will host a civic engagement breakfast at Millar Library that will examine the issue of diversity in the Portland metro area, followed by a discussion on the characteristics required to succeed in the workplace.
Santen especially stressed the importance of attending the final event of the series, on March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, where author Heidi Durrow will speak and answer questions about her book.
Everybody Reads began in 2003, and PSU’s affiliation with the project began in 2005. According to PSU associate professor of English Maude Hines, who played a large role in the university’s involvement with the program, the sponsorship of Everybody Reads came about due to a desire to have large-scale discussions with faculty, students and community members all in one sitting, and to form a mutually rewarding partnership with MCL and the surrounding community.
“I hear over and over again from colleagues how rewarding it is to work with the public,” Hines said. “The library’s programming benefits from the academically-oriented events we provide.”
Hines also encouraged PSU students to get involved with Everybody Reads. She recounted past stories of the students in her class taking a personal interest in experiencing and understanding literature during and after the program. One of her favorite memories is of one of her classes making glass kites to display in the PSU Library during an Everybody Reads analysis of the novel The Kite Runner.
“Students have been involved in this partnership from the beginning,” Hines said. “Students have often been part of the programming itself, and many attend the programs. For example, two students are on the ‘Growing Up Biracial’ panel this year.”
According to Hines, many different organizations within PSU have helped to make Everybody Reads a major event for the university over the years, including the School of Fine and Performing Arts, the Graduate School of Education, the School of Social Work, the College of Urban and Public Affairs, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Office of University Communications, the Center for Academic Excellence, Auxiliary Services and the English Department.
“I approached the Multnomah County Library with the idea of this partnership years ago, and we have had a long and mutually rewarding partnership since then,“ Hines said. “While I organize the programs and run PSU’s part of the partnership, the work would not be possible without the tireless efforts of dozens of colleagues.”