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The Big Read returns in fall 2012 to south-central Kansas with book discussions and special events in celebration of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Wichita is one of the longest-running Big Reads and joins only 78 communities to host a Big Read in 2012-2013. Community partners from across the region make this effort possible.
Read, celebrate and discuss “The Great Gatsby,” one of the 100 books that the Library of Congress has identified as shaping America. The 1925 novel depicts the Jazz Age, a term coined by Fitzgerald himself. As actor Robert Redford explains, it's "about the American dream, even if it has to be artificially composed by an individual who was a desperate man."
Do you think "The Great Gatsby" has earned its place on numerous "best books" lists? What is the American dream, and has it changed? Discuss these and many other questions at numerous book discussions.
Titles for young readers wishing to participate are also available.
The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts managed by Arts Midwest and designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of citizens. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. |
"It's the most American book of them all. In some ways, Gatsby's ambitions define the American dream or maybe the American dream defines Gatsby's ambitions." -- Critic and scholar Matthew Bruccoli |