‘Big Read’ Celebrates Thornton Wilder With Marathon Read, Play, Much More

4-16-10

By LAURA COX

The Big Read is back and this year it features Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer prize winning book, “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” and companion play, “Our Town.”
The Foothills Performing Arts & Civic Center will once again play host to this National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) event which encourages communities to participate in reading a common literary work.
Janet Hurley-Quackenbush, who has been heading up events at the Foothills since January, explains the history behind the month- long event, “The Big Read was initiated by the National Endowment for the Arts in response to a NEA report from 2002 that demonstrated a decrease in the amount of literary reading in America.
“This is an opportunity to read and discuss a book, to generate excitement about reading and to wake up all of our senses and enlarge our humanity.”
This is a third annual event for the Foothills. Last year The Big Read featured “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, and in 2008 it focused on Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mocking Bird.”
This year is different in that it includes two literary works, the book “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” and also its companion play “Our Town,” Hurley-Quackenbush said.
“Even though they appear to take place worlds apart, they are really based on the same simple subjects. They are both thought provoking and pose the same questions in regards to life and death,” Hurley-Quackenbush said describing the similarity of the two works and why they are paired together.
The Foothills has programs scheduled throughout the month in conjunction with The Big Read.
New this year is an essay contest for high school students in grades 10-12. Hurley-Quackenbush said students are asked to read the book and then write a 1000 word or less essay comparing the book to a contemporary movie or novel that deals with the same themes as “The Bridge of San Luis Rey.” Entries are due by May 6 and students interested in entering can contact the Foothills for a copy of the book.
This weekend the customary marathon read will take place at The Bright Hill Literary Center in Tredwell. Starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, participants will read the entire book aloud, in relay fashion, without interruption. A discussion and feast will conclude the event which is expected to wrap up by 6 p.m.
At 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 the Foothills will show the 1944 film version of “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” to be followed by discussion.
The Green Toad Bookstore has partnered with the Foothills again this year to promote The Big Read and it will host “A letter in the Mail.” At 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, Sam Goodyear will read a letter from Thornton Wilder written in response to a fan letter to the author after reading “The Bridge of San Luis Rey.”
The Big Read will wrap up with a production of “Our Town” put on by the Foothills. The play will be shown at 7 p.m. on Fridays, April 30 and May 7, and 2 p.m. on Saturdays, May 1 and 8 and Sundays, May 2 and 9 at the Foothills.