Sam Spade is Coming to Town!
The Grand Rapids Public Library has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to host The Big Read from September 2008 through June 2009. The Big Read, an NEA initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture, gives communities the opportunity to come together to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 23 selections from American and world literature.
The Big Read in Grand Rapids will focus on The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. This classic work of noir fiction features the detective Sam Spade who has been hired to search for a missing woman and the statue for which the book is titled. The book was also made into a movie.
Event-specific activities will take place in May 2009.
GRPL is one of 208 libraries and other organizations to receive a grant to host The Big Read, which has supported more than 500 public library partnerships. The latest Big Read grantees represent 46 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Stay tuned to the blog for updates on The Big Read!