This year, our English Senior
Seminar class in SUNY Fredonia participated in great program called The Big Read. For
those of you who don’t know what the Big Read is, the official website defines
it as “a program of
the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of literature
in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and
enlightenment.” Every
year, the NEA features a selection of literature from which participants (community
members, schools, and businesses, to name a few) can choose to read and discuss
over blogs, videos, and Big Read events like the one our class participated in.
The goal here is,
specifically, to increase public exposure to and engagement with classic
literature—but it also served as an opportunity for us English majors to see
how our skills in literature could operate in a public setting.
The Location
Our class was assigned
Jack London’s The Call of the Wild to
read, discuss, and, in small groups or pairs, build a discussion/presentation based
on the novel for the community partners we were assigned to. My partner, Lauren,
and I worked together for about four weeks, debating points of interest,
elements of writing and story and the like to facilitate the book discussion we
would be leading out in a public setting. Our event was hosted by a great little
bookstore in Jamestown, NY called Novel
Destination. If you live in the Jamestown area I would highly recommend
checking it out!
The
Material
The Call of the Wild is of those novels that can be
enjoyed by everyone. It’s short and easy to read, for one thing, but also quite
artful. I remember reading this book as
a kid and loving it because it reminded me of the movie Homeward Bound. The
book can appeal to young readers for the danger and adventure and indomitable
spirit of the story as they follow Buck’s transformation from abducted family
pet to Klondike sled dog
to feral killer. But there are deeper elements to the story—like
social commentary, self-transformation, the regression from domestication to
wildness—not to mention the features of London’s writing itself, which can give
more mature audiences a lot to think about as well.
The Preparation
Lauren and I listened to
several other groups in our class who had already presented to their community
partners, and it sounded like attendance to the events was turning out to be a
little disappointing. Three to eight attendees seemed to be the norm. So we
were both a little nervous for our event, because it can be tough to have an
engaging discussion (of the kind we had prepared for, at least) with only a few
people. However, Carrie, the owner of Novel Destination with whom we talked a
lot about discussion topics, was expecting a big turn-out.
Carrie really liked the
idea of explaining who Jack London really was and what was going on during the
time of this novel’s publication. She also told us that (even though this book
is for all ages) we should prepare our discussion for a group made up of
adults. So we made a little brochure handout
with a short biography of Jack London’s life, as well as some information about
what was going on during the time of the novel’s setting (the Klondike Gold Rush),
and prepped our notes/topics to be flexible and adaptable to what our attendees
brought up.
The
Event
Our turnout was
incredible. We had about thirteen people show up who were eager and ready to
discuss the book. Some were retired English teachers who had read the book
numerous times and had unique insights and opinions on the novel. There were
others who had only just read it, and enjoyed it for the story’s own sake. Lauren
and I sat at the front of the room, facing the crowd, but luckily they didn’t
take that as indication that this would be a lecture.
Right off the bat, people were talking
back and forth to each other, agreeing and disagreeing on different points,
building off of this or that person’s insights. We had been optimistic coming
into the event—we felt well-prepared and confident in our familiarity with the
story—but we were blown away with how easy it was, and how much fun, to fill
that hour-and-a-half. Lauren and I had made a general outline of how we wanted
the discussion to flow, but we didn’t really need it—the conversation naturally
moved to every topic that we had wanted to bring up, as well as many other
insights from the readers. There was never a lull or awkward silence—we had
highly interested, engaged attendees. And later, it occurred to us that
quality, not quantity, is what really makes or breaks a book discussion like
ours.
So, if you haven’t
participated in The Big Read, I highly recommend that you take a look at the
program, grab a book, and engage yourself in community discussions (locations
of events are posted online if you search a little). You don’t have to be an
English major to appreciate and enjoy, and benefit from, this awesome program—get
involved!
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