The
NEA recently awarded the Westchester Arts Council a grant to participate
in the national Big Read project this fall. The Arts Council developed
a Big Read project in collaboration with Purchase College, The Hudson Valley
Writers’ Center, Youth Theatre Interactions and the Westchester Library
System. Our Big Read project focuses on Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes
Were Watching God, a book that was almost lost forever and is now widely
recognized as a cultural treasure. Kickoff events for Westchester’s Big
Read are scheduled for Saturday, October 6 at the Paramount Theater and
Mount Vernon Library. More details can be found on the Westchester Arts
Council website, www.westarts.com
and on www.neabigread.org.
On Saturday, October 20th, The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center will present two literary events in one: a lecture for the reader and a workshop for the writer, honoring Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Both events will be held at the Westchester Arts Council, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains.
1:00 – 2:30 pm: Thomasenia Myers will lecture on the literary, historic and social significance of Their Eyes Were Watching God. The lecture is free and open to the public.
2:45 – 5:00 pm: Brenda Connor-Bey will lead a writing workshop. By exploring the poetic realism present in Their Eyes Were Watching God, writers will gain an understanding of this form and learn how to tap into their own world of ‘dream language.’ The fee for the workshop is $25 ($20 for HVWC members). Please call 914-332-5953, e-mail info@writerscenter.org or use this form to register. Proceeds support the Hudson Valley Writers’ initiative to develop new literary audiences throughout the region.
Thomasenia
Myers is Associate Professor Emerita, Purchase College, SUNY, Literature
Board of Study. She is the recipient of awards from the United University
Professionals and the New York State Chancellor, both for Excellence in
Teaching. Thomasenia Myers has been a guest lecturer at museums, libraries
(The American Century Series) and historical societies. She has lectured
on African American literature, culture and women Studies, and conducts
workshops on cultural diversity. She has served as guest curator of Fine
Arts exhibitions in Westchester and New York City, currently serves as
an Arts Ambassador for the Westchester Arts Council, and works as an independent
consultant for her business, "Teaching Matters: Workshops to Enhance Our
Humanity."
Brenda Connor-Bey has long been active in writer-residency programs throughout the region, often through the Westchester Arts Council. She writes both prose and poetry, much of it inspired by Hurston, and is the recipient of many grants and awards, including four PEN awards and Outstanding Arts Educator from the Westchester Fund for Women and Girls. In 2006 she was named the first poet laureate of the town of Greenburgh, New York.
Are You Reading It Yet?
Buy
your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God at the Writers’ Center
when you attend a class, workshop or reading. Books provided by The Village
Bookstore in Pleasantville.
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest, presented in Westchester by the Westchester Arts Council in partnership with Purchase College and the Westchester Library System.
Book Discussion Leaders' Workshop
On Tuesday, September 25th at 6 pm, there will be a book discussion leaders’ workshop for Big Read partners/community members with Professor Aviva Taubenfeld from Purchase College. The workshop will provide instructions on how to run a book discussion including suggestions on what topics should be brought up during the conversation. The workshop will be held at the White Plains Public Library in the Auditorium. RSVP to Catherine Bruno of the Westchester Arts Council, at cbruno@westarts.com.
The Hudson Valley Writers' Center - Home