The Big Read, Indeed

The Grapes of Wrath proves a timely selection for annual literacy initiative

Years of easy credit and excess lead to a recession caused by high unemployment rates and government foreclosures with economic difficulties compounded by an ongoing drought: It’s the setting of John Steinbeck’s post-depression novel The Grapes of Wrath, but it could easily provide a map of future uncertainties in today’s tumultuous economic climate.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect for locals to pick up the book and participate in the Big Read, sponsored by the YWCA and Knox County Public Libraries, to learn about the difficulties of those experiencing poverty and migrant workers forced to travel to provide for their families.

“It’s odd that what’s going on in society right now is dovetailing so well with the choice of this book and that’s of course not a good thing, but it really makes people look at literature as a real benchmark for how we’re supposed to deal with this,” says Mary Pom Claiborne, spokeswoman at Knox County Public Libraries. “We can look at The Grapes of Wrath and see what those families went through and see how we can cope with this big government bailout — will it lead to a Great Depression and if it does how will we treat each other?”

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment of the Arts and was implemented locally last year. Claiborne says it’s the largest literacy initiative in the nation and uses literature to bring communities together in the joy of reading and discuss social issues.

The 2007 event was so successful, Knoxville is now a model city for the program and Claiborne says this year’s Big Read calendar is full of diverse activities, including a film screening of vintage TVA footage on farming practices to avoid another Dust Bowl, an Ijams Nature Center nature walk to commemorate the paths of migrant workers, a live radio show created by teens participating in the library’s Media High program and multiple discussion and educational events bringing local leaders and experts together to discuss the implications of today’s economic and environmental crises in relation to those experienced by the novel’s characters.

“We’re delving into this in a big way,” Claiborne says. “We’re trying to get people to explore an American classic in a way that is meaningful and can teach the depth of a novel. People often don’t respect fiction as much as nonfiction, but you can get into the story of a person and that perspective of a historic event teaches you more than a history book would.”

THE BIG READ 2008 EVENTS

The Culture of Poverty
Thursday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m.
Blount County Public Library
Carpenters Middle School Assistant Principal Mike Crabtree will discuss issues reflected in the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby K. Payne. Clayton Narveson, a World War II veteran who grew up during the Great Depression, will share personal stories of his family’s survival. Please bring a canned good or nonperishable food item to donate to our local food pantries.


How the New Deal Relates to Our Life Today
Thursday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m.
Oak Ridge Public Library
Dr. David Key, history instructor at Pellissippi State Technical Community College, will explain how the New Deal isn’t just old news.


Film Screening: Valley of the Tennessee
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m.
East Tennessee History Center
The 1944 film Valley of the Tennessee was made by the Tennessee Valley Authority to educate citizens on farming. The film was directed by Alexander Hammid and includes some footage shot by Knoxville’s own filmmaker, Sam Orleans. The Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound will provide a short introduction.


The New Deal and the American Political Imagination
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.
Lawson McGhee Library
In 1939, Steinbeck published the story of a desperate family searching for a better life during the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath. By that time, President Roosevelt had instituted the New Deal — programs designed to help such families and restore public faith in America. Join Dr. Michael Fitzgerald, UT Howard Baker Center Fellow and political science professor, to explore the New Deal and its enduring transformation of government and the American political imagination.