by Christine Menges |
Attention bookworms: Today is UP’s kickoff event for a new campus-wide reading program.
The book in the reading program, “Charming Billy,” was written by Alice McDermott, who will speak about the novel in the Buckley Center Auditorium as part of the Schoenfeldt series Feb. 26.
Provost Thomas Greene said the idea for the project started when English professor Molly Hiro approached him with the idea of doing a campus-wide read, common on many college campuses.
According to Greene, a small committee discussed the project this summer and created a program where students would be encouraged, but not required, to read the novel.
This model differs from the all-campus reading activity Hiro originally envisioned, but still offers students the chance to partake in events if they wish.
“It’s a nice little compromise,” said Greene.
Drew Harrington, dean of The Library, said the University has received 300 copies of the book. One hundred are in the Office of Residence Life, and 200 are in Clark Library, ready for students to check out.
Before the event, Fr. Charlie Gordon will lead book discussions open to the entire community on Feb. 11, Feb. 19 and Feb. 24.
There will also be a reception on Feb. 26 with McDermott, which will culminate with the public lecture at 7 p.m the same day.
Brian Doyle, editor of Portland magazine, hopes similar events will happen in the future.
“This is sort of the running head start for a campus reads program,” he said.
Doyle thinks this program could eventually expand to entire freshman classes, like at many college campuses, or into the greater city.
“Maybe this leads to having a writer in the Chiles Center instead of the Buckley Center,” Doyle said.
“Charming Billy” won the National Book Award in 1999. Harrington thinks students will enjoy the novel.
“It’s not a long, heavy, weighty book. It’s just a quiet book,” she said.
The book is set in post-war New York in a Catholic Irish immigrant community. This setting enables the author to focus on themes like old and new traditions.
Regardless of setting, Doyle believes the themes are universal.
“It’s really about mercy and forgiveness and pain and endurance,” Doyle said. “How do you grapple with pain and loss? How can you be loving and reverent even with people who are deeply flawed?”
Christine Menges is a reporter for The Beacon. You can reach her at menges15@up.edu or on Twitter @ChristineyBird.
