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The Houma Regional Arts Council is again sponsoring The Big Read, a community program that encourages reading and discussion of a selected work of literature.
This year’s selection is “The Things They Carried,” a 1990 novel penned by Tim O’Brien. The book, set mostly in Vietnam during the war in which O’Brien was a soldier, is a collection of stories that broach the joys of storytelling and the horrors of battle, love and hate, and the value of distorting the truth.
The arts council received a $16,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to organize local Big Read events. The national program doles out grants between $2,500 and $20,000 to local organizations as it seeks to enhance literature’s place in American culture.
Those interested in participating can pick up a free copy of the book at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum. Extra copies have also been donated to local libraries, and other locations with free books are going to be announced.
Tens of thousands of locals have participated in previous Big Reads, says Glenda Toups, executive director of the arts council. Previous selected works include “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Fahrenheit 451,” among others.
The arts council will host several events at each library branch in its six-parish coverage area (Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. James and Terrebonne) in conjunction with the novel.
These events include book discussions and likely screening of the PBS “American Experience” series on Vietnam at the branches. The Big Read begins locally with a 1960s-themed music concert Feb. 22 in downtown Houma, and other events will be posted online at www.houmaterrebonne.org and at www.neabigread.org.
“The Things They Carried” was a finalist for the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, running alongside “Rabbit at Rest” and “Mean Spirit.”
O’Brien is slated to be the keynote speaker at the 10th annual Jambalaya Writer’s Conference on April 13 at the Terrebonne Parish Library Main Branch.
“The Things They Carried,” is his most critically acclaimed novel and is widely regarded as the keystone piece of fiction to come out of the Vietnam War.
“It changed my life,” says Toups, who adds that it was chosen this year in attempt to appeal to an older demographic. However, the novel should appeal to readers of different ages and eras with poignant tales of human nature and the psychological and physical burden of war.
Tim O’Brien, author of Big Read selection “The Things They Carried” speaks at the annual Jambalaya Writer’s Conference April 13 at the Terrebonne Parish Library Main Branch.
