Saturday, March 05, 2011
Alaska and Wisconsin communities rally around The Soloist by Steve Lopez
In communities across the United States, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez has drawn readers together to discuss the arts, mental illness and homelessness. The book—about Lopez’s friendship with homeless, schizophrenic musician Nathaniel Anthony Ayers—has become a one-city-one-book phenomenon. Ketchikan, AK, and Menomonie, WI, are just the latest communities to select this book for their reading programs.
The University of Alaska Southeast, Ketchikan Campus, is spearheading “One Ketchikan One Book.” While the program is centered at the university’s library, the entire Ketchikan population has been invited to take part. The project was launched on Dec. 3, 2010, and continues through May 2011. Amidst the kick-off festivities, local actors performed scenes from the book and answered questions from the audience. The event included live music and readings from the book.
Additional “One Ketchikan One Book” activities include screening of the movie, The Soloist, followed by discussion, and three book discussions and roundtable discussions focused on homelessness and mental health issues. The January book discussion was well-attended by students as well as community members and resulted in lively conversation according to UAS Ketchikan Library Director Kathleen Wiechelman. javascript:nullo();For more information, see Ketchikan Campus, One Ketchikan One Book.
Meanwhile over in Wisconsin, “Menomonie Reads 2011”—also featuring The Soloist—kicked off Jan. 14 and ran through Feb. 20. Menomonie’s opening event offered music performed by cellists and others. Discussion following a Jan. 20 screening of the movie, The Soloist, was led by a University of Wisconsin Eau Claire professor who has played music with Nathaniel Ayers. Other events planned for “Menomonie Reads 2011” included four book discussions; a poverty summit about homelessness, a poverty simulation, a program about mental illness, and a program about Wisconsin war veterans. The Menomonie Public Library partnered with several local agencies to organize the events.
According to the Library of Congress Web site, One Book Projects have exploded in popularity in recent years. The “One Book” movement was begun in 1998 by Nancy Pearl, then the executive director of the Washington Center for the Book in the Seattle Public Library. Currently, the American Library Association provides libraries with guidance and information about staging “One Book” initiatives.
Here are some of the other communities that have featured The Soloist by Steve Lopez as their community book choice:
2010
Long Beach, CA, “Long Beach Reads One Book”
Bellingham, MA, “One Book, One Bellingham”
Battle Creek, MI, “Battle Creek Reads”
Greensboro, NC, “One City, One Book”
2009
Thousand Oaks, CA, “Thousand Oaks Reads—One City, One Book”
Kansas City, KS, and Johnson County Community College, “United We Read”
East Lansing, MI, and Michigan State University, “One Book, One Community”
Bozeman, MT, “One Book-One Bozeman”
Concord, NH, “Concord Reads”
Cincinnati, OH, “On the Same Page Cincinnati”
Philadelphia, PA, “One Book, One Philadelphia”
