NEA Big Read
Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) has received a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read grant in partnership with the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County (FOLMC), Montgomery Community Media, the Gaithersburg Book Festival, and Montgomery History. The Big Read goal is to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and spread the transformative power of literature into lives.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The NEA presents NEA Big Read in partnership with Arts Midwest.
The book selected for the 2018 Big Read in Montgomery County is
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by MacArthur Foundation Fellow Dinaw Mengestu
. This book tells the story of the immigrant experience in Montgomery County and the Washington metropolitan area, including Silver Spring.
Check out the book from MCPL or
purchase a copy at a FOLMC bookstore. You can also get more information about the
NEA Big Read,
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
.
Want to expand your reading beyond The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears? Explore our suggested reading lists with recommended fiction and nonfiction titles for readers of all ages.
A series of events and activities throughout Montgomery County are planned as part of the Big Read. These events and activities will celebrate the diverse immigrant experiences that residents have brought to the County—enriching it, and making it an even greater place to live. See the planned events below. Please check this site regularly as more events will be added.
Events
MCPL Events
Book Discussions
- Chevy Chase | Feburary 28, 2 pm
- Twinbrook | March 20, 6:30 pm
- Kensington Park | March 21, 12:30 pm
- Gaithersburg | March 28, 7 pm
- Potomac | April 18, 1 pm
- Damascus | April 23, 7:30 pm
- Wheaton Interim | May 15, 11 am
- Long Branch | May 16, 2 pm
- Davis | May 16, 7 pm
- Little Falls | May 30, 1 pm
- Marilyn J. Praisner | June 5, 7 pm
- White Oak | June 13, 6:30 pm
- Maggie Nightingale | June 25, 7 pm
A World Away: Postwar Migration to Montgomery County, 1945-1965
Gaithersburg Library | >May 12, 1 pm
Folk tales and Short Stories Brewed from the African Pot by Anna Mwalagho
Silver Spring Library | May 12, 3 pm
Community Storytelling: Home and Identity
- Marilyn J. Praisner Library | May 17, 7:30 pm
- Gaithersburg Library | May 20, 3:30 pm
- Silver Spring Library | May 22, 7:30 pm
Muslim Experiences in Montgomery County: A Panel Discussion
Aspen Hill Library | >May 20, 1:30 pm
Contemporary Conversations with Dinaw Mengestu
Silver Spring Library | June 9, 7:30 pm
Other Events
Author Panel
The Mansion at Strathmore | March 22, 11 am. Tickets required.
Official Kick-off: DiverseCity Showcase of the City of Gaithersburg
Center Court, Lakeforest Mall, 701 Russell Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877 | April 14, 12–4 pm
The American’s Promise: Immigration in Montgomery County
Typewriter-Pop-Up Exhibit
Beall-Dawson Museum, 103 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville, MD 20850 | April 12, 12–4 pm
Music with DJ GeeMan (Haile Gebru)
Silver Spring Library | April 21, 11 am
Red Sea Recordings: The Recording Industry in Eritrea
Silver Spring Library | April 21, 12:30 pm
Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Friends of the Library Bookstore, Old Silver Spring Library | 8901 Colesville Road | May 12, 11 am. Register online beginning in April.
Gaithersburg Book Festival
Gaithersburg City Hall Grounds | May 19, 10 am–6 pm
#WeAreMontgomery
Where are you from? Share with us on social media using
#WeAreMontgomery!
The American Promise: The Immigrant View
Although three of the top ten most diverse cities in the United States are located in Montgomery County, according to a 2018 report by the personal finance website WalletHub, in reality immigrant voices are rarely heard. In The American Promise: The Immigrant View, a new series of oral history promotional spots produced by Montgomery Community Media, four residents break the silence and share their views on the immigrant experience in Montgomery County.
The participants are Montgomery County residents Jhoan Sebastian Santos, from Colombia, John Kolm from Australia, Olive Idehen from Nigeria and Monica Costa from Brazil. The residents’ oral histories provide insights and reactions to building new lives here and offer tips to new arrivals. The promos will be broadcast on Channels 19, 21 and 995 HD as well as being posted online.
The American Promise: The Immigrant View, promotional oral history spots are part of NEA Big Read Montgomery and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, in partnership with Arts Midwest. NEA Big Read Montgomery is a partnership between Montgomery Community Media, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, the Gaithersburg Book Festival and Montgomery History.
Gaithersburg (No. 6), Silver Spring (No. 4) and Germantown (No. 8) were chosen from more than 300 of the nation’s most populated cities in a WalletHub Diversity Study, using criteria based on household, religious, social class, racial and economic diversity. You can view the study and the entire list of cities online.
#BigReadMoCo
