An initiative of the NEA, in partnership with Arts Midwest, a Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience.NHH’s Big Read will bring more than 5,000 Granite Staters together to discuss a selected book, The Bear by NH author Andrew Krivak.
The Bear offers readers an opportunity to join an unimaginable journey into a world both familiar and unknown as we consider what future we want for New Hampshire. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, it is a story of the last two people on earth—a father and daughter.
The novel explores powerful themes about the importance of intergenerational storytelling, our complicated relationship with the environment, and how to prepare for an unknown future. With a home in Jaffrey, Andrew Krivak, has shared how Mt. Monadnock inspired the book’s setting, making The Bear a timely, local choice for our statewide read.
The Big Read will take place from September through November 2023. 50 public libraries will partner with a community organization to host both a community event and discussion of the Bear. NHH will provide all participants with a complimentary copy of the book, purchased through Gibson’s bookstore. Copies of the book will be available at the Main Library and the North Walpole Branch in August.
The Walpole Town Library will host a book discussion led by NHH Perspectives facilitator and local poet Alice Fogel, a screening of the film Biggest Little Farm, and two programs about bears, one for children and one for adults, led by Helen Dalberg, Executive Director of the Hooper Institute. In addition to supporting these local events, NHH will host four public programs and a culminating event. For more information, please contact the library at jmalmberg@walpletownlibrary.org or 603-756-9806.
New Hampshire Humanities (NHH) funds and supports programs that inspire curiosity, foster civil dialogue, and explore big questions. An independent, statewide nonprofit, NHH made possible last year 587 free public programs and digital broadcasts reaching 17,859 residents in partnership with 210 organizations in 121 communities, to engage all citizens, regardless of their age or educational level. For more information about New Hampshire Humanities, please visit http://www.nhhumanities.org.
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
Arts Midwest supports, informs, and celebrates Midwestern creativity. We build community and opportunity across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond. As one of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest works to strengthen local arts and culture efforts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, state agencies, private funders, and many others. Learn more at artsmidwest.org.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
walpoletownlibrary.org 