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Community invited to explore
The initiative will include discussions, lectures, forums, performances, an art exhibit and more events that illuminate Ralph Ellison’s acclaimed and influential novel. "The purpose of Randolph Reads: Invisible Man is to allow people from all walks of life to have a common literary and artistic experience around this great American novel, and to be able to share their views on themes and issues of being invisible in Randolph County," says George Taylor, assistant director of the Randolph County Public Library and spokesperson for a partnership of community groups organizing the initiative. As of this writing, partners include: The Courier-Tribune, the Friends of the Randolph Public Library, the Asheboro City Schools, the City of Asheboro, the George Washington Carver Community Enrichment Center, Randolph Community College, the Randolph County Public Library and the Randolph County Schools. From June through September, copies of the novel will be available in quantity at Randolph County Public Library branches in print, ebook and audiobook formats. During the summer, a discussion group will be available at the library to consider sections of the book in turn. The Courier-Tribune will develop a series of articles about people in our community who feel invisible, and a call to artists will be issued for an exhibit at the Randolph Arts Guild in September on the theme of invisibility. In September, discussions of the full work will take place at libraries and other venues as the community is invited to a series of events related to the book, including a theatrical production, Black Blue and Invisible by Mike Wiley, based on the Courier’s invisibility series. Organizers acknowledge that local controversy last fall surrounding the book prompted calls for a community reading initiative, but say the effort is more a response to renewed readership and discussion of the novel generated in the wake of the controversy. "Hundreds of county residents read or re-read the book," Taylor says. "It’s a deep, rich novel and we want to provide the opportunity for folks to talk about it and put in context what they have read," Taylor says. |
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Randolph Reads • Randolph County Public Library • 201 Worth Street •
Asheboro, NC 27203 |
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All Randolph County is invited to read, learn about and discuss the
same book as Randolph Reads: Invisible Man gets underway in June
and concludes in September.