woostify domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/latestwordpress/lonestar.a1professionals.net_public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131NEA Big Read grants open for applications<\/p>\n
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The National Endowment for the Arts, in collaboration with Arts Midwest, announced that guidelines are now available for nonprofit organizations interested in applying for a grant to hold an <\/span><\/span><\/span>NEA Big Read<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span> project between September 2021 and June 2022. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since 2006, more than 1,600 National Endowment for the Arts Big Read programs have taken place throughout the nation, giving communities the opportunity to come together to read, take part in meaningful discussions, and enjoy book-inspired events. The deadline for grant applications is January 27, 2021. The books available for the 2021-2022 NEA Big Read are designed to provide communities and readers with insights into aspects of our nation\u2019s history and culture.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Applicant organizations are encouraged to collaborate with a broad range of partners to offer events and activities that engage the whole community. Eligible applicants and partners include, but are not limited to: arts centers, arts councils, arts organizations, community-service organizations, environmental organizations, fairs and festivals, faith-based organizations, historical societies, housing authorities, humanities councils, institutions of higher education, libraries, literary centers, museums, school districts, theater companies, trade associations, and tribal governments. Visit Arts Midwest\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span>website<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span> for complete application details.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis selection of books for the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read will offer a platform to launch meaningful discussions about our nation\u2019s past, present, and our hopes for its future,\u201d said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. \u201cThese books all provide insights into different aspects of our history and we look forward to seeing the creative ways organizations find to explore their selected book with their community.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The books available for 2021-2022 programming are:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n An American Sunrise<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014A collection of poems by Joy Harjo\u2014current US poet laureate and member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation\u2014that revisits the homeland from which her ancestors were uprooted in 1830 as a result of the Indian Removal Act.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beloved<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014A novel by Toni Morrison set in 1873 in Cincinnati, Ohio, about one woman\u2019s struggle to raise her daughter while coping with the memories of her life as an enslaved person in pre-Civil War Kentucky.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014Thi Bui\u2019s memoir about the lasting effects of one family\u2019s journey from war-torn Vietnam in the 1970s to a new life in America and the universal challenges of becoming a new parent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Other Stories<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014A collection of short and long tales of heroism and hardship by Jack London featuring canine protagonists and set in the Pacific Northwest amidst the backdrop of the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1800s.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Grapes of Wrath<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014A novel by John Steinbeck, published in 1939, that chronicles the harrowing westward migration from Oklahoma to California during the time of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The House on Mango Street<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014A series of interconnected vignettes by Sandra Cisneros, published in 1984, about a year in the life of a young Mexican American girl growing up in Chicago in the 1980s.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Resources for each book, such as readers\u2019 guides and teachers\u2019 guides, will be available in spring 2021. In order to broaden participation, applicants may also choose to develop certain events and\/or activities around other literary titles that relate in some way (thematically, historically, etc.) to their selected NEA Big Read book.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor nearly fifteen years, NEA Big Read has inspired communities to come together over the joy of a good book,\u201d said Joshua Feist, director of grantmaking at Arts Midwest. \u201cWe look forward to supporting organizations as they test innovative ways to connect their audiences\u2014which includes events in virtual spaces and socially distant programs\u2014to ensure that communities have access to creativity, literature, and the important stories and ideas embedded in these books.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n