First Lady Laura Bush, Honorary Chair

First Lady Laura Bush

Read the official White House letter.

Sponsors

Big Read - D.C. sponsors

Download the Big Read 2008 Walking Tour

Jazz Age Stories of the Rich and Scandalous

by Kim Roberts

Special Thanks Mayflower Hotel

The Big Read - D.C. 2008 Community Partners:

The Art Deco Society of Washington, DC, The Arts Club of Washington,Barnes & Noble Booksellers,Busboys and Poets,Chapters Literary Arts Center; Cultural Tourism DC, DC Center for the Book @ DC Public Library, DC Department of Parks and Recreation, DC WritersCorps, Inc., DC Public Schools, Friends of the Library, Gottaswing.com, Hurston/Wright, Literacy Volunteers and Advocates, National Music Center, PEN/Faulkner Writers In Schools, Smitsonian's National Museum of American History, SpeakeasyDC

THE BIG READ - D.C. April 24 - May 24, 2008 Washington, D.C. Is Reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Upcoming! Thursday, May 15 6 PM until 3 AM - GATSBY HAPPY HOUR AND PARTY - How far would you go for the American Dream? presented by J-K Productions and The Usual Suzpectz. Hosted by Ariana Lalita R and R Bar and Lounge, 717 6th Street, NW Book give-away, drink specials, socializing, fun! Happy Hour begins at 6 on CLOUD 9 rooftop; specials after 9 pm. For more information, go to Usual Suzpectz link - http://www.usualsuspectz.net/. 6 PM - FITZGERALD FILM FESTIVAL - "G" Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Ph. 202-727-1222 This modern retelling of the classic novel -- co-starring Richard T. Jones, Blair Underwood, Chenoa Maxwell, Andre Royo and Andrew Lauren -- follows flashy hip-hop rapper Summer G, who moves out to the Hamptons to impress a woman he's always loved, despite her affection for another. (96 minutes) 7:30 PM - Book Discussion - Palisades Library 4901 V Street, NW, Ph. 202-282-3139 Friday, May 16 7 PM - The Power of Style with Washington Post Fashion Journalist Robin Givhan, Madame C.J. Walker biographer A'Lelia Bundles, and Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth (moderated by Rosemary Reed Miller) Barnes & Noble (Georgetown), 3040 M Street, NW , Ph. 202-965-9880 Saturday, May 17, 10:30 AM 10:30 AM - The Scurlock Studio Records Collection -- Who Were We During the Jazz Age when Gatsby "Lived"? presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Trinidad Recreation Center, 1310 Childress Street, NE Ph. 202-727-1294 Smithsonian staff will discuss Addison Scurlock's view of Washington during the "Jazz Age," as seen through the Scurlock Studio Records Collection. Attendees and long-term residents of the District of Columbia will be invited to: have an intergenerational discussion about life in the city; gain visual literacy by learning how to examine the images of people, places and events in the collections of the Smithsonian's archives; and discover new methods to care for family photo collections. Book Discussions - May 18 - 21 Sunday, May 18, 2 PM - Book Discussion - Petworth Library 4200 Kansas Avenue, NW, Ph. Tuesday, May 20, 12 PM - Book Discussion - West End Branch Library 1101 24th Street, NW, Ph. 202-724-8707 Wednesday, May 21, 7 PM - Book Discussion - Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Interim Library 945 Rhode Island Ave., NW, Ph. 202-671-0265 Wednesday, May 21, 7 PM The American Dream and the Racial Divide of the 1920s and Today presented by Hurston/Wright Foundation and IKG Cultural Resource Center Thurgood Marshall Center, 1816 12th Street, NW, Ph. 301-683-2134 Hurston/Wright and the IKG Cultural Resource Center host a solution discussion led by Black historians, authors and cultural activists to review and compare Black literature and the social conditions of Black people during the roaring twenties and today.

Link to Complete Schedule of Events Read more about The Big Read - D.C. on our Blogspot. Download The Great Gatsby Discussion Guide and Teacher Guide (for classrooms). Did you participate in a Big Read program? Take the Nationwide Survey for The Big Read and tell us what you think. Find out more and visit all the Big Read communities at
www.neabigread.org

About The Big Read

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.