Copyright 2008 Mississippi Reads All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

 

“Mississippi Reads,” is a project initiated by sponsors throughout the state, and invites readers of all ages to read a specific book by a Mississippi author each year. Libraries, schools, and reading groups are encouraged to sponsor discussions, lectures, and other activities focusing on the book. The project is designed to increase reading among all Mississippians and to highlight some of Mississippi’s extraordinary writers, including Faulkner, Wright, and Welty.

The 2007 and first book for “Mississippi Reads” was William Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses. The 2008 book is Uncle Tom’s Children by Richard Wright.

“Mississippi Reads” is the first statewide project focusing on reading a single book by a Mississippi author. Beginning with Faulkner, Richard Wright (2008), and Eudora Welty (2009), “Mississippi Reads” will thereafter offer opportunities for reading and studying other writers from the state. Richard Wright’s Uncle Tom’s Children is the book for 2008, when the Wright centennial will be celebrated. (He was born on a plantation near Natchez on September 4, 1908.) Eudora Welty’s Collected Stories is the book for 2009, which is the year for celebrating her centennial. (Welty was born in Jackson on April 13, 1909.) Other authors and books will be announced later.