NEA Launches The Big Read Mexico

by Aída Bardales -- Críticas, 7/15/2008 8:58:00 AM

This fall, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will launch The Big Read Mexico, part of The Big Read, the largest literature program in the United States. The Big Read Mexico, which like its parent aims to engage communities in collectively reading and discussing a work, will reflect on the anthology Sol, piedras y sombras. Veinte cuentistas Mexicanos de la primera mitad del siglo XX (Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories).

Created especially for this project by Mexico’s Fondo de Cultura Económica, the book features works by 20 of Mexico’s best authors born during the first half of the 20th century, including Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Rosario Castellanos, Jorge Ibarguengoitia, and Sergio Pitol. The book will be available in both Spanish and English and will feature the official NEA The Big Read Selection seal.

The El Paso Public Library will host Big Read activities in El Paso, TX, and across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Similarly, the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College will host activities in Brownsville, TX, and Matamoros, Mexico.