The Big Read in Virginia
“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. ”
The VFH Center for the Book with Virginia First Lady Anne Holton, State Honorary Chair, invites all Virginians to join us from September through June 2009 in reading Their Eyes Were Watching God.
About the Big Read
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
Big Read Events
- Wednesday Night Book Group
02/18 - Charlottesville, VA Join us for a "Big Read in Virginia" discussion of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston... - Virginia Festival of the Book
03/18 - 03/22 - Charlottesville, VA See vabook.org for a complete listing of programs and participants. Visit the Information Desk at the Charlottesville Omni f... - View All Big Read Events
Visit the VFH Calendar for more. - View VFH Big Read Calendar
Related VFH Programs
Their Eyes Were Watching God
"There is no book more important to me than this one."-- Alice Walker
"The syncopated beauty of Hurston's prose, her remarkable gift for comedy, the sheer visceral terror of the book's climax, all transcend any label that critics have tried to put on this remarkable work." -- Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Big Read for Little Readers
Head to your favorite bookstore or library and get the children's book, Roy Makes A Car written by Virginia author Mary E. Lyons and based on a folktale uncovered by Hurston in the 1930's.
Download a free coloring page! (pdf)
Also check out Sorrow's Kitchen, a young adult biography of Hurston written by Lyons.
Free Resources
Contact spcoleman@virginia.edu
with your shipping address and the type and number of items requested.
- Reader’s Guides, multiple copies available, up to 750 copies per address
- Audio Guides, featuring Ruby Dee, Azar Nafisi, Jerry Pinkney, Alice Walker, among others
multiple copies available, up to 150 copies per address - Teacher’s Guides, limited copies available, up to 5 per address
- Posters with space for customized information, multiple copies available, limit of 50 per address
Online Resources
- Teacher's Guide
- Reader's Guide
- Further Resources
- Zora Neale Hurston at the Library of Congress
- Harlem Renaissance at the Library of Congress
- More About Hurston
Contact Us
Susan Coleman at spcoleman@virginia.edu or 434-982-2983.
