Hosted by the Lake County Library, the 2023 NEA Big Read partnered with Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus for the program’s official kick-off event.
The kickoff event will be held in the Campus Library, Building 100, 15880 Dam Rd. Extended at Clearlake on February 9, 2023 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. The Valentine’s Day-themed event will feature information sessions, free copies of NEA Big Read books, and open forums celebrating love stories and language. District Supervisors Bruno Sabatier and Eddie Crandall join the celebrations with university and library staff and the public. Snacks and refreshments are provided.
Whether it’s romantic love with a significant other or life partner, love of nature, love of community, love of culture and ethnic heritage, the general public is invited to participate in the festival and share their own love stories. You are invited.
The first week of the 2023 NEA Big Read will follow the 2nd Thursday Writing Circle by Richard Schmidt on Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 5:30 PM at Main Street Gallery in Lakeport. Lake County Farmers’ Finest will host his NEA Big Read on Saturday, February 11, 2023 from 10am-1pm at The Mercantile at his 4350 Thomas Drive in Lakeport. Later that afternoon, Richard Schmidt will host a Taste of Poetry event at Lakeport Library at 2pm.
The NEA Big Read event will continue through February and March, with events ranging from book discussions and writing workshops, to family and local water history museum presentations, and poetry readings. Lakeport’s O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company has once again partnered with the library at NEA Big Read by creating a new and unique beer to commemorate the program. The Postcolonial Love Poem Ale will be available to order from February.
Little Reads for Kids is also offered at the library branch with four storytimes, featuring age-appropriate books on themes related to the NEA Big Reads books.
Free entry to all NEA Big Lead events. Also, at each event and in all library branches, free books will be provided until supplies last. To view the full schedule of events, here or follow the big lead Facebook.
NEA Big Read is a National Endowment for the Arts program in partnership with Arts Midwest that seeks to expand our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing good books. NEA Big Reads presents a diverse range of contemporary titles that reflect a wide range of voices and perspectives with the aim of stimulating conversation and discovery.
With a $9,500 grant, the Lake County Library hosted NEA Big Read, a dynamic community reading program across the county, selected Natalie Diaz’s Postcolonial Love Poems for its 2023 programming.
Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Postcolonial Love Poem is a collection of poems by Arizona poet Natalie Diaz. Poetry confronts the forces of racism, environmental destruction, addiction and psychosis with the power of lust, love and language. From publisher Gray Wolf Press, “Postcolonial Love Poems is an anthem of desire for erasure. It demands that all people be touched and embraced as loved ones, whether they are suffering brothers, enemies, or lovers.
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visit For more information on NEA Big Read, organizations interested in applying for NEA Big Read grants in the future, please visit Arts Midwest for more information.
