The 2011 Big Read Was a Success!

The 2011 Big Read in Spokane has come and gone, but will not be forgotten any time soon, thanks entirely to the participation and attendance of so many wonderful Spokane area residents and organizations. Get Lit! Programs chose the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien for the purpose of igniting a conversation and drawing the community together around this one book. The Big Read selection was in conjunction with the 2011 Get Lit! Festival’s theme: Telling the American Story.

We at Get Lit! Programs believe that we hit our target goals dead-on. Diverse audiences were engaged in reading The Things They Carried and discussing the important issues raised in the book, and more generally, a wide group of Spokane residents were drawn into reading and participating in literary-based events. In short, we believe that we made this book part of the cultural discussion. All told, The Big Read touched over 4,000 people, more than 1,500 of whom were high school students. Thank you to everyone who made The Big Read 2011 such a success in Spokane. If you would like to see some of the photos and videos from the event, visit The Big Read archives section of our website.

One of our greatest successes was the theatrical adaptation of the book by the Eastern Washington University theater department. Drawing approximately 1,600 audience members over seven performances, according to audience feedback the production “absolutely exceeded expectations.” The production is currently being honed by the theater department for use as a contest production, and we wish them great luck with this endeavor. The other major highlight of The Big Read was “An Evening with Tim O’Brien.” The event featured a video presentation of veteran’s stories by Tincan (the video and full interviews will soon be available on their website), a poetry reading by Iraq veteran Brian Turner, and a moving reading by O’Brien himself, after which Turner and O’Brien fielded audience questions. Judging by the number of hands in the air, the question and answer session could have gone on all night. Instead, both authors signed books for over an hour at the end of the event.


But, The Big Read would not have been what it was without the events leading up to O’Brien’s reading. Thirteen separate groups hosted book discussions; the Chase Gallery and the J.F. Thamm Gallery presented art exhibits; veterans spoke to high school students; other veterans, university professors and many others participated in panel discussions; the book was read in its entirety on-air at KPBX 91.1; two separate film series were shown; an online blog forum offered students as far away as University of Idaho an opportunity to participate in the discussion; high school teachers taught the book in their classes; a children’s and youth author read stories to younger groups related to American history; and authors hosted workshops and panel discussions that focused audience members on telling their own American stories. Conversations were had that are not normally had, veterans were celebrated and their stories were heard, and reading was elevated to a place of importance within the Spokane community.

The Big Read was brought to Spokane by Eastern Washington University’s Get Lit! Programs with the help of the Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library District, and Fairchild Air Force Base. We are also thankful to BookCrossing.com, Spokane Public Radio, Tincan, the Spokane Arts Commission, The Inlander, and The City of Spokane for their support.

Though The Big Read is not scheduled to return to Spokane in 2012, we hope to host another Big Read in the future. In the meantime, check out “Spokane is Reading,” a similar community-wide reading initiative organized by the Spokane County Library District, Spokane Public Library, and Auntie’s Bookstore. This year, Spokane will be reading Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. Roach will come to Spokane on October 20 for two free presentations. More info about Spokane is Reading will be available, click here.