The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith will host a kickoff event for the 2019 NEA Big Read: Fort Smith, from 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16, in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, located at 800 N. 49th St.
The kickoff will feature a celebration of the NEA Big Read: Fort Smith season of events, numerous games and activities for all ages, and a meet-and-greet opportunity with the community leaders and educators who will be participating in the spring programming. An “Old Tech Museum” will also be set up in the Reynolds Room, featuring a range of devices from rotary phones to some of the first home computers.
All ages are welcome to this free public event.
UAFS received the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read grant for “Station Eleven,” the best-selling novel by Emily St. John Mandel which was nominated for the National Book Award in 2014. The grant has enabled UAFS to book numerous literary events this spring, which will culminate in an author reading and book signing with St. John Mandel on March 26 at the UAFS Stubblefield Center.
Set 20 years after a flu pandemic destroys most of civilization, “Station Eleven” tells the story of a woman who moves between the settlements of a devastated world with a small troupe of actors and musicians until they encounter a violent prophet who threatens the existence of the group. The novel received mass acclaim when it was published in 2014, winning the Arthur C. Clarke award and receiving nominations for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award.
Mandel has speculated that the rise in post-apocalyptic literature in recent times may be linked to our lack of new frontiers, an idea first presented to her by a bookseller. “It’s no longer possible to set out as a pioneer and stake a claim and start a new life. Now that that’s all mapped and charted out and there are no more frontiers — that’s left us with a certain restlessness,” she said.
“Our interest in Mandel’s novel is uniquely linked to our local region,” noted Dr. Cammie Sublette, UAFS English, Rhetoric and Writing department head. “When there are no new frontiers, sometimes we look to a futuristic world, and sometimes we revisit the past. Fort Smith is engaged in both enterprises, and Mandel’s novel speaks directly to this desire to preserve the past while forging new frontiers.”
The NEA Big Read: Fort Smith (formerly known as the UAFS Read This! program) supports national trends in higher education in which students and their communities experience a shared text as a basis for cross-disciplinary communication and conversation.
“We have been a small but dynamic program for many years [as Read This!], but we are thrilled with the chance of being able to showcase our talented faculty as well as the wonderful human and historical resources in the community on a more national scale,” said Dr. Ann-Gee Lee, co-chair of UAFS Big Read and UAFS Read This!
UAFS was selected as one of only 79 organizations nationwide and the only Arkansas institution to receive the NEA Big Read Grant.
“The selection process for this particular governmental grant is incredibly rigorous,” said Dr. Christian Gerard, assistant professor of English and co-chair of UAFS Big Read. “This honor doesn’t just reflect the work happening on the UAFS campus, but demonstrates the NEA’s desire to invest in Fort Smith and the NEA’s commitment to further strengthen the bond between UAFS and the region through events and enrichment activities focused on literacy and the literary arts.”
The full slate of events is listed below. For more information on the UAFS Big Read program, contact Lee at Ann-Gee.Lee@uafs.edu or Gerard at Christian.Gerard@uafs.edu
Book Launch and Old Tech Museum [Family friendly]
February 16, 2019 • 1-3 p.m.
Reynolds Room, Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center
UAFS Campus
Sustainable Living Talk
February 18, 2019 • 2-3 p.m.
Garden House by RAWC
525 N 51st Street
UAFS Campus
Pandemic Preparedness Talk: Dr. David McClellan
February 19, 2019 • 6-8 p.m.
Latture Conference Center, Business Institute/ Flanders Building
UAFS Campus
Trading Tales throughout History & Lions Trading Post Talk: Dr. Tom Wing
February 21, 2019 • 6-8 p.m.
Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, Room 129
UAFS Campus
Spoken Word/Slam Poetry Performance and Reading: Dr. Christian Gerard and Students
February 26, 2019 • 6-8:30 p.m.
Bookish 115 N. 10th, Downtown Fort Smith
Station Eleven Faculty and Student Read Aloud
February 27, 2019 • 11am-1 p.m.
Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, Fireplace
UAFS Campus
Instrument Building Presentation and Discussion: Dr. Dennis Siler
March 1, 2019 • 2 p.m.-3 p.m.
Latture Conference Center, Business Institute/Flanders Building
UAFS Campus
Station Eleven Book Discussion
March 2, 2019 • 4-5 p.m.
Bookish 115 N. 10th, Fort Smith
Comic Book Design Art Contest Winners Exhibition
March 4, 2019- March 8, 2019
Don Lee Student Art Gallery - Windgate Art and Design Building, Second Floor
UAFS Campus
Station Eleven Book Discussion
March 7, 2019 • 6-7 p.m.
Bookish 115 N. 10th, Fort Smith
Music and National Trauma Talk: Dr. Elizabeth Momand and Students
March 11, 2019 • 5-6 p.m.
Breedlove Building, Room 105
UAFS Campus
How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse Talk: Dr. Nicki Reamer
March 11, 2019 • 6:30-8 p.m.
Boreham Library, Room 122
UAFS Campus
Recycled Art Contest Exhibition
March 11-15, 2019
Don Lee Student Art Gallery - Windgate Art and Design Building, Second Floor
UAFS Campus
Self-Defense Workshop [Family friendly]
March 13, 2019 • 7-8 p.m.
Thompson Defense Academy
Author Talk and Book Signing with Emily St. John Mandel
March 26, 2019 • 7-8 p.m.
Stubblefield Center, UAFS campus