North Carolina Conversations Summer-Fall 2008.pdf

North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame to InductJ a m e s A p p l e w h i t eW i l l i a m S . P o w e l lLee SmithEva and Louis Rubin. Photo by Lucinda Mackethan.• Reading Lolita in Tehran, AzarNafisi• The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini• Palace Walk, Naguib Mahfouz• A Perfect Peace, Amos Oz• Three Cups of Tea: One Man’sMission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, GregMortenson & David Oliver Relin• Nine Parts of Desire, GeraldineBrooksBeyond the Battlefield:Alternative Views of WarThese books examine the battlefieldof the heart, the individual’s strugglethrough the emotional consequencesof witnessing the ravages of war.• March, Geraldine Brooks• All Quiet on the Western Front,Erich Remarque• The Reader, Bernhard Schlink• The Coldest War, Jim Brady• The Things They Carried,Tim O’BrienThe North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame will addthree new members this fall when the poet James Applewhite, historianWilliam S. Powell, and novelist Lee Smith are inducted into the Hall ofFame at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities in SouthernPines on Sunday, October 19, 2008. “The three inductees representNorth Carolina’s best literary traditions and achievements in fiction,poetry, and nonfiction,” said North Carolina State University professoremeritus Jim Clark, who chaired the selection committee.The North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame was founded in 1996 underthe leadership of Poet Laureate Sam Ragan, a founding member ofthe North Carolina Humanities Council, and continues as a programof the North Carolina Writers’ Network. The 2008 induction will be thefirst in which the Network and the Weymouth Center collaborate withthe North Carolina Center for the Book, the North Carolina HumanitiesCouncil, and the North Carolina Collection of the Wilson Library at UNCto cosponsor the induction ceremony, to promote the Hall of Fame, andto celebrate North Carolina’s literary heritage.“These organizations share many of the same goals as the Network andthe Literary Hall of Fame,” said Network executive director Ed Southern.“They’re very excited to help honor this year’s inductees and to makesure more North Carolinians know about this state’s contributionsto literature.”How to Sponsor a “Let’s Talk About It” ProgramAny public library in the state seeking a program for an adult audience is eligible to apply for a “Let’s TalkAbout It” program. The librarian selects the series and decides on the dates for the program. The two-hour sessions takeplace at the same time and day every two weeks for nine weeks. The film and poetry series run weekly for six weeks. Allapplications are subject to approval and availability of funds and books. Programs are available spring and fall.An application form can be obtained online from the North Carolina Humanities Council’s website at www.nchumanities.org.For assistance in planning or applying, please contact Carolyn Allen at (336) 256-0140 or callen@nchumanities.org.Applications should be received by the Humanities Council at least eight weeks in advance of the desired program start date.Once the program is confirmed, the Humanities Council arranges for the books to be made available from the North CarolinaCenter for the Book, schedules scholars for each book, and provides grant funds to pay the scholars an honorarium.NC Conversations • Summer 2008 • 17