The Pell City Library is pleased to sponsor, Conversations from Tom Sawyer, a performance by The Seasoned Readers, on Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00 a.m. at the Pell City Senior Center.  Join the fun as this Birmingham-based senior theatrical group presents best-loved selections from Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  This is the novel chosen by Alabama libraries for the first state-wide participation in “The Big Read: Alabama Reads.”

Reading a great book is a deep and deliciously satisfying pleasure.  It awakens our mind, and stretches our imagination.  Yet in 2004, a report by the National Endowment for the Arts, Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America reflected a significant decline in reading for pleasure among American adults.  In an effort to address this issue, an initiative called “The Big Read” was born.  The NEA enlisted a panel of 22 literary experts and laypeople with a passion for literature to select and prepare a diverse roster of books with the common characteristic of literacy excellence.  From this list, communities wishing to participate in “The Big Read” select one book for reading, and encourage community members of all ages to read the novel and to join together to celebrate and discuss it through planned events and programming. For the next several months, libraries state-wide will participate in this effort to promote reading through “The Big Read: Alabama Reads.” 

The Pell City Library is excited to be participating in this endeavor.  

  “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.  The Big Read is made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.  The Seasoned Readers division of The Seasoned Performers is supported by the Jefferson County Office of Senior Citizen Services, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

The Seasoned Readers is a special wing of The Seasoned Performers.  This senior adult troupe performs a variety of 25-minute readings throughout the year to groups of all ages, touring weekday mornings and afternoons in Birmingham and surrounding areas.  The Seasoned Performers senior adult theatre was founded in 1984.  It affords opportunities for senior adults to participate in the theatre, bringing live plays and dramatic readings to communities.  It also provides training for senior adults wishing to expand their theatrical skills.

The program, Conversations from Tom Sawyer, is free and open to the public.  Join the fun on Tuesday, March 2nd at 10:00 a.m. at the Senior Citizen’s Center of Pell City.  While you are there, be sure to pick up a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, or visit the Pell City Library for a copy to read and pass on!