The WHC mini-grant program can support book discussion programs in which members of a group meet periodically with a discussion leader to talk about theme-related books. Any public library in the state of Wisconsin is eligible to apply for funds to host these Book Discussion Series.
Contact Dena Wortzel at the WHC 608-265-5593 for more information.
Series available from the WHC include:
Images of Rural Life in American Literature
The number of farmers in the United States today is so small that the federal Census Bureau no longer bothers to count them. Yet stories about rural life remain central to Americans’ images of themselves, even as fewer and fewer Americans live rural lives. Images of Rural Life offers participants an opportunity to read and discuss the works of four authors—Lonesome Land, by B.M. Bower, The Land Remembers, by Ben Logan, A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean, and Reservation Blues, by Sherman Alexie—who alternately investigate, celebrate, and critique the images and ideals associated with life on the land.
Related Materials: Books are available for loan on a first-come, first-served basis. Brochures, posters, and lists of suggested scholars and discussion questions are provided.
Lives Worth Knowing: Distant Lives
The four biographies in “Distant Lives” explore the lives of figures far removed in time and culture. The Nature of Alexander, by Mary Renault skillfully sorts through the history to weave a dramatic story about Alexander III (“the Great”), the warrior who nearly brought under his control the entire ancient world. In Jesus: A Life, A.N. Wilson illuminates what there is to know about the historical Jesus, as opposed to the Christ of faith. Natalie Zemon Davis’s The Return of Martin Guerre tells the story of a Languedoc peasant who left his family in the 1540s, suddenly reappeared, reclaiming his wife, child, and property, and, after several peaceful years together, however, was brought to court as in impostor by his wife where the return of the real Martin Guerre proved her accusations true. And Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale Makes life in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Maine, tangible, illuminating matters of health care, social relations, religious values, and personal finance.
Related Materials: Books and discussion materials are available for loan on a first-come, first-served basis.
One Vision, Many Voices: Latino Literature in the U.S.
This series offers a taste of the diversity and richness of Latino literature through novels, a memoir, and short stories by both new and established authors who trace their roots to Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Works that make up the series include:
-
Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies
Aristeo Brito, The Devil in Texas
Cristina Garcia, Dreaming in Cuban
Piri Thomas, Down These Mean Streets
Harold Augenbraum and Ilan Stavans, editors, Growing Up Latino: Memoirs and Stories
Related Materials: Books are available for loan on a first-come, first-served basis. A brief essay on Latino literature with synopses of the books is provided.
The Storytellers
This popular book discussion series explores five novels by American Indian writers—Fools Crow, by James Welch, Tracks, by Louise Erdrich, The Surrounded, by D’Arcy McNickle, Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko, and The Sharpest Sight, by Louis Owens. WHC grants enable groups to invite literary scholars and Native American discussion leaders to their communities.
Related Materials: Books are available for loan on a first-come, first-served basis. Brochures, posters, and lists of suggested scholars are provided.