Big Read Celebrates 19th Century Poet

It’s time for The Big Read, an annual event aimed at instilling literacy and a love of reading among Sonoma County residents.

This year, the initiative celebrates the work of 19th century poet Emily Dickinson, with a reading at Copperfield’s on March 5, a public performance of The Belle of Amherst and discussion groups all over the county.

Dickinson’s work was largely unknown in her lifetime, but was discovered following her death and celebrated for its powerful impact and imagery dealing with death and immortality.

The Big Read was officially started by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2007, but Sonoma County has been holding its own similar event, called Sonoma County Reads, since 2002.

In that time, school and reading groups, have joined to read classics such as The Grapes of Wrath, The Call of the Wild, Bless Me Ultima and House on Mango Street.

Sonoma County’s participation in The Big Read is so involved that it’s one of only 78 communities in the entire country to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

An Emily Dickinson re-enactor will read Dickinson’s poetry and sign books at a free event at Copperfield’s Petaluma on Tuesday, March 5 at 7pm. On March 27, a group will discuss Dickinson’s work at the Petaluma Regional Library at 7pm.