Little Read Story Walks

One of our favorite aspects of our Big Read and Little Read programs are the community partnerships we’ve been able to establish with area schools, libraries, arts centers and museums, and non-profit organizations. Little Read Story Walk This year, we’ve been especially grateful for conversations, feedback, and insights from people at Gun Lake Tribe. One …

What Exactly is the Poet Laureate?

On October 1, the Big Read events for the November 2021 programming went live. Check out the events on our website!  Our kick-off speaker this November is Joy Harjo, the current poet laureate and author of several memoirs and poetry collections. Harjo will join the lakeshore community on October 25 in Dimnent Chapel with a …

Q&A with Poet in Residence Jack Ridl

Our Big Read team is excited to announce that Jack Ridl will be our Poet in Residence this November for our 2021 Big Read program. Jack Ridl began teaching English at Hope College in 1971 until he retired in 2006. He is the author of several national award-winning collections, as well as poetry textbooks and …

Native American Art: Kruizenga Museum Collection

Throughout September, our social media account is announcing some exciting events for our November programming. Check out @bigreadlakeshore on Instagram and Facebook for updates! One event has already begun! The Kruizenga Art Museum at Hope College presents Native American Art: Recent Acquisitions from the Kruizenga Museum Collection. The Kruizenga Art Museum features paintings, prints, photographs, …

Joy Harjo: Poet Warrior

Last week our 2021 author, Joy Harjo, released Poet Warrior: A Memoir. This book serves as a follow-up to her previous memoir Crazy Brave.  NPR reviewed this book saying, “This is a book about pain and growth; a narrative that shines a light on compassion and stresses the importance of rituals. Harjo talks about the …

Beautiful Changes

Today is Labor Day, which typically signals the end of summer as students head back to school and the weather slowly begins to change.  Since I headed back to school and began my junior year at Hope College I have been thinking about change. I do not often think of change as beautiful because I …

Poetry Forms

The form of a poem is one of the first things readers notice about a poem. Oftentimes a poet chooses a form that fits with the message of the poem.  Below are a few types of poetry and poems that fit within this category. These may be helpful when reading Joy Harjo’s book, An American …

Behind the Read and Podcast Recommendations

Last week we announced our new podcast, Behind the Read, a podcast offering listeners insights and perspectives on all that goes into, around, and behind the act of reading. Our host and program director, Dr. Deb Van Duinen, will talk about all things reading, literacy, and books with friends of the Big Read Lakeshore. Podcasts …

Encounter with Cultures

Last semester, I took a required Education course called “Encounter with Cultures” taught by Professor Susan Cherup. In this course, there was a unit on Native Americans with readings focused on Native Americans and current Native American issues. All of this helped prepare me so well to read our upcoming Big Read 2021 book, An …

Lakeshore Libraries

I recently traveled to Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon, the largest used and new bookstore in the world! This inspired me to share a few of my favorite things about libraries and feature the libraries that serve our Lakeshore community.  Libraries offer a wide collection of books, movies, audiotapes, CDs, and various services like internet, …