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The Written Word Sunday February 28 at 3 PM Mary Murchison reviews Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

Samuel Langhorne Clemens' nom de plume, "Mark Twain", was taken from the call made when a river boat was in safe water – two fathoms. In honor of Twain's early career as a steam boat pilot, historical model maker and authority on bay boats, C.C "Peco" Forsman will discuss Bay Boats of Mobile Bay and their impact on the area. The program will be held on Friday February 26 from 10 AM -Noon and will be repeated on Thursday March 4 from 6-8 PM.

Visit the Library Reference area to view Forsman's model of the Confederate blockade runner, Heroine, commissioned by the Fairhope Single Tax and on loan to the Library.

THE BIG READ: Alabama Reads

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by Mark Twain

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore the love of reading to the center of American popular culture.

The Alabama Statewide Big Read effort is a partnership between public libraries and the Alabama Public Library Service and the Alabama Center for the Book.

The title selected for The Big Read: Alabama Reads is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain's comic ode to American boyhood. Many people read the book and enjoyed it when young, but too few come back to it later on, when its affectionate satire of small-town life might hit closer to home. This small town theme makes the book a perfect match for the Alabama Tourism initiative for the 2010 Year of the Alabama Small Town and Downtown.

The NEA presents The Big Read 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 and the Alabama State Council for the Arts.

See our Events Calendar for Big Read programs.

Visit www.AlabamaReads.org for more information on the statewide program.

After attending a program, please take a moment to fill out an online survey which will help us secure funding for more programs like The Big Read.