KSC Launches Second Summer Reading Program

KEENE, N.H. 7/2/02 School has started a little earlier than usual for the fall semesters incoming students at Keene State College. Over the summer, first- year students and other campus community members will read Sherman Alexies Reservation Blues, the story of a magical odyssey by a Spokane Indian blues band.

The purpose of the Summer Reading Program, according to Sally Joyce, associate professor of English, is to create a common learning experience that will help first-year students adapt to the intellectual life of the College. To make the program a shared experience, says Joyce, campus community members are encouraged to read the book and to join in discussions. Last year, first-year students and others read John Edgar Widemans Brothers and Keepers.

Discussions of Reservation Blues will be part of English 101 courses; and a workshop has been planned for August 30. Alexie, who is one of the countrys foremost Native American fiction writers and poets, will make a public presentation at the College on March 25, 2003.