Deadline extended to December 31, 2019!

Click here to submit your work. We prefer you to fill out this online entry form and email your work as an attachment to thebigreaddearborn@gmail.com.

OR you may mail your submission, along with a filled-out participation form, to:
Dearborn Public Library
22100 Michigan Ave.
Dearborn, MI 48124
Attn: Big Read

We’re sending out a call for stories, poems, or essays regarding nature with an emphasis on trees and plants. The call is open to everyone. Shorter works are appreciated, but there is no limit on length. Submissions will be compiled and published as a book. Copies will then be added to the library collection for checkout. We will also sell copies as a fundraiser for future Big Reads in Dearborn. To differentiate this book from Call of the Wild Dearborn (our first community anthology), we are not looking for entries on animals or wildlife. Click here for the flyer.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Do you have a favorite tree from your childhood?
• A poem about trees/plants? How about a haiku?
• A flower you want to write about?
• A true story or a fictional narrative involving trees or plants?
• What do trees mean to you?

Can’t come up with something regarding trees or plants? How about writing about gardening or your favorite nature trail? How about focusing on nature in a more general sense? Or how about something science related? Hope Jahren is a geobiologist who mainly studies plants, trees, and soil. Remember: the world is your lab. Or how about something on friendship? Jahren portrays a close friendship she has with Bill, her lab partner.

If you have questions, please contact the library at (313) 943-2330 or thebigreaddearborn@gmail.com. The library is looking forward to reading your submissions!

Here are some of our previous community anthologies:

The following are books created in conjunction with the NEA Big Read program at the Dearborn Library. In many cases, copies of the book can be purchased at the library. To find out availability, please call (313) 943-2330. 

What’s in a Name?

Have you ever thought about what, exactly, is in a name? Each chapter in this book ponders that question, whether directly or indirectly. There are no easy answers. It is at best a mystery. However, if you really look into that set of words assigned to you at birth, you may find traces of biography, genealogy, history, the immigrant experience, and more. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

Recipes to Remember

Over 100 recipes from local authors. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

Dreaming Dreams No Mortal Ever Dared to Dream Before

In this collection of Poe inspired stories and poems, you will find dreams (and nightmares), ghost stories, horror, madness, mystery, imagination, and even some humor. Read these pages, and dream dreams never dreamt before. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

Call of the Wild Dearborn: Animal Tales

Take a walk on Dearborn’s wild side with this delightful (and thrilling!) community anthology featuring animal stories, poems, and essays written by over 100 authors of all ages. From humor to haiku, mystery to real-life-rescue tales, there’s something here for everyone. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

We’re sending out a call for stories, poems, or essays regarding nature with an emphasis on trees and plants. The call is open to everyone, and the deadline is November 30, 2019. Submissions will be compiled and published as a book. Copies will then be added to the library collection for checkout. We will also sell copies as a fundraiser for future Big Reads in Dearborn. To differentiate this book from Call of the Wild Dearborn (our first community anthology), we are not looking for entries on animals or wildlife. Click here for the flyer.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Do you have a favorite tree from your childhood?
• A poem about trees/plants? How about a haiku?
• A flower you want to write about?
• A true story or a fictional narrative involving trees or plants?
• What do trees mean to you?

Can’t come up with something regarding trees or plants? How about writing about gardening or your favorite nature trail? How about focusing on nature in a more general sense? Or how about something science related? Hope Jahren is a geobiologist who mainly studies plants, trees, and soil. Remember: the world is your lab. Or how about something on friendship? Jahren portrays a close friendship she has with Bill, her lab partner.

Click here to submit your work. We prefer you to fill out this online entry form and email your work as an attachment to thebigreaddearborn@gmail.com.

However, if you do not have access to a computer, you may mail your submission, along with a filled-out participation form, to:
Dearborn Public Library
22100 Michigan Ave.
Dearborn, MI 48124
Attn: Big Read

If you have questions, please contact the library at (313) 943-2330 or thebigreaddearborn@gmail.com. The library is looking forward to reading your submissions!

Here are some of our previous community anthologies:

The following are books created in conjunction with the NEA Big Read program at the Dearborn Library. In many cases, copies of the book can be purchased at the library. To find out availability, please call (313) 943-2330. 

What’s in a Name?

Have you ever thought about what, exactly, is in a name? Each chapter in this book ponders that question, whether directly or indirectly. There are no easy answers. It is at best a mystery. However, if you really look into that set of words assigned to you at birth, you may find traces of biography, genealogy, history, the immigrant experience, and more. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

Recipes to Remember

Over 100 recipes from local authors. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

Dreaming Dreams No Mortal Ever Dared to Dream Before

In this collection of Poe inspired stories and poems, you will find dreams (and nightmares), ghost stories, horror, madness, mystery, imagination, and even some humor. Read these pages, and dream dreams never dreamt before. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

Call of the Wild Dearborn: Animal Tales

Take a walk on Dearborn’s wild side with this delightful (and thrilling!) community anthology featuring animal stories, poems, and essays written by over 100 authors of all ages. From humor to haiku, mystery to real-life-rescue tales, there’s something here for everyone. Copies available to checkout from the library collection

A public event on Monday, October 14 will be the launch for the Dearborn Public Library’s fourth NEA Big Read program, which focuses on Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl.

The memoir tells the story of a young woman who finds friendship in odd places, battles bipolar disorder, perseveres through setbacks, and relishes hard-earned triumphs, eventually becoming a respected scientist and passionate observer of the natural world.

Though the NEA Big Read programming takes place in March and April of 2020, the project will launch on Monday, October 14 at 4 p.m. at the Environmental Interpretive Center (EIC) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Rd.

During the October 14 event, Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. will join Dearborn Library Director Maryanne Bartles, UM-D Chancellor Domenico Grasso, and Dorothy McLeer, who is the program coordinator and interpretive naturalist at the EIC, in promoting the upcoming NEA Big Read.

There will also be tulip bulbs given away at the free, family-friendly event, courtesy of English Gardens. Light refreshments will be served. Free parking will be available on the third floor of the Monteith Parking Structure. Attendees are advised to only park on the third floor. Here is the flyer.

Lab Girl, published in 2016, quickly earned critical acclaim, being called one of the best books of the year.

The theme of the 2020 NEA Big Read-Dearborn is “The World Is Your Lab,” and programming will focus on science and nature. Throughout March and April 2020, there will be many events for the community to participate in, including lectures, films, book discussions, nature walks, and other activities centered on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM). The adventure begins with a kick-off at The Henry Ford on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m.

Here is a brief introduction to the book from the NEA Big Read website (neabigread.org):

The prologue to Jahren’s memoir is an invitation to the reader: to look out the window; to see something green; to home in on that vision of green—a tree, say; to look more closely at a leaf; and to ask a question about that leaf. “Guess what?” she then writes. “You are now a scientist. People will tell you that you have to know math to be a scientist, or physics or chemistry. They’re wrong…. What comes first is a question, and you’re already there” (p. 4).

To put the program together, Dearborn Public Library and the City of Dearborn are partnering with The Henry Ford, the Arab American National Museum, AAUW-Dearborn, DFCU Financial, the Dearborn Community Fund, Dearborn Public Schools, Artspace, Dearborn Library Foundation, Dearborn Library Commission, Friends of the Library-Dearborn, University of Michigan-Dearborn Mardigian Library and the Environmental Interpretive Center, Henry Ford College Eshleman Library, Beaumont Medical Library, East & West Dearborn Downtown Development authorities, Friends of the Rouge, The Dearborn Inn, Green Brain Comics, and Dearborn Heights Libraries.

Organizations or businesses interested in participating to help make the NEA Big Read a community-wide experience should contact the library at 313-943-2037.

Dearborn’s first NEA Big Read was focused on The Call of the Wild by Jack London in 2014, the second was focused on Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe in 2016, and the third was focused The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri in 2018.

A program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read seeks to broaden our understanding of our world, communities, and ourselves through sharing the joy of a good book.

Please visit dearbornlibrary.org or bigreaddearborn.org for updates.

Dearborn Public Library has done it again!

It has received yet another NEA Big Read grant and will present a fourth community-wide reading event, this time in early 2020 and centered on an award-winning book detailing a woman’s career in science, as well as her triumphs over personal obstacles.

The NEA Big Read grant awarded to Dearborn is for $15,000. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest and seeks to broaden understanding of the world, communities and individuals through the joy of sharing a good book.The latest NEA Big Read-Dearborn will focus on the 2016 memoir Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, a geobiologist from rural Minnesota who not only knows her trees and flowers, but “has some serious literary chops” (Washington Post).

Her bestselling memoir Lab Girl tells the story of a young woman who finds friendship in odd places, battles bipolar disorder, perseveres through setbacks and relishes hard-earned triumphs, and becomes a respected scientist and passionate observer of the natural world.

Called one of the best books of the year by, among others, NPR, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and Elle,  the memoir “does for botany what Oliver Sacks’s essays did for neurology, and what Stephen Jay Gould’s writings did for paleontology” (New York Times). It’s “immediately engrossing and extremely readable” (The Guardian).

The theme of the NEA Big Read-Dearborn is “The World Is Your Lab” and programming will concentrate on science and nature.

The Big Read Dearborn Kick-off, scheduled for March 7, 2020 at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, will feature free copies of Lab Girl and activities for all ages.

Then throughout March and April 2020, many events will offer the community a chance to learn about the book and its themes, and include lectures, films, book discussions, nature walks, and programming focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math).

To help bring this massive project to life, Dearborn Public Library is partnering with The Henry Ford, the Arab American National Museum, AAUW-Dearborn, the Dearborn Community Fund, Dearborn Public Schools, the City of Dearborn Department of Public Information, Artspace, Dearborn Library Foundation, Dearborn Library Commission, Friends of the Library-Dearborn, University of Michigan-Dearborn Mardigian Library and the Environmental Interpretive Center, Henry Ford College Eshleman Library, Dearborn Historical Museum, Beaumont Medical Library, East & West Dearborn Downtown Development authorities, Friends of the Rouge, The Dearborn Inn, Green Brain Comics, and Dearborn Heights Libraries. The list of partners continues to grow.

Organizations or businesses interested in being involved with the Big Read Dearborn should contact the library at (313) 943-2037.

Dearborn Public Library’s first Big Read was focused on The Call of the Wild by Jack London in 2013-14; the second was Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe in 2015-16; and the third was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri in 2017-18.

Dearborn Public Library is one of 78 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant for programs scheduled through June 2020.

Please visit dearbornlibrary.org or bigreaddearborn.org for updates on the 2019-20 NEA Big Read-Dearborn.

About the NEA Big Read

Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,400 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $20 million to organizations nationwide. More than 5.7 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, approximately 91,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and 39,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit arts.gov/neabigread.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

About Arts Midwest

Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit artsmidwest.org.

We recently ran out of copies of the What’s in a Name? book, but we ordered 60 more and now those are available for purchase for $10 each at Henry Ford Centennial Library, 16301 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn.

Additionally, we have added copies to the library collection, so with a Dearborn Public Library card, you can check out a copy for free.

The What’s in a Name? book of family stories and poems came in! Copies are available for purchase for $10 each at Circulation at Henry Ford Centennial Library 16301 Michigan Ave., and a limited amount will be available at Esper and Bryant soon (copies are in the delivery boxes – should arrive as early as tomorrow). We accept cash, check made out to City of Dearborn, or credit card.

The Cookbooks are also still available for purchase for $10 each.

Processing is adding copies to the collection for checkout.

Any funds raised will go directly towards our next community-wide reading program in Dearborn.

Thank you!

The Big Read Cookbooks are available! Copies are available at Henry Ford Centennial Library 16301 Michigan Ave., Bryant Branch 22100 Michigan Ave., and Esper Branch 12929 West Warren for $10 each.

We accept cash, check (made out to City of Dearborn), or credit card (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express).

We’re getting closer to publishing the community anthologies, Recipes to Remember and What’s in a Name? We are working on proofing the texts right now. We hope to publish them in late September. Sorry it’s taking so long. As soon as they are available, we will post information on how to obtain copies. Thank you for your patience!

We have some Big Read videos produced by City of Dearborn Television (CDTV), part of the Dearborn Department of Public Information.

Click here to view Jeff Karoub’s multimedia music performance at the Wrap-Up exploring his family experiences with immigration.

Click here to view all of the individual interviews from the Big Read video project. CDTV is still in the process of editing a few more, so if you don’t see your interview please keep checking our YouTube page and subscribe for updates.

Here are some photos from the Wrap-Up. Well, that’s a wrap for the Big Read! We hope our “What’s in a name?” celebration of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake was as fun, educational, and enriching for you as it was for us.

We wanted to say thank you very much to the public for participating in many ways, including reading the book, attending programs, submitting family recipes or stories/poems, being part of the film project, and/or creating crafty items such as mosaic name tiles or fabric squares (which, by the way, have been added to the beautiful quilt made by Zaman International).

We would also like to send a BIG thank you to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell; State Representative Abdullah Hammoud; Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr.; Dearborn City Council Members; the Big Read partners and sponsors; the Big Read Planning Committee; all the performers, lecturers, and book discussion moderators; the entire staff of Dearborn Public Library led by Library Director Maryanne Bartles, Deputy Director Julie Schaefer, and Administrative Librarian Steven Smith; and all additional City of Dearborn staff members and others who helped bring this massive project to life.

Furthermore, we want to recognize and thank the Dearborn businesses who donated treats for our Wrap-Up event: Alcamo’s, Bartz Bakery, Byblos Banquets, Cheat Treats, Dearborn Sweets, Park Place, Prince’s Bakery, and Shatila. And we want to acknowledge Impressive Graphics for making the stunning Big Read T-shirts and banners. Finally, the Big Read would not be possible without the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest.

We are truly grateful to all of you.

P.S., we hope to publish the cookbook and “What’s in a name?” book over the summer. Please check bigreaddearborn.org for updates.