RIC welcomes national Big Read

Hundreds of area middle and high school students filled Sapinsley Hall for the Big Read Kick-Off event last week. The Rhode Island College Big Read is focused on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and is an initiative by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Literary Services, to promote reading literature as a hobby.
The Kick-Off was a celebration of Edgar Allen Poe with a performance by David Keltz, a Poe impersonator and actor. Keltz performed several Poe works, including "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," "Spectacle" and "the Black Cat." Afterward, and still in character, Keltz answered questions from the audience about Poe, his life and his works.
The initiative began when the NEA conducted studies that concluded that less than half of the adult population reads literature as a hobby, and that in the past decade there has been a 7 percent drop in the number of adults who read literature.
In attendance were Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, President Carriuolo, Big Read Program Director Christine Taylor and Robin Kall, from "Reading with Robin," a Providence-based radio show on WHJJ. Carriuolo and Roberts both emphasized the importance of reading.
"One thing we all have in common as a college campus is that we all love to read," said Carriuolo.
She awarded Roberts and Kall with certificates of recognition.
Roberts recounted a story of going to Westerly to visit a flood shelter recently where 60 people who had been left homeless by flood damage were staying. She said that the one thing that caught her attention was that many of them were passing the time by reading.
Taylor said that one in five working class people read literature and that poor writing costs corporate America nearly $3.1 billion a year.
The Big Read began April 7 and will hold events through May 7, when it concludes. Some upcoming events include the films "The Premature Burial" on April 15, "Poe: The Last Days of the Raven" on April 19, "The Tomb of Ligeia" on April 22, "An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe with Vincent Price" on April 26 and "The Masque of Red Death" May 3. All movies will be shown in the Reinhardt room in Adams Library at 5 p.m.
268 communities across the country are also hosting Big Read events like the one at RIC. Since 2006, the NEA has hosted over 800 events like the Big Read and has provided more than 200 grants to benefit literature.
"Just read for the pure enjoyment of it; let it take you away," said Kall.