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MOUNT OLIVE - Have you ever heard of a marathon reading? Sigma Tau Delta and the Mount Olive College English Society are planning a 24-Hour Marathon Reading for November 10, beginning at 8:00 AM in the Lois K. Murphy Regional Center.

 

The longest recorded marathon reading lasted 224 hours and took place in Paysandú, Uruguay.  To achieve this Guinness World Record six people read aloud for nearly 10 days.  Although Mount Olive College will not attempt to break the world record, they are making history for the College by holding the very first event of its type at the institution which is being held in honor of Native American History Month.

 

The selected book is Love Medicine, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction.  The book is the first novel in a series by Chippewa writer Louise Erdrich.  Chronicling the lives and loves of two families--the Kashpaws and the Lamartines--from the 1930s to the 1980s, Love Medicine celebrates traditional Chippewa culture, while showing the humorous events and drama that emerge from belonging to a complex, extended family.  Set against the backdrop of a changing America, each generation faces the hardship of losing their ancestral land, or for those that stayed behind, there is the struggle to maintain ownership of it.  As Nobel-prize winning author Toni Morrison notes, “The beauty of Love Medicine saves us from being completely devastated by its power.”  Through love, humor, and lyrical prose, Erdrich presents a powerful and touching story that offers the power to heal relationships of Native and non-Native readers alike.

 

“I'm excited that the English Society and Sigma Tau Delta are cooperating to honor American Indian Heritage Month in such a fun and creative way,” said Dr. Dee Clere, professor of English and sponsor of Sigma Tau Delta.  “We invite anyone to come out and read for a few minutes on November 10th.”

 

The public is invited to attend and to participate in the reading.  For more information, contact Dr. Angela Mullis, assistant professor of Language and Literature and sponsor of the English Society, or Dee Clere at 919-658-2502.

 

Mount Olive College is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The College, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park, Washington and Jacksonville.  For more information, visit www.moc.edu.