Library Receives Grant To Encourage Binational Reading

Library officials announced Tuesday that they would receive a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to organize a reading initiative with Mexico.

The Big Read Mexico is a pilot program in which communities from the United States and Mexico will be encouraged to read the same book together. El Paso is one of only two communities to be selected for this honor, officials said.

The Big Read will sponsor a public presentation by NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. The program will also organize book discussions and presentations throughout the community in September and October.

The book that will be read for the initiative is called Sun, Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories. It contains stories by Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes and other authors. The book will be available at El Paso public libraries and bookstores.