A Sense of Place Through Literature

Franklin Pierce University in Rindge received a national grant to connect with the community by celebrating a book connected to the Monadnock Region.

The college received a $9,500 Big Read grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. A program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the NEA Big Read broadens people’s understanding of the world through reading. Franklin Pierce is the first university in NH to receive a Big Read grant, and the university will partner with the Ingalls Library in Rindge and the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough for some events. 

The university will focus on novelist Willa Cather and her novel, "My Ántonia," for its Big Read grant. Cather, who was born in Nebraska, became a fixture in the Monadnock region during the late summer of 1917, when she was invited by friends to stay with them in Jaffrey Center. She fell in love with the area and found the atmosphere congenial for writing. Over the years she completed large swaths of My Ántonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and Shadows on the Rock in Jaffrey, NH, and nearby Peterborough. She generally wrote in the mornings, and in the afternoons took long walks through the surrounding countryside and up Mt. Monadnock. Cather is buried in the town cemetery in Jaffrey Center, just east of Mt. Monadnock.

“The Big Read is a great opportunity for Franklin Pierce to connect with the Monadnock region,” said Dr. Donna Decker, the recipient of the grant and an English professor at the university. "The Big Read has a proven track record of getting people connected to reading and great literature, so this is a very special program and we’re so proud to be a part of it.” 

Managed by Arts Midwest, the NEA’s Big Read program offers grants to support innovative community reading programs designed around a single book. The Big Read is designed to support community-wide reading programs that encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences. Organizations selected to participate in the NEA Big Read receive a grant, access to online training resources, and educational and promotional materials designed to support widespread community involvement.

 Franklin Pierce is planning a kickoff event in September and along with many other reading events—including one reading event planned for the top of Mt. Monadnock, as well as other reading events throughout the academic year.