Virtual Events Planned for Centre County Reads 2021

Book discussions, storytimes, a roundtable and the annual writing contest will provide opportunities to get involved with Centre County Reads 2021, featuring this year’s selection, “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power,” by Deidre Mask.

Mask will visit the Centre Region virtually at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23, in Schlow Library’s Zoom Room. Moderator for the conversation will be Lorraine Dowler, associate head of diversity, equity and inclusion and professor of geography and women’s, gender and sexuality at Penn State. Registration for the free event is now open, and advanced sign-up is required.

Other Centre County Reads 2021 virtual activities and events include:

• “Addressing Inequity,” a roundtable panel discussion co-hosted by Penn State’s Center for American Literary Studies at 4 p.m., March 14;
• Five book discussions—three general and two focusing on public health and legislative districting themes—beginning Feb. 16 through April 21;
• Two Storytimes with themes appropriate for children; and
• The “Forms of Address” writing contest with a $200 grand prize and additional honors for Best Short Fiction, Best Poetry, Best Non-Fiction and Best Entry for a Writer Under 18.

A complete schedule with details and timelines can be found at centrecountyreads.org.

“The Address Book” highlights the hidden stories behind street addresses and their power to decide who counts, who doesn’t, and why. When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it’s in their capacity to ensure that the postal service can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses weren’t invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. 

Exploring the fate of streets named after Martin Luther King, Jr., the wayfinding means of ancient Romans and how Nazis haunt the streets of modern Germany, Mask uncovers what having an address (or not) means for millions of people around the world, whether it’s in the slums of India or the parks of England.

Centre County Reads started in 2003 with the book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The project encourages county residents of all ages to explore the human condition and community issues by reading and discussing the same book. Past selections include “A Walk in the Woods, The Book Thief, Beautiful Ruins, Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird,” by Penn State alumna Katie Fallon, and last year’s choice, “Charming Billy.”

Funding is provided by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.