Thirteen people are bunched up in the corner of Frank?s North Star Tavern, 508 Locust St., leaning in to hear each other over the background noises of music and clinking glasses. They gather around a table littered with empty beer cans, and almost everyone is thumbing through their copy of ?Winter?s Bone.?
The PBR Book Club met Tuesday night to discuss the book in preparation for Daniel Woodrell?s visit to Lawrence. Woodrell, a University alum and the author of ?Winter?s Bone,? will be at The Commons in Spooner Hall from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. today. Film & media studies professor John Tibbetts will interview Woodrell about his writing process, and afterward there will be a question-and-answer session. This event is free and open to the public.
?We decided to make that event specifically about writing, so that will be an opportunity for students who are taking writing classes to come in and learn about his process and adapting books to film,? said Rachel Smalter Hall, adult programs librarian for the Lawrence Public Library.
Woodrell will also be interviewed by Brad Allen, director of the Lawrence Public Library, at Liberty Hall from 7:30 to 9 p.m. today. Raven bookstore will be on site selling copies of ?Winter?s Bone,? which attendees can get signed before or after the event.
Daniel Woodrell has written nine books, most of which are set in the Missouri Ozarks, where he was born. Woodrell dropped out of high school at 17 to join the Marines. Later, he received a BA from the University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers? Workshop.
Two of Woodrell?s books were adapted to films; the movie adaptation of ?Winter?s Bone? was released June 2010, and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
?Winter?s Bone? centers on a teenage girl living in the Ozarks who is trying to take care of her family. When she is faced with the possibility of losing the family?s home, Ree Dolly goes on a search for her absent father, who manufactures methamphetamine and put their home up as collateral for bail.
Tanya Spacek, a junior from Rockford, Ill., is a member of the PBR Book Club. On Tuesday night, she joined in conversations about the book?s genre, attitude and key themes.
?Most people who think of white trash think of Jerry Springer, People of Walmart, that kind of thing,? Spacek said. ?But he was able to capture the mentality of these characters and portray them with strength. Their ability to care for themselves is all they have at this point, and they are getting things done and surviving.?
Rachel Smalter Hall said the themes in ?Winter?s Bone? are different from other books selected for Read Across Lawrence. Smalter Hall, director of Read Across Lawrence, said books are chosen based on their Kansas tie-ins and their ability to inspire conversation about important issues of our time. She said Woodrell?s novel has more provocative themes, and the selection has gotten more people involved with the program.
Smalter Hall also said that students are more inclined to read ?Winter?s Bone? than other books selected in the past, like ?The Wizard of Oz,? ?In Cold Blood? and ?To Kill a Mockingbird.?
?A lot of times those classic books are books people read as high school students,? she said. ?For someone who is decades beyond that in their lives, it?s an opportunity to go back and reflect, but for younger readers, they just read that for an English class a handful of years ago. Having an author that isn?t as widely read in the classroom does open that up for students at KU who might be interested but don?t want to feel like they?re doing homework.?
Read Across Lawrence is a collaboration of the Lawrence Public Library, the University libraries and Friends of the Lawrence Public Library. The libraries give away 1,000 free copies of the selected book each year and hold events to launch discussion.
There will be two more events after Woodrell?s visit: an all-ages trivia of ?Winter?s Bone? Saturday, Sept. 29, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library, and a showing of the movie at Liberty Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
? Edited by Sarah McCabe
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