The Alabama Reading Association is an organization of professionals working to improve literacy and promote reading in Alabama. Those of you who are ARA members may be interested in an article I wrote for the Summer 2008 edition of the ARA newsletter LINES (scroll down for the link).
In previous years, I have given presentations about This Goodly Land at the Annual Fall Conference. This year, the Alabama Center for the Book will have a table in the Exhibitor area, and we will be handing out posters, bookmarks, and our new This Goodly Land temporary tattoos.
Download the Summer 2008 edition of LINES. The article about This Goodly Land is on page 20.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
This Goodly Land Receives $10K Podcasting Grant!
We have just gotten word that the "Support the Arts" Alabama license tag fund has awarded This Goodly Land a $10,000 grant. We will be using this money to create audio programs about special topics in Alabama literature and to distribute them free as podcasts.
The money in this fund comes from the extra that Alabama citizens pay to get "Support the Arts" license plates. Our thanks to all of you that have these plates on your cars. You're making it possible for us to produce programs that help learners of all ages find out more about our state and its rich literary heritage.
Please thank your Alabama legislators for this program, and tell them you're proud to live in a state that values the arts.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Monday, September 15, 2008
Encyclopedia of Alabama Launches!
Today, all of us at the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities and the Alabama Center for the Book tip our collective hat to the Encyclopedia of Alabama which is making its public debut. Gov. Bob Riley will be launching the Encyclopedia at the 2008 Alabama Humanities Awards Luncheon in Birmingham.
The Encyclopedia of Alabama is an online reference work containing scholarly articles about many aspects of the state including history, culture, geography, and business. It is a joint project of the Alabama Humanities Foundation and Auburn University and is headquartered here on the Auburn campus.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Monday, September 8, 2008
Audio: More Alabama Authors on iTunes
iTunes U is the section of the iTunes Store that has video and audio podcasts created by colleges and universities. These materials include lectures, broadcasts, and learning resources created specifically for students.
All the materials listed here can be downloaded to your computer for free. Some of them can also be streamed, that is, accessed from within iTunes without downloading.
The iTunes software is also free but you must have it on your computer to access these materials. You can get it from the iTunes download page of the Apple Web site.
Stanford University's Stanford Book Salon features author interviews and discussions. These are available free as audio podcasts and can be either downloaded or streamed. Two of the authors interviewed for this series are Alabama authors Tobias Wolff and Nancy Huddleston Packer.
Audio for Book Salon interview with Tobias Wolff
Audio for Book Salon discussion of Wolff's In Pharoah's Army: Memories of the Lost War
Audio for Book Salon interview with Nancy Huddleston Packer
Audio for Book Salon discussion of Packer's Angle of Repose
The University of New Orleans' New Orleans Literature Series consists of lectures on works by authors associated with that city. These are available free as both video and audio podcasts. Both can be downloaded, and the audio podcasts can be streamed. Two of the authors discussed in this lecture series are Alabama authors Shirley Ann Grau and Walker Percy.
Video for lecture on Shirley Ann Grau's House on Coliseum Street
Audio for Grau lecture
Video for lecture on Walker Percy's The Moviegoer
Audio for Percy lecture
American Public Media's American Radioworks program Say It Plain: Great African American Oratory is a radio documentary about black oratory and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. Along with the audio podcast of the documentary, iTunes U also has audio recordings of speeches by black orators and transcripts of those speeches. These free materials can be downloaded, and the audio materials can be streamed. Two of the orators included in this project are Alabama authors Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Audios and transcripts for Say It Plain: Great African American Oratory
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
All the materials listed here can be downloaded to your computer for free. Some of them can also be streamed, that is, accessed from within iTunes without downloading.
The iTunes software is also free but you must have it on your computer to access these materials. You can get it from the iTunes download page of the Apple Web site.
Stanford University's Stanford Book Salon features author interviews and discussions. These are available free as audio podcasts and can be either downloaded or streamed. Two of the authors interviewed for this series are Alabama authors Tobias Wolff and Nancy Huddleston Packer.
Audio for Book Salon interview with Tobias Wolff
Audio for Book Salon discussion of Wolff's In Pharoah's Army: Memories of the Lost War
Audio for Book Salon interview with Nancy Huddleston Packer
Audio for Book Salon discussion of Packer's Angle of Repose
The University of New Orleans' New Orleans Literature Series consists of lectures on works by authors associated with that city. These are available free as both video and audio podcasts. Both can be downloaded, and the audio podcasts can be streamed. Two of the authors discussed in this lecture series are Alabama authors Shirley Ann Grau and Walker Percy.
Video for lecture on Shirley Ann Grau's House on Coliseum Street
Audio for Grau lecture
Video for lecture on Walker Percy's The Moviegoer
Audio for Percy lecture
American Public Media's American Radioworks program Say It Plain: Great African American Oratory is a radio documentary about black oratory and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. Along with the audio podcast of the documentary, iTunes U also has audio recordings of speeches by black orators and transcripts of those speeches. These free materials can be downloaded, and the audio materials can be streamed. Two of the orators included in this project are Alabama authors Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Audios and transcripts for Say It Plain: Great African American Oratory
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Friday, September 5, 2008
A Year of Alabama Books
We'd like to introduce "A Year of Alabama Books," a new program from This Goodly Land and the Alabama Center for the Book. "A Year of Alabama Books" is a reading program that coordinates books by Alabama writers to the months of the calendar year. The program is not tied to a particular year; you can pick it up at any point and start from there.
Two reading lists have been prepared: one for children and younger teens and one for adults and older teens. The lists can be used by teachers, parents, book clubs, and anyone interested in getting better acquainted with the wide range of Alabama literature.
The Alabama Center for the Book has printed up bookmarks with both lists and has distributed them to schools around the state. If you would like your own bookmark, a pdf version is available on the TGL Web page for "A Year of Alabama Books." The Web page also has expanded versions of the two lists explaining the monthly tie-ins and making additional book suggestions.
Download the bookmark for "A Year of Alabama Books" in pdf format.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Two reading lists have been prepared: one for children and younger teens and one for adults and older teens. The lists can be used by teachers, parents, book clubs, and anyone interested in getting better acquainted with the wide range of Alabama literature.
The Alabama Center for the Book has printed up bookmarks with both lists and has distributed them to schools around the state. If you would like your own bookmark, a pdf version is available on the TGL Web page for "A Year of Alabama Books." The Web page also has expanded versions of the two lists explaining the monthly tie-ins and making additional book suggestions.
Download the bookmark for "A Year of Alabama Books" in pdf format.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Video: Alabama Authors at the National Book Festival
On September 27, representatives from the Alabama Center for the Book will be in Washington, D.C., for the National Book Festival which is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress. The Festival is a day-long event where representatives from Centers for the Book around the country provide information about their states' literary activities. There will also be presentations by authors, illustrators, and poets throughout the day.
Videos of presentations from previous Festivals are available online at the Library of Congress Webcasts page. Alabama authors who have made presentations include Gail Godwin, Natasha Trethewey, John Lewis, Andrew Hudgins, and Sena Jeter Naslund.
These videos are presented in the RealPlayer® format. If you don't have the necessary plug-in, you can get a free version of RealPlayer® at the Real.com Web site.
If you have difficulties with streaming video files or if you want to watch at a later time, you can also download one or more of these videos to your computer. Click on "Launch in a new window" and choose "Save File". (You will still need the RealPlayer® plug-in to watch the downloaded files.)
Watch Gail Godwin at the 2001 National Book Festival.
Watch Natasha Trethewey at the 2004 National Book Festival.
Watch John Lewis at the 2004 National Book Festival.
Watch Andrew Hudgins at the 2005 National Book Festival.
Watch Sena Jeter Naslund at the 2007 National Book Festival.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Videos of presentations from previous Festivals are available online at the Library of Congress Webcasts page. Alabama authors who have made presentations include Gail Godwin, Natasha Trethewey, John Lewis, Andrew Hudgins, and Sena Jeter Naslund.
These videos are presented in the RealPlayer® format. If you don't have the necessary plug-in, you can get a free version of RealPlayer® at the Real.com Web site.
If you have difficulties with streaming video files or if you want to watch at a later time, you can also download one or more of these videos to your computer. Click on "Launch in a new window" and choose "Save File". (You will still need the RealPlayer® plug-in to watch the downloaded files.)
Watch Gail Godwin at the 2001 National Book Festival.
Watch Natasha Trethewey at the 2004 National Book Festival.
Watch John Lewis at the 2004 National Book Festival.
Watch Andrew Hudgins at the 2005 National Book Festival.
Watch Sena Jeter Naslund at the 2007 National Book Festival.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Video: Randall Williams of NewSouth Books on APT's Face to Face
On August 24, NewSouth Books' Randall Williams was interviewed by Lori Cummings on the Alabama Public Television program Face to Face. Williams discussed the philosophy of NewSouth Books, the realities of the publishing business, and what a prospective author should know when dealing with a book publisher.
NewSouth Books is headquartered in Montgomery, Ala. NewSouth authors profiled on This Goodly Land include John Beecher, Virginia Pounds Brown, Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Oxford Stroud, Sue Walker, and Kathryn Tucker Windham.
This program can now be viewed online. The program opens with an interview with first-time author Chris Hagler. Randall Williams' interview starts at about 7:45 min into the show.
Watch NewSouth Books' Randall Williams on APT's Face to Face.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
NewSouth Books is headquartered in Montgomery, Ala. NewSouth authors profiled on This Goodly Land include John Beecher, Virginia Pounds Brown, Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Oxford Stroud, Sue Walker, and Kathryn Tucker Windham.
This program can now be viewed online. The program opens with an interview with first-time author Chris Hagler. Randall Williams' interview starts at about 7:45 min into the show.
Watch NewSouth Books' Randall Williams on APT's Face to Face.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
This Goodly Land T-shirts Now Available!
The long-awaited TGL T-shirts are now available from our This Goodly Land "gallery" at Zazzle.com. There are three styles (for gentlemen, ladies, and children) with our new logo in color with a white background and three styles with the logo in white with a black background.
You can buy online or by telephone at 1-888-8ZAZZLE (1-888-892-9953) Mon-Fri 8AM to 10 PM Central Time (6AM to 8PM Pacific Time). This Goodly Land will receive a portion of the purchase price.
View our new TGL T-shirts at Zazzle.com.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
You can buy online or by telephone at 1-888-8ZAZZLE (1-888-892-9953) Mon-Fri 8AM to 10 PM Central Time (6AM to 8PM Pacific Time). This Goodly Land will receive a portion of the purchase price.
View our new TGL T-shirts at Zazzle.com.
Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape
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