Ray Bradbury’s work honored in Second Life and Teen Second Life

BRADBURY CLASSIC FAHRENHEIT 451 SELECTED FOR “THE BIG READ” IN WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND THE VIRTUAL WORLDS OF SECOND LIFE AND TEEN SECOND LIFE

(East Peoria, IL)—Ray Bradbury’s classic science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 has been selected for “The Big Read”, a campaign involving the Illinois State Library, Alliance Library System, west central Illinois libraries, schools and other community organizations joining together to read, discuss, and celebrate the book and promote the importance of reading.

Fahrenheit 451, which has become a worldwide literary classic since its 1953 release, is a cautionary tale about a media-obsessed society where citizens have stopped reading. It has become required reading in most high school classrooms, and occasionally turns up on lists of “banned” books because of its controversial themes related to freedom of expression. The book was chosen to honor Bradbury, an Illinois native who is one of 35 Illinois authors whose names are engraved on the fourth floor frieze of the State Library.

The campaign in the virtual world of Second Life kicks off on Monday, September 15 at 6 pm Pacific/8 pm central/9 pm Eastern with a discussion led by Maxito Ricardo of Dandelion Wine on Bradburyville Island in Second Life. On Tuesday September 23 at 6 pm Pacific/8 pm central/9 pm Eastern, Maxito will lead a discussion of the book Fahrenheit 451. A discussion of Fahrenheit 451 will also be held on Monday September 29 and an additional discussion of Fahrenheit 451 on Tuesday September 30 at 6 pm Pacific/8 pm central/9 pm Eastern. A book discussion of Dandelion Wine will be held in Teen Second Life on Eye4You Alliance at 6 pm Pacific/8 pm central/9 pm Eastern on Tuesday October 7 and a discussion of Fahrenheit 451 at 6 pm Pacific/8 pm central/9 pm eastern on October 14 in Teen Second Life. Book discussions last approximately one hour.

Dr. Loren Logsdon, an English professor at Eureka College and a lifelong Ray Bradbury scholar, will speak at several programs to be broadcast over the Internet and into Second Life and Teen Second Life. There will be three programs scheduled for Sundays October 5, 12, and 19 at 6 pm Pacific/8 pm central/9 pm Eastern. The first program is about “Bradbury The Man.” This evening will consist of personal stories about Ray Bradbury, especially his two visits to Eureka College, where he met students and gave lectures on his life and works. Dr. Logsdon will also share some of the correspondence Ray has exchanged with him. The second program is an invitation to visit Greentown, Illinois, the setting for Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. You will meet some of the interesting people who live there: a seventy-two year old woman who never had a childhood, a human time machine, and a mysterious, shadowy figure called the Lonely One. Dr. Logsdon will tell of his experiences teaching the novel and explain why it is such an important work. The third program is a visit to the future, to the unnamed city in Fahrenheit 451, a place that is the exact opposite of Greentown. Bradbury describes a future that is not compatible with human happiness. We will follow Montag, a fireman who destroys books, and his gradual awakening to the need to seek a better way to live. If time permits, we will look at two other books: The October Country and Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Stop and visit “Bradburyville” in Second Life. Builders and creators Bucky Barkley, Abbey Zenith, Daisyblue Hefferman, and Krull Aeon have created a Fahrenheit 451 “walk-in book,” a Bradbury theater where programs will take place, a Something Wicked this Way Comes
Carnival, a Bradbury multimedia museum, and virtual sites from Greentown Illinois in Dandelion Wine. For special tours or more information on the virtual Bradburyville in Second Life, contact Lori Bell at Alliance Library System.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting campaign and to partner with the Illinois State Library and other libraries,” stated Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System. “We are also excited to help literature literally come to life in the virtual worlds of Second Life and Teen Second Life.”

A website with complete details of the west central Illinois campaign is located at the Illinois Center for the Book’s website at http://www.icftb.org/bigread/. Additional information can be found at www.neabigread.org.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts-both new and established-bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.