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This is a statewide project of the Center for the Book at the NH State Library which included hundreds of “Big Read” events throughout the state.

Atticus Finch Steps from the Pages of To Kill a Mockingbird

On Friday, April 2, at 7 p.m. Nesmith Library will host a portrayal of Atticus Finch by Richard Clark, an actor with over thirty years of experience in New England regional theater, New York Theater and television. Mr. Clark’s Keeping History Alive series brings historical figures such as Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Clarence Darrow, John Barrymore, Ernest Hemingway and William Shakespeare back to life. His shows are based on biographies, autobiographies, personal letters, books and the works of various playwrights.

As a loving father, compassionate friend and uncompromising attorney, Atticus Finch represents the divine spark in the human spirit as he leads a cast of other unlikely heroes in the American Classic To Kill a Mockingbird. The courtroom drama, the poignant interactions between father and children, the harsh realities of bigotry and hatred blend to make this a compelling theatrical event. The time is 1930’s Alabama but the enduring truth is for now and always.

We are nearing the end of March -- and with it the end of Big Read NH, 2010.

Come join us on Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. as Richard Clark presents Atticus bringing the Big Read 2010 to it conclusion at the Nesmith Library!

Richard Clark Biography

Richard Clark is an actor with over thirty years of experience in New England regional theater, New York Theater and television.

He is a graduate of Clark University and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, The Actor’s Connection, and the Actor’s Loft in New York City.

His Keeping History Alive series brings historical figures such as Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Clarence Darrow, John Barrymore, Ernest Hemingway and William Shakespeare back to life.

His shows are based on biographies, autobiographies personal letters, books and the works of various playwrights.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) that gives communities the opportunity to come together and read, discuss and celebrate one of 30 selections from U.S. and world literature. In New Hampshire, the program is organized by the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library, which received a grant to coordinate the statewide effort. The Center for the Book chose to focus on To Kill a Mockingbird because of its relevant themes of standing up for what is right, relationships between the races, courage, justice and more.

The Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library is one of 268 nonprofits nationwide—including libraries, municipalities and arts, culture and science organizations—to receive a grant to host a Big Read project in this grant round. In 2007, its program “The Big Read: New Hampshire Reads Fahrenheit 451” was only one of two statewide Big Read programs focusing on a single book.

For more information about the Nesmith Library, click here. For more information about The Big Read: New Hampshire Reads To Kill a Mockingbird, click here.

The Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library was established in 2003 to celebrate and promote reading, books, literacy and the literary heritage of New Hampshire, and to highlight the role that reading and libraries play in enriching the lives of the people of the Granite State. It is an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress.

The NEA, which designed The Big Read as a way to restore reading to the center of American culture, presents the program in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for the Big Read is provided by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Transportation for The Big Read is provided by Ford.