NewsRelease

UNCG’S All-Freshman Read to Focus on“A Lesson Before Dying”

GREENSBORO – Approximately 1,100 freshmen at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro are joining the Greensboro community this year in reading Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying.”

The annual UNCG event, known as the All-Freshman Read, will culminate in a performance by the Triad Stage Players at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in Aycock Auditorium. The company will perform scenes and read selections from the book. The event will be open to the public at no charge.

The Greensboro Public Library has selected “A Lesson Before Dying” for its “One City, One Book” community read this year, with a lengthy series of events and discussion sessions. Gaines is scheduled to visit Greensboro to speak on Nov. 14 at Guilford College and Nov. 15 at the Greensboro Public Library. To assist the community effort, approximately 20 of UNCG’s English 101 instructors have received training as discussion leaders and will be working with some of the community groups.

“A Lesson Before Dying” was selected as the primary work for new students to read this fall semester in the English 101. Gaines’ book won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1993 and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in literature. It also was a selection for Oprah Winfrey’s popular, but now-discontinued book club. The book is about a black man convicted and sentenced by an all-white jury to die for a murder he did not commit. Set in 1940s Louisiana, the book examines the deep-seated racism of the time.

“The book for the Freshman Read is always chosen for its interest, accessibility and development of meaningful themes,” said Dr. Hephzibah Roskelly, professor of English and director of this year’s program. “We usually choose a contemporary book so that we might have the author come visit. This year, we immediately decided to use Gaines' novel when we learned of the all city read.

“Even though Ernest Gaines will not visit our campus, he will be in town, and students will be encouraged to attend one of the readings he will do. We are excited to be part of the community effort, connecting our students to our city as well as connecting students to important issues in our culture — the destructiveness of racism, the uses of faith, and the power of literature and literacy to inspire and change individuals.”

The All-Freshman Read is one of UNCG's innovations in college teaching, which has brought leading authors to campus in the past, said Roskelly. UNCG’s assistance in the One City, One Book program shows its role as a community asset both inside and outside the classroom.

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