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The decision to take over the Big Read national literary project — after the City of Denver chose to drop it — has worked out well for Lighthouse Writers Workshop and especially for its constituents, who’ve been offered compelling reasons to pick up a book (in this case, Marilynne Robinson’s...

By Susan Froyd

April 24, 2014

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The decision to take over the Big Read national literary project — after the City of Denver chose to drop it — has worked out well for Lighthouse Writers Workshop and especially for its constituents, who’ve been offered compelling reasons to pick up a book (in this case, Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping), thanks to the local organization’s three-month citywide slate of Big Read discussions and special programs. It only makes sense to wrap it all up with an event that pulls together the book and all the various disciplines explored for a final shindig. Tonight’s Vagabond Happy Hour at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive, aims to do just that.

The program, introduced by Westword’s Patricia Calhoun, includes film, readings, art and discussion, all inspired by Housekeeping, and also fetes the winners of Lighthouse’s Big Read photo and writing contests, as well as the general egalitarianism of the whole project.

“We made a highly literary book more accessible to the public,” explains spokeswoman Kristin Pazulski. “People exposed to the book through the Big Read might not have normally picked it up. How often do we sit down with a book and really dive in? This offered an opportunity to not just read a book and check it off your list, but to explore its themes with the professionals.”

Celebrate literacy: The Vagabond Happy Hour is free and begins at 6 p.m.; for more information, visit lighthousewriters.org/big-read.
Fri., April 25, 6 p.m., 2014

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

Contact: Susan Froyd

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