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Denver is a literary city. For evidence of that, look no further than the One Book, One Denver program, which brought communal experiences to readers citywide starting in 2004 with Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River (which was great, but about life in Minnesota instead of Colorado) and closed out a nine-year run in 2013 with Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey. Thankfully, the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read program was around to pick up any literary slack.
A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest, the Big Read began in 2006 to broaden an understanding of our world, our neighbors and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience that highlights a diverse range of themes, voices and perspectives.This year, it’s being brought to Denver by Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary, in partnership with Denver Arts & Venues, Denver Public Library and History Colorado. The 2023/24 Big Read kicks off Friday, October 6, at the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Freyer-Newman Center, with a free event that will offer free copies of Natalie Diaz’s Postcolonial Love Poem. The program will include performances, readings, workshops, food and drinks, and will mark the launch of future events centered around Diaz’s collection of poetry, culminating in a visit from Diaz herself in the spring of 2024. While the evening is free, registration is required online.
“The goal is to get as many books into the hands of readers that night, so we can get lots and lots of people reading this book,” says Suzi Q. Smith, a poet, Big Read organizer and Word director.
Free copies will be available on Friday.
Graywolf Press
Postcolonial Love Poem is an award-winning collection; it won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, and was a 2020 finalist for the National Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Forward Prize for Best Collection. It’s been called “an anthem of desire against erasure” by one reviewer, and widely ranges in subject and focus: love, loss, Indigeneity, land, inheritance, basketball, family, beauty and movement, to name just a few.
“This book just jumped out at me,” says Smith. “I only wanted to do a Big Read this year if we could do this book. It’s so timely for Colorado and for Denver, specifically, right now. There are so many themes within it that reveal parts of what we’re all living through. The parallels between colonization and gentrification – Denver’s the second-most-rapidly-gentrifying city in the country. So there’s a lot there, talking about that loss. And talking about grief – so many of us have been through that in the last few years, in so many ways. Grief as opportunity to grow new love. … The title alone was enough to make me go, ‘Well, hello!’ – but the fit between this book and Denver readers just kept getting stronger and stronger. It was clear: This is the right book.”
Big Read programming will include several tie-in activities per month leading up to the spring event that will close it out. This Friday’s event includes:
- Azteca Dance performance with Grupo Tlaloc
- Readings from Postcolonial Love Poem
- Official welcoming statements from the Word, Denver Botanic Gardens, Arts & Venues, Denver Public Library
- Poetry performance and writing workshop with Franklin Cruz
- Storytime With Abuela, a children’s book reading with Professor Lori Marie Huertas
- Musical performance with Eutimia Montoya Cruz
- Postcard-making workshop with Art Students League of Denver
- Musical performance with Kerrie Joy and additional music with DJ Selecta C
“We have so much planned over the coming months,” promises Smith. “Lots of exciting stuff, and there’s still room for people to get involved. Hopefully we’ll get the whole city of Denver reading and talking.”
The Big Read kickoff event, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 6, Denver Botanic Gardens Freyer-Newman Center, 1085 York Street. The event is free, but registration is required on the DBG website.
