PRESS RELEASES
“READ IT WHILE YOU CAN” PROGRAM TO BE HELD ON MAY 13 th
First Event in Three-Part Series -- Challenging the New Censorship
Buffalo, NY – On Saturday, May 13 th , the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) and SUNY at Buffalo's Humanities Institute are hosting “Read It While You Can: Challenging the New Censorship and Celebrating Free Speech .” This informative and eye-opening afternoon will begin at 1 pm at the downtown Central Library and will present a stimulating schedule of events, including a film screening and commentary, panel discussion, local author, coffeehouse-style readings and book sales and signings. “Read It While You Can” is the first in a three-part series on profound current developments in censorship. The program is also part of The Big Read , the community-wide reading campaign featuring Ray Bradbury 's classic Fahrenheit 451 , which examines the issues of censorship, free speech and independent thought as well as appreciation of art and literature.
“The topic of censorship and community dialogue is especially relevant here in Western New York as 15 libraries closed their doors last year and funding for books and other library materials is dangerously low,” said B&ECPL Director Michael C. Mahaney . “It is gratifying, however, when the Library System finds opportunities to collaborate with community partners who share our commitment to thought-provoking and inspiring programming, such as “Read It While You Can,” particularly in times of fiscal austerity.”
The second program in the series is scheduled for the fall of 2006 and is titled “On the Front Lines: Journalists Assess the New Censorship.” The series will conclude in the spring of 2007 with “Censorship and the Future of Information Technology.” All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.buffalolib.org or call 858-8900.
The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System is dedicated to connecting Erie County 's diverse communities with library resources that enrich, enlighten and entertain.
Read It While You Can: Challenging the New Censorship and Celebrating Free Speech
Saturday, May 13 th
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
1 pm Screening of the original CBS broadcast from May 1954 of See It Now with Edward R. Murrow about the McCarthy years
Commentary by Bruce Jackson
• Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture and SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University of Buffalo
• Award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, scholar and activist
1:30 pm Panel Discussion Examines the New Censorship
PANEL MEMBERS
Rich Kellman
• WGRZ-Channel 2 Senior Correspondent
• Winner of numerous professional awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award of the Radio and Television News Directors Association
• Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee -- September 2005
Chris Finan
• President of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
John Curr
• Executive Director of the WNY Office of the New York State Civil Liberties Union
• Host of the talk-show, “Radio Civil Liberties,” on Newstalk 1270 AM
Bruce Jackson
MODERATOR
Patrick Martin
• Literary agent of the Mark Twain Foundation of New York City and the Mark Twain Papers of the University of California , Berkeley
• Director and producer of films on Nelson Mandela and James Joyce
3:30 Buffalo Authors Coffeehouse
FEATURED LOCAL AUTHORS
Julian Montague
• Graphic artist and author of The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification
Chris Fritton
• Poet and current editor of Ferrum Wheel , curator of 107 Neville Gallery and member of Bufffluxus performance group
Ted Pelton
• Associate Professor of Humanities at Medaille College and founder of Starcherone Books, which publishes innovative fiction, including Pelton's debut collection, Endorsed by Jack Chapeau
Kari Winter
• Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Buffalo and author of Subjects of Slavery, Agents of Change: Women and Power in Gothic Novels and Slave Narratives, 1790 -1865
Hershini Bhana Young
• Associate Professor of English at the University of Buffalo and author of Haunting Capital: Memory, Text and the Black Diasporic Body
MODERATORS
Jonathon Welch
• Founder of Buffalo 's oldest independent bookstore, Talking Leaves
Mike Kelleher
• Poet and artistic director for Just Buffalo Literary Center
Announcement of The Big Read Student Essay Contest Winners -- “Save a Book”
Essayists read from their winning entries
Small Press Exhibit, Book Signing and Book Sale by Talking Leaves To Follow