Common Reading

FALL 2008: OCTC is excited to announce our Fall 2008 Common Reading selection: Dismal Rock by Davis McCombs. Beginning in August, OCTC students and the community will be invited to read this meaningful poetry collection by McCombs, a Kentucky-native and winner of the prestigious Yale Younger Poets Prize. All of the poems are set in Kentucky, in the Bowling Green area, and feature relatable topics such as tobacco farming, family history, and fatherhood. More information will be provided on this website and on the Links page (see sidebar). We invite the entire community to join us in reading this wonderful book and to attend McCombs' reading this fall (see below).

*The date for Davis McCombs' reading is Wed. Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. in Blandford Hall (Humanities Dismal Rock author Davis McCombs

Building) on the main campus of OCTC. The public and all faculty, staff, and students of OCTC are invited as well as the public! Check back here for other announcements about events related to our Fall 2008 reading.

*Check-out the Dismal Rock book display now available in the OCTC main campus library. There are books related to many of the subjects in Dismal Rock, including: smoking, tobacco and farming, Kentucky history, and Mammoth Cave.

*The tentative date for a lecture by Rod Kuegel is September 30, at 2 p.m. in Blandford Hall. Mr. Kuegel was named Progressive Farmer’s Man of the Year in Kentucky Agriculture in 2000. He has formerly served on the Presidential Tobacco Commission, and was a past president of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative. He will be speaking about issues related to tobacco farming in Kentucky.

*Several other events are in the works for this semester, including: book discussions, a tour of the areas covered in Dismal Rock, and lectures/presentations by guest speakers. Check back here for more information.

*If you are planning to teach Dismal Rock in your classroom and would like a copy of some resources that the committee has created, please contact Tonya Northenor: tonya.northenor@kctcs.edu.

*Click here for the links page for Dismal Rock and related topics; see the sidebar for other links.

*Follow this link to an information page for the Spring 2008 Owensboro BIG READ information and more web resources about The Joy Luck Club. The individual events for The Big Read in Owensboro have ended, but The Joy Luck Club and other titles by Amy Tan are available at OCTC's main campus library and the Daviess County Public Library. What is The Big Read? Find information at: http://www.neabigread.org/about.php.

*As a follow-up to OCTC's Fall 2007 Common Reading, you may be interested to know that Frank X Walker's When Winter Come: The Ascension of York (a sequel to Buffalo Dance) is now available. Check for it at www.kentuckypress.com.

Each semester a book is selected as OCTC’s Common Reading, with the idea that all participants could read the same material and have common ground for new discussions and mutual interests. While the book choices vary in many ways (different genres, time-periods, subject matters) they are chosen with the intention of expanding the knowledge and perspectives of readers. The background of the selected writers is diverse; however, many Kentucky and regional writers are also included in order to help us appreciate local talent, acknowledge shared concerns, and celebrate our common heritage. All OCTC students, staff, faculty, and interested community members are invited and encouraged to participate by reading the books and attending the related presentations each semester.