The Park City Library, Summit County Library and Dolly’s Bookstore, in collaboration with the Park City Education Foundation and Sundance Institute, are pleased to announce they have chosen prominent author Sherman Alexie’s collection of short stories “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” for the One Book, One Community read this summer.
A member of the Spokane Indian tribe, Alexie is a respected American poet, novelist, performer and filmmaker. His works focus on contemporary Native American life as they address difficult, universal issues of poverty, grief, racial prejudice, family relationships and, ultimately, hope.
The Park City Education Foundation, Utah Humanities Council, and Sundance Institute have arranged for Alexie to visit Park City for the Park City High School Author-in-Residence Program this fall. PCHS students have been assigned to read Alexie’s National Book Award-winning, young adult novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” this summer.
Chris Eyre (director of the film “Smoke Signals”) will join Alexie and talk to students about the book to film process.
The libraries and Dolly’s will host multiple programs this summer to prepare for Alexie’s visit.
The entire Park City community will also be invited to hear Alexie and Eyre speak following a special screening of “Smoke Signals,” the 1998 Sundance Audience Award and the Filmmaker’s Trophy winner.
The film is based on the short story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” from his book “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” which prompted the One Book, One Community choice.
The screening will be held in the Santy Auditorium on Thursday, September 19th at 7 p.m.
The One Book, One Community reading program works to have as many people as possible reading and discussing the same book at the same time.
With the community reading “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” the high school students reading “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” and everyone having the opportunity to see “Smoke Signals” and hear from Alexie and Eyre, the hope is to generate lively discussion and enrich parents, students and community members alike.
“Being able to work with so many community entities — the Park City Education Foundation, the Sundance Institute, the Utah Humanities Council, the Park City Library and Dolly’s Bookstore — and provide Park City with this amazing opportunity to hear from Alexie and Eyre together, is something we’re very excited about,” said Dan Compton, Summit County Library director. “He is an author I really admire and respect. I’m happy that we can make Park City more aware of his extraordinary talent and contribution to American Literature.”
Below is a list of upcoming events for the One Book, One Community Program:
For more information about Sherman Alexie, visit www.fallsapart.com . For more information about the Park City High School summer reading assignment, visit www.pchs.pcschools.us , www.dollysbookstore.com, www.parkcitylibrary.org and www.thesummitcountylibrary.org .
To reserve a space at the discussions, call Kirsten Nilsson at (435) 615-3903.