Kindred Reader’s Guide

A Letter from Joe Flaherty

Dear Reader,

The goal of “If All of Rochester Read the Same Book…” is to encourage people to connect to others in our community through reading and discussion, and through the shared experience of literature. Each year Writers & Books selects one book for our community to explore together, leading to an extended residency by the author.

Our choice for 2003, the third year of the program, is Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. We estimate that between 40,000 and 50,000 Rochester area readers participated in the two previous programs, which featured A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (2001) and The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks (2002).

During Octavia Butler’s stay, March 4–7, 2003, she will make a number of appearances at local libraries, schools and universities in the Rochester and Canandaigua areas to read and discuss her work and sign books. On the evening of Thursday, March 6, she will talk about the writing of Kindred in a more formal setting at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East Avenue.

For a complete calendar of events or to learn how to participate in this program, visit our web site at www.wab.org, or call us at 585-473-2590.

Writers & Books is a nationally renowned non-profit literary center located at 740 University Avenue, in the heart of Rochester’s arts and cultural district.

Joseph Flaherty
Executive Director
Writers & Books

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