david cherry's blog

Lots of readers have told us that reading Bluebird, Bluebird really builds up an appetite--not because it's hard work, but because Attica Locke does such a good job of evoking East Texas culture through its food. This week, several libraries are hosting events that let you learn more about--and taste!--the cuisine that you've read about in the book. 

Every year for Gulf Coast Reads, local archivists scour their collections for photos, documents and other artifacts that relate to the GCR selection. The idea is to add historical context to the reading experience and to show in a tangible way that reading is never done in a vaccuum, amd that it never a strictly solitary act. We all bring our lived experiences to our reading. That's why discussion is such a big part of Gulf Coast Reads. Your view of the book, when shared, shapes and informs others' reading of it, and that builds community in a very real way. Gulf Coast Reads is all about making connections--between readers and with the world at large. In this year's Online Archive Exhibit, you'll find items from the world of music, the Civil Rights Movement from the 1960s to Black Lives Matter, the logging industry in East Texas, the Texas Rangers, and ranching, as well as beautiful historic photographs of Texans leading their workaday lives. Enjoy!

We want to thank the archivists and their institutions for sharing their time and resources:
Harris County Archives
Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
Lamar University Archives
San Jacinto Museum of History
Rothko Chapel Archives & Library
Sam Houston Regional Library & Research Center, Texas State Library & Archives Commission
University of Houston, Special Collections
Woodson Research Center, Rice University

Gulf Coast Reads churns into week two and here are a few of the events in story. 

East Texas Memories - Jean Gordon and Freddye Kelly talk about growing up in East Texas
LSC - CyFair Branch Library - HCPL 
Wednesday Oct. 10, 10 - 11 AM

Coffee with Cops
R.F. Meador - MCMLS
Thursday Oct 11, 10 - 11:30 AM

I am Annie Mae: The Story of a Black Texas Woman - Based on the award winning musical detailing the life of Washington County-born Annie Mae Hunt and 120 years of her family’s history. Presented by Young Audiences of Houston and Texas Center for African American Living History
Maud Marks Branch Library
Saturday Oct 13, 1 PM

Houston Blues Museum Presentation and Music Performance - Sandy Hickey, co-founder and Director of Museum Collections of the Houston Blues Museum will talk about the history of blues in Houston and references to blues in Bluebird, Bluebird. She will also bring artifacts from the museum. She will be followed by a live blues performance by a local musician.
La Porte Branch Library - HCPL
Saturday Oct 13, 2 - 3 PM

Be It Ever So Humble: A History of Humble Texas - learn about the beginnings and early settlers of Humble
Octavia Fields Branch Library - HCPL
Saturday, Oct 13, 2 - 4 PM

And, of course, Book Diuscussions galore! Check Events for full listings