LARGO, Md.— Through the Book Bridge Project at Prince George’s Community College, author James McBride’s Song Yet Sung was selected as the featured publication for 2009-2010. The story, set on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, links the past to the present while examining the nature of freedom. Join the campus and the community during “Historiography and Creative License” panel discussion, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1-2:30 p.m., Largo Student Center, Rennie Forum.
“Song Yet Sung is a story that takes place before the Civil War in the shadowy swamps of Maryland,” said Michele L. Simms-Burton, director of the Book Bridge Project and professor of English. “Liz Spocott, an escaped slave has visions of the distant future, which may be perceived as the African-American culture in the 21st century,” she added.
Panel moderator Robert Barshay, dean of liberal arts; Darlene Antezana, professor of history; Andrew Habermacher, professor of anthropology; and Simms-Burton will discuss the history of “the Code,” a guarded communication of slaves on the run, and Harriet Tubman’s presence in the characters’ minds and thoughts.
Since 1997, the annual Book Bridge Project has stimulated dialogue, fostered greater understanding of others’ views and encouraged college faculty to develop educational opportunities for students to respond to issues in the selected book. Each year, college employees select from a list of books, and the publication receiving the most votes becomes the feature book of the Book Bridge Project. Publications that have been selected for the Book Bridge Project in past years include Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father, Ben Carson’s Gifted Hands, Bebe Moore Campbell’s Brothers and Sisters, Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Michelle Singletary’s Spend Well, Live Rich.
McBride is an award-winning author who also penned the best-selling memoir The Color of Water. For more information on the Book Bridge Project at Prince George’s Community College, call 301-336-6000 or visit the Web site at www.pgcc.edu.
Prince George's Community College is a comprehensive, public, post-secondary institution that provides high quality academic instruction, workforce development and continuing education to the citizens of Prince George's County and surrounding areas. The college awards associate’s degrees, letters of recognition and program certificates. For more information, visit the college Web site at www.pgcc.edu.
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