NC Center for the Book News, News
NC Humanities Announces Selection for 2021 Route 1 Reads
June 2021
(June 7, 2021)- CHARLOTTE, N.C. – North Carolina Humanities, home to the North Carolina Center for the Book, announced today that it will feature Cardinal by Tyree Daye in programming and resources in 2021, as part of its annual Route 1 Reads initiative. Cardinal is Daye’s second poetry collection.
Now in its seventh consecutive year, Route 1 Reads is a road trip-inspired reading list that annually explores various genres and is compiled by the network of 16 affiliate Centers for the Book in the Library of Congress located along Route 1. The 2021 theme of the reading list is poetry.
On his selection by North Carolina Humanities, Tyree Daye expressed, “[I am] so happy to be representing the state of North Carolina with my poetry. [North Carolina is] a place I love and want to see do better.”
Cardinal is a generous atlas that serves as a poetic “Green Book.” Interspersed with images of Daye’s family and upbringing, the collection also simultaneously serves as an imperfect family album. Cardinal traces the South’s burdened interiors and the protagonist’s attempt to navigate departures and returns home all the while carrying the voices of ancestors and blues poets. These are poems to be read aloud.
The diverse Route 1 Reads reading list highlights each individual affiliate Center for the Book while celebrating the region as a whole. The full list of featured books and related programming across the East Coast for 2021 is available, along with a map of participating Centers, at www.route1reads.org.
About Route 1 Reads:
Connecting the 2,369 miles of U.S. Route 1 from Ft. Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida, the Route 1 Reads initiative is a partnership between 16 affiliate Centers for the Book to promote books that illuminate important aspects of the region for readers traveling the major and meandering highway. The initiative was launched at the 2015 National Book Festival. Route 1 Reads is a partnership between the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and its affiliates in: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.route1reads.org or follow #Route1Reads.
About North Carolina Humanities:
North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through public humanities programs and grantmaking, North Carolina Humanities serves to connect North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. The North Carolina Center for the Book is a collection of North Carolina Humanities’ reading and literature programs that celebrate the importance of books, reading, libraries, and North Carolina’s literary heritage. Route 1 Reads is a program of the North Carolina Center for the Book and is provided by North Carolina Humanities with assistance from the State Library of North Carolina. To learn more, visit www.nchumanities.org.
About the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress:
The Library’s Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books and reading, is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading-promotion partners, and through its Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. For more information, visit www.read.gov.
Press Contact: Melanie Moore Richeson | North Carolina Humanities (North Carolina Center for the Book)
Phone: 704-687-1520 | Email: mmoore@nchumanities.org