Pulitzer Prize Winner Elizabeth Strout Reads to Benefit Literature Non-Profit

Pulitzer Prize Winner Elizabeth Strout Reads to Benefit People & Stories

Spring Benefit for Literature Non-Profit

Princeton, N.J.:  Elizabeth
Strout, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge, will read from her work at the Nassau Club at 7:30
pm on Friday, April 11. The reading is a fundraiser for
People & Stories, a local non-profit organization that brings literature
discussion groups to vulnerable populations.

Regarding her childhood in
Maine, Strout says, “Reading was essential to me. It connected me to the world.”
The author is volunteering her time to raise money for this dual language literacy
program that brings facilitator-led reading and discussion groups to at-risk
populations. The program reaches
youth, adults, and seniors in diverse social service agencies—including
residential treatment facilities, prisons, homeless shelters, adult education
programs, libraries, senior centers, and alternative schools—on local,
regional, and national levels.

Our innovative methodology involves coordinators who read a short
story aloud as participants follow along with provided copies.  Vibrant
discussions ensue as coordinators invite participants to reflect on questions
and share their understanding of the text, drawing upon their values, ethics,
and acquired knowledge to analyze the short story.  The methodology
encourages participants to encounter literature through the lens of their own
life experiences, revealing an inherent ability to tackle difficult themes,
issues, and texts often reserved for the college classroom.

At the April 11 event, Ms. Strout will be introduced by People &
Stories board member Shelia Kohler. Sheila’s short story, “Magic Man” a story
from the Yale Review will be in Best
American Short Stories 2013. Penguin will publish her latest novel,
Dreaming for Freud in July 2014. 

For reservations,  email
stephanieh@peopleandstories.org or contact Pat Andres at 609-393-3230.
Alternatively, contact Michelle McKenna at 609-688-8494. Ticket prices range
from $100-$1,500. Sponsors ($250) receive a dinner with the author before the
reading, Patrons ($500) include dinner and a signed book, and Benefactors
($1,500) receive dinner for two, two tickets and two signed books.

Since 1972, People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos has been connecting
lives to literature through vibrant reading and discussion programs.  The
program began in Spanish in a housing project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when
founder, Sarah Hirschman, organized a group of Puerto Rican women for
a Gente y Cuentos pilot series.   For more information, visit www.peopleandstories.org.