The Rock Island Public Library will host a facilitated public discussion of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, as part of its participation in the community-wide Out of Darkness: Holocaust Messages for Today project.
A Father’s Experience of the Holocaust: Rock Island Public Library Hosts October 10 Book Discussion of Maus
The Rock Island Public Library will host a facilitated public discussion of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, as part of its participation in the community-wide Out of Darkness: Holocaust Messages for Today project.
Dr. Everett Hamner will moderate the free discussion on Monday, October 10, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm, at the Rock Island Downtown Library, 401 19th Street, Rock Island, IL. Hamner is a professor of English at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities.
Written and illustrated by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman, Maus is a nonfiction book in graphic novel format. The novel relates the memories and experiences of Spiegelman's father, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Maus received significant academic notice after publication, and in 1992, became the first and only graphic novel (to date) to win the Special Award in Letters Pulitzer Prize. Earlier in 2022, McMinn County Schools in east Tennessee removed Maus from its curriculum due to content concerns, including profanity, violence, and partial nudity. The resulting public backlash brought new attention to Spiegelman’s work, and led the book to No. 1 and No. 2 rankings on the Amazon sales list, and a place on Barnes & Noble’s top 100 list.
Copies of Maus are still available for this discussion from the Rock Island Public Library. To sign one out, register at the library website, call 309-732-7341 or visit the library. Copies may be picked up a the Reference Desk at the Downtown Library while supplies last. The books were funded by the Rock Island Public Library, with additional support from the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities.
Because this event is after regular library hours, guests should arrive before 6 pm, and enter via the Library’s ground-floor South entrance. Elevator access is available to the second-floor Community Room. Library staff will monitor the South entrance for a short time after the library’s closing time.
The Maus book discussion is free and open to the public. Some topics and discussion may be best suited to more mature teens and adults.
For more information about library events and services, visit the library website, call 309-732-7323 (READ,) or follow library social media pages.