Chicago Public Library Announces Bedrock Faith As One Book, One Chicago’s 2021 20th Anniversary Selection
Annual citywide reading program celebrates diversity and strengths of Chicago’s neighborhoods and communities through literature and thematic programming
strengths of Chicago’s neighborhoods and communities
through literature and thematic programming
Bedrock Faith by Chicago author Eric Charles May is the 2021
One Book, One Chicago selection. One Book, One Chicago
is a free citywide literary program that connects Chicagoans
and their communities around a singular chosen text. From
September through December 2021, CPL will explore the
book and many programs through this season’s central theme
“Neighborhoods: Our City’s Bedrock.” Initiated in 2001, One
Book, One Chicago celebrates its 20th anniversary this year
with this Chicago neighborhood story.
by Eric Charles May, presents an opportunity to celebrate what
makes our residents individually and collectively strong, as well
as the connections we have to one another,” said Mayor Lori E.
Lightfoot. “The theme, chosen in honor of the program’s 20th
anniversary, also encourages readers to reconnect with others
through the power of a deeply emotional and insightful story
crafted by a brilliant Chicagoan, who masterfully portrays our
city’s spirit and vibrant communities. Stories like these showcase the unique kind of camaraderie we have for our neighbors and they will continue to play an integral role in our ongoing journey of healing from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Gerald “Stew Pot” Reeves’s return to his close-knit, Black,
and middle-class community on Chicago’s South Side after
fourteen years in prison. The Parkland community is hesitant
to accept him apart from his widowed and retired next-door
neighbor, Mrs. Motley, who lends him a Bible as a welcoming
gesture. Beneath escalating conflicts between community
members lies the heart of the story: how people come
together to create a community, develop deep connections,
and provide a communal system of support, forgiveness, and
understanding.
of One Book, One Chicago with this city’s very own author
Eric Charles May,” said Commissioner Chris Brown. “May’s
novel based in South Side Chicago is so full of warmth, humor,
and humanity that it’s a natural fit for this year’s theme of
programs celebrating our City’s unique neighborhoods.”
CPL will virtually engage Chicago’s adult readers to explore
what friendship, family, community, and connection mean as
the City continues to safeguard against and recover from the
COVID-19 pandemic. Online “Neighborhoods: Our City’s
Bedrock” programs include author events, book discussions,
film screenings, art workshops and exhibits, walking tours,
storytelling classes, lectures, games, and more. The season will close in December with a keynote program featuring author
Eric Charles May in conversation with Booklist’s Adult Book
Editor Donna Seaman.
That my novel, Bedrock Faith, which grew out of my South Side
neighborhood life, will now be counted among past One Book,
One Chicago recipients is a thrill and a true honor,” said author
Eric Charles May. “In writing Bedrock Faith, I created a fictive
world of working-class and middle-class African Americans
that reflected the community of my formative and blissfully uneventful childhood years in Morgan Park. A significant part of
that bliss came through the reading of books from the Walker
Branch Library. Those books, fiction and nonfiction, were important bricks in the foundation of my imaginative life. Because of that, it is especially sweet for me that it’s the Chicago Public Library awarding my novel this wonderful distinction.”
with community partners, such as Loyola University Chicago,
Harold Washington College, Northeastern Illinois University,
and DePaul University. DePaul University is continuing its
ongoing study that explores the impact of citywide literary
programs.
One Chicago. Rarely is a book this provocative yet so incredibly entertaining,” said Johnny Temple, founder of the book’s publisher, Akashic Books. “Stew Pot Reeves is a true believer for the ages, and in a society obsessed with youth, Mrs. Motley is the most delightful and unlikely of Chicago literary heroes.”
Solstice, and Flyleaf Journal.
on Twitter and Facebook by using #OBOC.
One Book, One Chicago is made possible by United Airlines,
Bank of America, the Union Pacific Foundation, Illinois
Humanities, and other generous donors to CPL’s philanthropic
partner, Chicago Public Library Foundation (CPLF). To
learn more about how CPLF supports the Library’s mission
and offerings, visit cplfoundation.org.
Since 1873, Chicago Public Library (CPL) has encouraged
lifelong learning by welcoming all people and offering equal
access to information, entertainment, and knowledge through
innovative services and programs, as well as cutting-edge
technology. Through its 81 locations, the Library provides
free access to a rich collection of materials, both physical and
digital, and presents the highest quality author discussions,
exhibits, and programs for children, teens, and adults. For
more information, please call (312) 747-4300 or visit chipublib.
org. To follow CPL on social media, visit us on Twitter (@
chipublib), Facebook (Chicago Public Library), or Instagram
(@chicagopubliclibrary).
About Chicago Public Library Foundation
The Chicago Public Library Foundation (CPLF) is an
independent nonprofit that exists to accelerate the potential
of our public library by investing in resources that transform
lives and communities. Together with its civic-minded
partners, CPLF makes pathways to learning, creativity, and
civic engagement accessible to Chicagoans of all ages through
investment across three funding priority areas: Closing the
Academic Opportunity Gap; Activating Creativity & Connection
for All; and Bridging the Digital Divide.
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