Hometown Perry, Iowa begins the Big Read program series with a presentation on novelist Carson McCullers by Dr. Carlos Dews and literature specialist Erika Koss at 7 p.m., Tuesday, October 2, at First United Methodist Church, 1100 Third Street, Perry. McCullers was 23 in 1940 when her masterpiece The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter was published.  At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer’s companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book’s heroine (loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music. With a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, the novel reveals the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to revitalize the role of literature in America. NEA created the program with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. The Big Read works with multiple partners across the country, such as HPI, to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. Dr. Dews, author and university professor, was founding director of the Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians at Columbus State University in McCullers’s hometown of Columbus, Georgia.  Dews begins a new assignment with John Cabot University in Rome beginning January, 2008.  Erika Koss, literature specialist at the NEA, manages the art, design, and production of all the Big Read materials. Their presentations, free and open to the public, will be followed by a question-and-answer session and a reception. Copies of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter will be given away. Live music featured in the novel will be performed. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.  For more information, please visit www.arts.gov. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov. Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit www.artsmidwest.org.