Welcome to 2011 Kansas Reads!Read your way to Kansas 150 in 2011! January 29—April 15, 2011 A statewide reading and discussion project sponsored by the Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library of Kansas. Recommended by a committee of experienced and qualified librarians and educators, What Kansas Means To Me was chosen by the State Librarian for its broad-based appeal that encourages and sustains spirited discussion during the sesquicentennial of Kansas statehood. Please use this web page as a resource for personal, library, and classroom information as you read and study the book. You will find a wealth of material including study questions, classroom activities, related graphics and much more! “To understand why people say ‘Dear old Kansas!’ is to understand that Kansas is no mere geographical expression, but a ‘state of mind,’ a religion, and a philosophy in one.”—Carl Becker, 1910 The Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library of Kansas is proud for the fifth year to present 2011 Kansas Reads…What Kansas Means To Me, seventeen selections by 20th century writers edited by Thomas Fox Averill describing the spiritual consciousness of Kansans. What Kansas Means To Me began with the suggestion that the state needed a treasury of affectionate, literary, twentieth century articles and poems about the meaning and appeal of Kansas. Thomas Fox Averill accepted this challenge and wrote in the preface: “Many nations, regions, and political entities have distinct cultural identities, and Kansans have been acutely conscious of an identity…since territorial days. This book attempts to present some of the best positive thinking about who we are and why.” “A sampler of the best writing on Kansas. Each of the pieces reflects the writers’ convictions that Kansas represents something powerful, something significant, something noteworthy.”—Kansas! Magazine
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