[465] LOCAL ENTITIES PARTNER TO CREATE CIVIL WAR BOOK/DISCUSSION GROUP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 2008
CONTACT: Heritage Center, 615-217-8013

LOCAL ENTITIES PARTNER TO CREATE CIVIL WAR BOOK/DISCUSSION GROUP
‘Between the Lines’ Group Set to Meet Thursdays in June and January ‘09

(MURFREESBORO)—The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area has partnered with Linebaugh Library and the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County to begin a Civil War book discussion group series that will focus on literature and biography beginning this month.
“Between the Lines: Reading About the Civil War” is the name of the new group, which will meet twice a year, in June and January, said Stacey Graham of MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation.
During June, the group will meet at 7 o’clock Thursday evenings at the Heritage Center, 225 West College St., in Murfreesboro.
“June’s book discussion group will take an in-depth look at Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, a bestseller published in 1997, with each week focusing on a different theme related to the book,” Graham said.
The group’s June discussion schedule is as follows: June 5: Wartime Loyalty/Desertion; June 12: Women and the Home Front; June 19: Death, Destruction and Violence; and June 26: Memory and Literature.
Participants in the book discussion group are encouraged to read the novel and attend each of the four sessions but are welcome to come to individual sessions as well. Each week will focus on a different theme related to the book. Antoinette van Zelm of the Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area will serve as the facilitator of the discussion group and will provide a brief introduction to provide historical context for each of the themes
“Our goal at the Heritage Area is to tell the whole story of the war and its aftermath. Historical novels provide a wonderful way to revisit the Civil War years,” said van Zelm. “We’re also very excited about the opportunity to partner with Linebaugh Library.”
In January 2009, the book series will focus on biography, with plans are to hold brown-bag discussions on Sam Davis Elliot’s Soldier of Tennessee: General Alexander P. Stewart and the Civil War in the West (1999).
The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area receives funding from the National Park Service and is administered by the CHP at MTSU. Linebaugh Library, which sponsors several book groups, serves the citizens of Rutherford County through four branches. The Heritage Center is a joint venture between the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area and Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County, Inc. Additional support comes from the City of Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University, Rutherford County Government, and State Farm Insurance.
For more information on “Between the Lines: Reading About the Civil War,” which is free to those who wish to participate, please call 615-217-8013 or e-mail heritage_center@bellsouth.net.
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