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BSC’s BookTalk series marks 21 years with a native prairie theme

Published: Dec 31 2019
BSC’s BookTalk series marks 21 years with a native prairie theme - Photo
Bismarck State College’s 21st BookTalk at BSC series begins Sunday, Jan. 5, with a community discussion on “Pushing the Bear: A Novel of the Trail of Tears” by Diane Glancy. Humanities instructor Dr. Brian Palecek will lead the discussion.
 
This first of three discussions on selected Sundays in early 2020 runs from 1 to 3 p.m. in room 204 in the BSC library at 1400 Schafer Street.
 
BookTalk at BSC will explore the theme, “Native Prairie,” with two more books, “Dances with Wolves” by Michael Blake on Feb. 9  and “The Personal History of Rachel DuPree” by Ann Weisgarber on March 8.
 
In the first BookTalk selection “Pushing the Bear: A Novel of the Trail of Tears,” Glancy retells the grueling tale of the thousands of Cherokee who were forced to leave their home lands in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee and walk to reservations in Oklahoma. The journey has gone down in history as the Trail of Tears because so many people died along the way from exposure and disease. Glancy's historical novel centers on a young woman and her family, and the numerous secondary characters include soldiers who enforced the march, white clergy, and Indians of all ages whose sufferings are recounted in the first person.
 
Author Diane Glancy, is a poet, playwright, short story writer, essayist, and novelist who often explores the quest for spirituality among mixed-race characters. One-eighth Cherokee herself, Glancy identifies with the Native American and mixed-blood characters she writes about, and like some other contemporary Native American writers, she experiments with genres and styles in an attempt to give expression to the reality of mixed-blood peoples. She also penned a sequel to “Pushing the Bear: A Novel of the Trail of Tears” titled “Pushing the Bear: After the Trail of Tears.”
 
BookTalk at BSC books are available at local libraries and booksellers. Discussions are free and open to all. For more information, call 224-5450 or visit bsc.libguides.com/booktalk/2020.
 
The annual BookTalk at BSC series is funded by the BSC Library and a grant from the BSC Foundation.