A Book Party for Papa

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A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway’s novel that was published in 1929, was the author’s first commercial success.

The novel A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, arguably America’s most famous writer, will be the subject of a series of events and readings at Rutgers University–Camden, which has once again been asked by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to host the Big Read. The 8-year-old national program promotes a lifelong love of reading by uniting communities nationwide to discuss and celebrate one of 36 selections from the work of American and international authors.

“This is our fifth Big Read program, and last year’s was the most successful yet! Our Camden audiences really look forward to these annual events,” says Noreen Scott Garrity, the associate director and curator of education for the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts, one of three organizations in New Jersey to receive the grant. The center, which promotes the arts for K–12 students, is hosting two months of events and lectures for all age groups through November, including providing hundreds of books to students in the Camden schools, paid for by the $13,500 NEA gift.

A Farewell to Arms, which was published in 1929 and became the novelist’s first best seller, tells the story of Frederic Henry, an American lieutenant serving in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army and falling in love with an English nurse during World War I, which began 100 years ago.

For further information about the Big Read, which is free and open to the public, and a schedule of events, call 856-225-6306.