Book Club reading Bless Me, Ultima

In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), the Library Book Club will kick off its eighth year with Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya’s coming-of-age novel set in post-World War II New Mexico.

Anaya spent six years working on Bless Me, Ultima as he struggled to find a language to communicate the Chicano culture of the American southwest. Since the novel’s publication in 1972, it has come to be regarded as a classic of both Hispanic and contemporary American literature. It was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its first Big Read season in 2008 and remains on its book list.

The Library has four copies of the novel, and a reader’s guide and podcast are available available on the Big Read website.

The Book Club will discuss Bless Me, Ultima on Thursday, September 25 at 12:00 in the Library Conference Room. Distance students and faculty are encouraged to join us live via Google Hangouts, Google’s free, easy-to-use videoconferencing software. Simply click here, and Google will take you directly to our discussion or prompt you first to add the Hangouts plug-in to your computer.

For more information about the Library Book Club, including the 2014-2015 schedule, see our webpage or contact Harold Henkel at harohen@regent.edu.