OXFORD, Miss. – “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter,” by Edgar Award-winning author Tom Franklin, has been selected for the 2012 Common Reading Experience at the University of Mississippi.
“‘Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter’ meets all the criteria for our common reading book,” said Leslie Banahan, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs. “It’s accessible to students at all levels; available in paperback; includes multiple themes that are applicable to many disciplines; published within the last five years; written by a living author; written by an author who is available to speak on campus at 2012 convocation.
“Tom Franklin’s book not only meets these objectives, but it’s also a beautifully written story about modern-day race relationships and friendships in a small town. It has mystery, murder, memorable characters and more.”
The UM Common Reading Experience is a program designed to unite the Ole Miss campus through discussion about a book. In its second year, the program will distribute copies of the selected book to every freshman during summer orientation sessions. Faculty will receive copies of the book later this spring. Freshmen are expected to read the book over the summer and be ready to discuss and write about the book when classes begin in August.
The selection process for the book was extremely thorough. Any member of the university community could nominate a book for consideration, and more than 100 nominations were received. “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter” was among six finalists that every member of a selection sub-committee read over the holiday break.
“Ultimately, we had six titles to read and rank,” Banahan said. “Every effort was made to have a fair and open process. At our final meeting, we discussed each of the six books on the ‘short list.’ We then asked sub-committee members to rank the books in order of their preference. ‘Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter’ was ranked the No. 1 choice and recommended to the UM Common Reading Committee and Provost (Morris) Stocks for the 2012 common reading selection.”
An Oxford native, Franklin is an assistant professor of fiction writing at Ole Miss. He will be keynote speaker at the 2012 Freshmen Convocation on Aug. 23.
A resonant drama set in 1970s Mississippi, “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter” tells the story of Larry Ott and Silas “32” Jones. Larry is the child of lower-middle-class white parents, while Silas is the son of a poor, black single mother. The two share a special bond despite their different worlds. When Larry is last seen with a girl who disappears, he is blamed and the friendship between the two boys is broken. Twenty years later, another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. The two men are then forced to confront the past they’ve ignored for decades.
“The book is a national bestseller, and the author is a member of our faculty,” Banahan said. “We believe faculty and students will enjoy the book, and there will be great discussions about ‘Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter’ in classrooms, residence halls, offices and Starbucks next year.”
For more information, visit the Common Reading Experience.