a Mercy (Fall 2010)
a Mercy by Toni Morrison is the 19th selection for One Book, One Chicago. Nobel Prize-winning author Morrison's latest "New York Times"-bestselling masterpiece centers on a powerful tragedy involving a mother and daughter, and reveals how acts of mercy have unforeseen consequences.
a Mercy Overview
A powerful tragedy distilled into a jewel of a masterpiece by the Nobel Prize-winning author of Beloved and, almost like a prelude to that story, set two centuries earlier. In the 1680s the slave trade was still in its infancy. In the Americas, virulent religious and class divisions, prejudice and oppression were rife, providing the fertile soil in which slavery and race hatred were planted and took root. A Mercy reveals what lies beneath the surface of slavery. But at its heart it is the ambivalent, disturbing story of a mother who casts off her daughter in order to save her, and of a daughter who may never exorcise that abandonment. Acts of mercy may have unforeseen consequences.
YOUmedia will offer a series of interactive workshops inspired by A Mercy. Projects include oral histories, digital video, art work, visual mapping and chronology, photographs, film, poetry, music, and more, all detailing their experience reading the book.
There will be a showcase of the YOUmedia teen-generated work and a performance of scenes from the book by the Teen Volume Reader’s Theatre Troupe on *October 21, 2010* at the Harold Washington Library Center
YOUmedia's a Mercy Workshops
iRemix Talk (Spoken Word): Create and perform thematic spoken word poetry inspired by characters, themes, narratives, and images presented in a Mercy.
Sounds About Write (Book Soundtrack):Compose original music and a score that reflects themes and characters represented in a Mercy.
Photo Documentary: . Use Photography to reflect on themes and historical events represented throughout a Mercy in a modern context.
Fan-Fiction: Create a mixed media digital flipbook to chronicle significant characters, themes, and historical events represented in a Mercy.
Oral History Project: Discover and document your family’s history as an investigative podcaster to create a series living digital portraitures.
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