“James McBride, author “Song Yet Sung,” will speak twice in our area on Wednesday, October 28. At 9:30 a.m., he will discuss his book at North Dorchester High School, 5875 Cloverdale Road, Hurlock. He will speak again at 7:00 p.m. at Salisbury University, Guerrieri University Center, Wicomico Room, Dogwood Drive, Salisbury.

“Song Yet Sung” is the book that people all across the state are reading as part of this year’s One Maryland One Book program. McBride, an award-winning author, composer, and screenwriter, is also the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, “The Color of Water,” and the novel, “Miracle at St. Anna,” which was recently made into a film directed by Spike Lee.

Set on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in the 1850s, “Song Yet Sung” weaves an intricate and gripping tale of escaped slaves, free blacks, and slave-catchers. The protagonist is an enslaved woman who develops a gift for prophetic vision following her escape from a local plantation.

On learning that his novel had been selected as this year’s One Maryland One Book, McBride said, “”I am delighted. It has to be one of the proudest moments of my career. The fact that the book was chosen by native Marylanders means all that much more. Like many Americans, I had no idea that the Eastern Shore of Maryland was the gateway to freedom for so many; nor did I realize the depth and complexity of relationships that existed between blacks and whites at that time, all of which were played out in Maryland.””

The Maryland Humanities Council is sponsoring McBride’s visit to the Eastern Shore. The Maryland Humanities Council is a statewide, educational, nonprofit organization that is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. The purpose of the Council is to stimulate and promote informed dialogue and civic engagement on issues critical to Marylanders.

One Maryland One Book is a program of the Maryland Center for the Book at the Maryland Humanities Council. It is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Library Services and Technology Act grant funds, through the Division of Library Development & Services, Maryland State Department of Education; Bank of America Foundation; Verizon; Constellation Energy; and Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. One Maryland One Book is coordinated by the Maryland Center for the Book, a program of the Maryland Humanities Council, in partnership with Enoch Pratt Free Library and Barnes & Noble. For more information visit the Maryland Humanities Council’s website at http://www.mdhc.org/programs/one-maryland-one-book/
For more information, visit the website at www.onemarylandonebook.org or call 410-685-6161.
“