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Ebony Expressions Dinner and Book Discussion Series Resumes

Little, Brown Book Group

Conversations over food--about literature and life--are coming back to the Quad Cities. This month, the dinner and book discussion series called Ebony Expressions will resume with Maya Angelou's autobiographical novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Shellie Moore Guy started the series in 2001 to promote adult literacy and give Quad Cities residents a chance to get to know each other better. 

"We're discussing real life issues that people can take part in even if they didn't read the book, so very interesting things happen in those kinds of spaces," she says. 

The series focuses on African-American literature, with participation by some of the authors. In the past, Guy says the gatherings drew up to 150 people. She hopes eventually to expand the series, using technology such as Skype.

"What we wanted to do was explore the possibility of creating a space where people who couldn't actually attend the discussion because there are people who don't live in the Quad Cities, but know about it and want to take part."

The Ebony Expressions Dinner and Book Discussion series will be held every two to three months, thanks to a partnership with the Martin Luther King Community Center. 

The new series will begin this Friday, October 10th at 6:30 pm at the Illinois-Iowa Center for Independent Living in Rock Island. 

Renata Sago is WMFE's general assignment reporter and occasional Morning Edition anchor. She covers everything from major political campaigns and unemployment to civil rights legislation and the performing arts for WMFE and NPR.