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2013 One Book One Nebraska

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

O PioneersWilla Cather said that O Pioneers! was her first authentic novel, "the first time I walked off on my own feet—everything before was half real and half an imitation of writers whom I admired." Cather's novel of life on the Nebraska frontier established her reputation as a writer of great note and marked a significant turning point in her artistic development. No longer would she let literary convention guide the form of her writing; the materials themselves would dictate the structure.

Cather's O Pioneers! is the sentimental and somewhat controversial story of the Bergsons, a family of Swedish pioneers that settles for life on the American prairie. While Alexandra, the family matriarch, is able to turn the family farm into a financial success, her brother Emil must grapple with the solace and tragedy of forbidden love. A novel surprisingly ahead of its time, this protofeminist work touches on a wide range of enduring themes, including love, marriage, temptation, and isolation.

Source: University of Nebraska Press

Libraries across Nebraska will join the Willa Cather Foundation, Nebraska Center for the Book, and other literary and cultural organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events that will encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book.

One Book One Nebraska 2013 is sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Library Association, Nebraska Library Commission, The Willa Cather Foundation, and University of Nebraska Press.

2013 One Book One Nebraska Announced

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather is Nebraska's reading choice for the 2013 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. Cather's O Pioneers! is the story of the Bergsons, a family of Swedish pioneers that settles on the American prairie. While Alexandra, the family matriarch, turns the family farm into a financial success, her brother Emil struggles. A novel surprisingly ahead of its time, this work touches on a wide range of enduring themes-love, marriage, temptation, and isolation. The Nebraska Center for the Book board announced the choice for the 2013 One Book One Nebraska at the Celebration of Nebraska Books on November 3 in Lincoln. Read more...

Finalists for 2013 One Book One Nebraska Announced

One nonfiction book and three novels—all stories with ties to Nebraska and the Great Plains—are the four finalists for the 2013 One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program. The finalists are:

The One Book One Nebraska reading program—sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, and Nebraska Library Commission—is now in its ninth year. A committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected the finalists from a list of twelve titles nominated by sixty Nebraskans.

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