INL Reads! Launches at the Edmonton Convention

A LETTER FROM INL MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR ROB OLASON.
Hello Icelandic clubs/INL of NA chapters,

Hopefully your winter is drawing to a merciful close and you can begin looking forward to the arrival of spring. Here on the west coast, our snow threat is mostly over, tree buds are starting to swell and the first flowers of spring are rising out of their wintry slumbers.

Likewise the INL of NA is gearing up for its own springtime “blossoming” with the arrival of the annual INL of NA convention, which makes its appearance in Edmonton, Alberta April 28-May 1.

The 2011 convention will also be the inauguration of a new INL program that all clubs are encouraged to participate in. I’m excited about it, because this program is an opportunity to share a common activity within your club and with all the other clubs of the INL of NA. In fact, this program is launching through the INL of NA, but my hope is that participation will spread to non INL clubs and even individuals of Icelandic descent who are not members of any club, but have a desire to participate in this shared cultural activity. Hopefully their participation might be their first step to eventually joining a club. The program takes advantage of one of the favorite activities of Icelanders on either side of the Atlantic–reading.

The program is INL Reads! and together we will be reading and discussing literature that focuses on the Icelandic experience. The first selection will be announced at the convention, but all future selections will be nominated by clubs and club members with the final selection determined by popular vote. H.P. Tergesen & Sons will have a display of books available for purchase at the convention, including our first INL Reads! selection.

There is even an INL Reads! blog on the INL website where participants can post their thoughts and discussions on the title we will read together.

How can your club participate? First, by committing to take part in the way that makes most sense for your club. After the first title is announced at the convention, begin steps to read the work in your club. I understand that some club meetings are so jam packed that discussing the book during regular meetings would be impossible. Such clubs would most likely chose to set aside another time to discuss the book. Other clubs may find they have adequate time during regular meetings to discuss the work.

For this first round of INL Reads! your club will have the entire year to fit discussions about the work into your club’s schedule. As the program evolves, clubs will decide jointly whether to have more than one work per year. Perhaps we will find a single “official” title each year is best, allowing clubs wishing to add to that number the flexibility to make their own selections beyond the annual title.

The main point of INL Reads! however, is to have fun reading and discussing a novel together as one community, even as we are scattered across the continent. As we look at the rich tradition in our literature, INL Reads! has the opportunity to re-visit old favorites as well as discover new treasures.

I hope your club will enter into this reading adventure with the other clubs and individuals and together we will find ourselves enriched by the journey.

I would also like to receive your thoughts and comments about INL Reads! so that together we can make this a high-point in the exploration of our shared heritage.

Read on!

Sincerely,
Rob Olason
INL Membership Director
robolason@gmail.com

Posted in Literature, News.