Xavier University in New Orleans, working with the New Orleans Public Library, has been awarded a grant to host "The Big Read."
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts that is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.
Xavier was one of 76 not-for-profits to be recommended to host a Big Read project. In a news release, the university said The Big Read in New Orleans will focus on the novel "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines. Activities will take place Feb. 23 and March 23.