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NORWAY — The Norway Memorial Library is the first library in the state to be selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer “Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys: Points of View,” a free reading and discussion group with copies of books available through the library. This program is provided by the Maine Humanities Council’s Maine Center for the Book in cooperation with the Maine State Library.

The series Muslim Journeys: Points of View, begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at the library and continues for four sessions, through Thursday, Dec. 5.

Books to be read and discussed in this series include: Thursday, Oct. 3, “Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie”; Thursday, Oct. 24, “Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Mernissi”; Thursday, Nov. 14, “Persepolis by Marjane Satrap”; and Thursday, Dec. 5, “House of Stone by Anthony Shadidby.”

The facilitator for all four discussions is Reza Jalali, the Muslim Chaplin at Bates College and coordinator for multicultural student affairs at the University of Southern Maine. Jalali recently presented a meaningful conversation about Islam in June at the Norway Library with 52 people in attendance.

Jalali, a Kurd from Iran, is recognized as one of the eminent ethnic Americans in “Making It in America: A Sourcebook on Eminent Ethnic Americans.” Jalali’s forthcoming book, a collection of short stories titled “Homesick Mosque,” is due to be published in early December. His previous publications include the foreword to “New Mainers: Portraits of Our Immigrant Neighbors” by Pat Nyhan, and “Moon Watchers: Shirin’s Ramadan Miracle.”

“Exploring ideas and issues through literature has always been exciting and fun,” said Lizz Sinclair, director of “Let’s Talk About It.” “We find that there is great interest among adults in getting together to discuss what they’ve read with others. Having a discussion leader like Reza Jalali who is both excited about the readings and skilled in facilitating can help to deepen this experience.”

Books for the program are available for loan at the library. Call 743-5309, ext. 1, to register and come in to pick up the first book of the series.

For more information about “Let’s Talk About It” and the work of the Maine Humanities Council, see www.mainehumanities.org or call the office in Portland at 207-773-5051.

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