Author Luis Alberto Urrea to speak at Harper College, October 6

Born in Tijuana, Mexico, to a Mexican father and American mother, author Luís Alberto Urrea has always mined his dual-culture life to explore love, loss and triumph through his writing. A Pulitzer Prize nominated author and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea will share his experiences Tuesday, October 6, 7 pm at Harper College Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Algonquin Rd., Palatine as part of Indian Trails Library's Big Read program. Free tickets are available by calling 847-925-6100.

Indian Trails Library received a Big Read grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and selected Urrea's "Into the Beautiful North" as its community read. The novel is an adventurous tale of 19-year-old Nayeli, who leaves her small Mexican village to go north to recruit seven men to return with her and save the village from drug dealers.

Additional programs and information about the Big Read can be found in Spanish at www.itpld.org/bigread/inicio.html or in English at www.itpld.org/bigread. Call 847-451-4100 for more information.

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with Arts Midwest, designed to revitalize the importance of literature in culture while encouraging community building and reading for pleasure.