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00000179-cdc6-d978-adfd-cfc6d7a40000The National Endowment for the Arts' "Big Read" looks to encourage literacy by holding community events around the country celebrating a single book each year. This year's book selection is Into the Beautiful North" by Luis Alberto Urrea, which follows a nineteen-year-old woman who travels to the United States to bring back seven men--including her father--to help defend her Mexican village from danger.Of course, the stories of people who come to this country are wide and varied, and many of those stories live right here in Wichita. Over the next few weeks, we'll hear some of those stories. Follow them below.-The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of citizens. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.

Levente Sulyok: An Immigration Story

Mariah Drussel

As we wrap up our series celebrating the Big Read with stories of how some Wichitans came to the United States, we hear from Wichita State University Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing Levente Sulyok about growing up in Communist Hungary.

 

Additional audio:

levente_cuba.mp4
Levente talks about how humor crosses language barriers and how he became an honorary Cuban.

  

levente_grandfathers.mp4
Levente talks about the circumstances that led to his grandfathers' early deaths.

  

The National Endowment for the Arts' "Big Read" looks to encourage literacy by holding community events around the country celebrating a single book each year. This year's book selection is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea, which follows a nineteen-year-old woman who travels to the United States to bring back seven men--including her father--to help defend her Mexican village from danger. Of course, the stories of people who come to this country are wide and varied, and many of those stories live right here in Wichita. Over the past few weeks, we've featuring some of those stories.

Fletcher Powell has worked at KMUW since 2009 as a producer, reporter, and host. He's been the host of All Things Considered since 2012 and KMUW's movie critic since 2016. Fletcher is a member of the Critics Choice Association.