Autumn Echo Swanson, founder of Pulse Poetry Slam and emcee for a poetry slam at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at Prendergast Library, shows a promotional T-shirt to Allison Brake, library visitor, and Liz Gruber, librarian. The library’s poetry slam will kick off this year’s Big Read featuring “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

JAMESTOWN – The Prendergast Library will host a poetry slam at 6 p.m. tonight kick off the 2015 Big Read featuring “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Autumn Echo Swanson, founder of Pulse Poetry Slam and office coordinator at Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc., will emcee the event.

A poetry slam is a competition using elimination rounds for the reading or performance of original poetry or the work of others.

Each participant will present two poems, including one relating to “The Great Gatsby,” the 1920s, or F. Scott Fitzgerald. Poems will be judged on a numeric scale by selected members of the audience. Prizes and refreshments will be provided, and everyone is welcome.

From March 23 through April 24, The Big Read will also be incorporated into other activities at the library such as a family literacy challenge, early learning story time, first years story time, Lego Club, Thrifty Crafters, and movie night.

Details will be available at www.prendergastlibrary.org and on the March and April programming calendars at all public service desks.

The Big Read comes to the region through a unique partnership between SUNY Fredonia and the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

Information about The Big Read is also available at www.fredonia.edu/bigread or neabigread.org.