BY BRANDON BRADY

Arts educator Annie Ruth tells children "what's the word?" with her community outreach program. (Ruth's poster art is pictured above.)

Arts educator ANNIE RUTH is doing her part to inspire a new generation of readers. Spurred on by the illiteracy rate and budget cuts slicing into fine arts programs, Ruth has created WHAT'S THE WORD? READ, a community outreach program combining poetry, song and rap to instill a love of reading in kids -- and quite possibly adults, too. This isn't the first time I've written about Ruth, and it certainly won't be the last. She really takes a proactive approach in showing how much the written word means to her and sharing those beliefs with others. What's the Word? READ is merely the latest example of her dedication. The guidebook for her program indicates an accessible, fun and creative approach to reading for children while containing morsels of knowledge for adults to expose themselves to, as well. The first section, for instance, uses the Swahili language (or Kiswahili as Ruth properly calls it) to explore culture, history and citizenship, all the while expanding a child's vocabulary by introducing him or her to a new language. Supporting Ruth in her efforts is the YPC Band, a group of self-taught youth musicians (i.e., Ruth's children and nephews), to show other young folks the extent of children's capability. Currently there are 10 stops on this mini-tour, beginning at 3 p.m. on Monday at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Check out CityBeat's Literary Listings for additional stops. Booking information and additional information can be found through Annie Ruth Creations at 513-821-9027 or www.annieruth.com ... Cincinnati learned its lesson in 2002. According to the Top 20 Circulating Fiction & Nonfiction Titles for 2002, recently released by THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY, Ernest J. Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying was checked out 6,254 times. The novel was the chosen title for ON THE SAME PAGE CINCINNATI, a reading program similar to those achieving popularity in other cities. Chosen for its exploration of racial issues in the wake of the shooting death of Timothy Thomas and the subsequent unrest in April 2001, Lesson succeeded in reaching out to numerous Tristaters, although the city has yet to see the necessary political and social change the book promotes. Maybe that's because more Cincinnatians were concerned with the latest legal shenanigans from John Grisham. The Summons topped the library's list with circulation numbers of 6,436. Leading the nonfiction titles, by the way, was John Adams by David G. McCullough with 1,199 readers.

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