Laura Bush highlights books, authors in pre-Inaugural event

First Lady-to-be Laura Bush turned the spotlight on books, authors and reading in a pre-inaugural event

(CNN) -- Invoking authors from Thomas Paine to Herman Melville to Richard Wright, First Lady-to-be Laura Bush opened "Celebrating America's Authors," a pre-Inaugural event shining the spotlight on books, authors and reading.

Eighteen writers were honored at the event, and five were invited to read from their works: historian Stephen Ambrose, mother-and-daughter novelists Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Clark, cultural critic Stanley Crouch, and Texas novelist and essayist Stephen Harrigan. The event was held at Washington's Constitution Hall.

President-elect George W. Bush, Vice President-elect Dick Cheney and wife Lynne Cheney, former President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush and Laura Bush's mother, Jenna Welch, also attended.

Laura Bush was a schoolteacher and school librarian before her marriage, and made literacy her primary issue while her husband was Texas governor. In a short film shown before the event, several people -- including her mother -- offered testimonials to Mrs. Bush's love of books.

Carol Clark and Mary Higgins Clark

It was Mrs. Bush's idea, in fact, to turn the focus of the pre-Inaugural event away from her and towards books. "Traditionally, the Inauguration includes a tribute to the First Lady," she told the audience. "I'd like to depart from that by making this occasion a tribute to the people who have affected my life and all of our lives -- our great American authors."

The authors each took different tacks with their readings. Stephen Ambrose told of Thomas Jefferson's vision, seeing a continent-wide country where his contemporaries could barely envision travel over the Appalachians. The Clarks, bestselling suspense novelists, discussed their styles of writing.

Crouch read a passage from his 2000 novel "Don't the Moon Look Lonesome," the story of a relationship between a black saxophone player and a white jazz singer. And Harrigan, a Texas literary eminence, read from his book "The Gates of the Alamo."

"Like pieces of a vibrant mosaic, the books they write add new color and form to an already existing body of great literature," Mrs. Bush said in introducing the authors.

She observed that while some literature has the power to change history -- such as Paine's "Common Sense," which helped lead to the American Revolution -- more often it is a solitary pursuit. "Literature is hauntingly quiet," she said.

And yet, she continued, it can cross all socioeconomic lines. "The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a shared vision," Mrs. Bush said.

Observers believe that the event is the beginning of a campaign for literacy.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she emerged as a spokesperson for for better teacher preparation, for the importance of educators understanding how to teach children how to read," said Louisa Cook Moats, who's directing the reading study in the District of Columbia schools.

"With this event, she's going to set the tone," said Cyndi Hughes, director of the Texas Book Festival, which has raised more than $1 million for public library books. "She's a team player, but she's going to have some ideas about what should be done."

After the event, Mrs. Bush and several of the authors were scheduled to visit District of Columbia schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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