Reed Library hosted the Northern Chautauqua Kickoff Event for the Big Read 2010 last night. Kevin Muldowny, a representative New York State Senator Cathy Young, opened the event with a proclamation for the Big Read, stating that the Big Read is “designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens.” His remarks were followed by an engaging and informative lecture by Susan McGee, a Willa Cather expert and Ph.D. candidate at Binghamton University.
Ms. McGee’s lecture focused on Cather’s life, as represented through her novels, in particular My Antonia and the works written during her “Nebraska period.” Ms. McGee characterized Cather as a series of contradictions in both her personal and professional life: a blend of both rural and cosmopolitan influence, intensely private yet seeking the public eye through her writing, feminist and misogynist, progressive and conservative, realist and romantic. A well-rounded and lively portrait of Willa Cather was presented by Ms. McGee, who peppered her talk with interesting details from Cather’s life. For instance, referencing the memory book kept by a classmate of the then 14-year-old Cather, Ms. McGee shared interesting insight into the mind and quirks of a young Cather, who signed her name “Wm. Cather M.D.” and wrote that her “idea of perfect happiness” is “amputating limbs.” To view the memory book in full, visit the Willa Cather Foundation website at: http://www.willacather.org/rediscovering-serenas-album. Cather’s entry is on pages 32-33 of the memory book.
Posted by: Dawn Eckenrode, Reed Library
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What a wonderful link to the digitized memory book!
ReplyDeleteThanks to all who braved the brisk winter snow to hear me speak on Cather and her writing of the desolate and cold Nebraska landscape!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful digital resource, Dawn -- and thanks, Susan, for raising it as an important context for understanding Cather! It's truly amazing how much a rich primary source like that memory book can impact the ways in which we read and interpret a work of literature!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm glad that Kevin Muldowny reinforced the importance of literacy and critical dialogue to our civic lives. A shared reading experience truly opens up the space for us to discuss and make sense of the present world around us -- as well as our history, values, assumptions, and so much more.
I'm looking forward to watching the spaces for such inquiry open up around the community!