Our first book discussion in the new library will be held in the second floor Board Room on February 7, 2008 at 7 pm.
Our selection, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, shocked the public and was harshly criticized when it was first published in 1899. It re-emerged from obscurity in the late 1960’s as social and cultural changes led to the recognition of Chopin as a classic writer who addresses many of contemporary women's concerns.
According to biographer, Emily Toth, "Kate Chopin anticipated so much: daytime dramas, women's pictures, The Feminine Mystique, open marriages, women's liberation, talk shows, Mars vs. Venus, self-help and consciousness raising. But in 1899, she was a lonely pioneer."
Here are some links to whet your appetite:
Editorial Reviews, courtesy of Amazon Books
The Kate Chopin International Society
PBS Program "Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening"
Join us as we explore our own reactions and share insights on the themes of personal freedom, alienation and loneliness, public identity vs. private needs, and more.
Books will be available at the circulation desk in January. Please stop by the Reference Desk or call 481-6591 to register.
Comments (2)
In relation to your upcoming "Book Chat" about Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" on February 7, 2008:
I'm writing in behalf of the Kate Chopin International Society to ask if you might find it useful to link to our Kate Chopin web site at http://www.katechopin.org
I believe that our KateChopin.org site would be valuable for people attending your book chat.
If you visit the site, you'll see that we have pages devoted to both of Kate Chopin's novels ("The Awakening" and "At Fault") and to her most popular short stories. Each of those pages includes information about the work's composition, its publication, its setting, its characters, and how to find a copy of the work on line and in print. Each page includes frequently asked questions about the work and has an address where visitors can email us their own questions, which we try to answer in a day or two. And each page concludes with an extensive, up to date list of books and articles that may be useful for students and scholars--as well as guidance for choosing a reliable text of the work.
Our site also has pages devoted to Kate Chopin biography, a page of general and specialized questions and answers, and a page of news and announcements.
Most important, the information on our site is accurate. The site is maintained by a group of scholars who have spent much of their professional lives working on Kate Chopin and her work. Most of us have published books of Chopin biography and literary criticism. If we discover an error on the site, we fix it immediately. Ours may not be the most useful Kate Chopin site on the web, but we are seeking to make it that.
We are a non-profit, informational site, and we do not post commercial messages.
Thanks so much for considering linking to our site.
My best wishes,
Bernard Koloski
Emeritus Professor of English
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
P.O. Box 522
Mansfield, PA 16933
USA
Posted by Bernard Koloski | December 21, 2007 10:00 PM
Posted on December 21, 2007 22:00
Sorry.
I just wrote to you asking if you would you link to our KateChopin.org site.
I did not see that you have already linked to us.
Many thanks.
Bernard Koloski
Posted by Bernard Koloski | December 21, 2007 10:04 PM
Posted on December 21, 2007 22:04