A stack of "My Ántonia" books by Willa Cather sits on a wooden table. A brochure for the Willa Cather Center is standing beside them. The book cover features flowers, and the brochure displays a house and trees.

Visualizing Literature: Book Club for Art Lovers

Jan 18, 10:30AM–12PM

Choose one of two opportunities to meet:

Jan 15, 1–2:30 pm or Jan 18, 10:30 am–noon

Free for Joslyn members, $10 for General Public. Advanced registration is required; walk-ins are welcome if space permits. Register here for the Jan 18 program.

This program is part of our A Week of Willa Cather series, Jan 15-19: See Tim Youd’s (American, b. 1967) Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, on view in Hawks Pavilion Gallery H8, and plan to attend a variety of special programs that celebrate the book and author. As part of this week and with the generous support of the National Willa Cather Center, we are offering a free copy of the 100th anniversary edition of My Ántonia to Visualizing Literature participants (up to 70). Details about requesting a book are provided in the registration process. 

Visualizing Literature explores connections between the literary and visual arts through moderated book discussions and gallery tours led by trained Visualizing Literature Volunteers. Discussions begin in the Community Room located in the Hawks Pavilion and conclude in the galleries.  

January book selection: My Ántonia by Willa Cather (Vintage Classics, March 6, 2018 edition).  

“When critic Randolph Bourne heralded My Ántonia in 1918 as the arrival of the “American novel,” he could not have known the many ways the novel would remain relevant to today’s American experience. . . . The novel is set in Black Hawk, Nebraska, a town Willa Cather modeled after her childhood hometown of Red Cloud. More than that, Cather’s memorable “fictional” character Ántonia Shimerda was very closely based on Cather’s real-life friend, Anna Sadilek Pavelka, who immigrated to Nebraska from Bohemia (the Czech Republic today) in 1880. While My Ántonia takes place in the late 19th Century, its themes of enduring friendship and tenacity in the face of adversity are timeless. Cather’s evocative descriptions of the land and of life in rural America have drawn readers into this classic novel for more than 100 years. Just as gripping are her portrayal of obstacles such as language barriers, discrimination, and social and economic challenges.” (National Willa Cather Center, https://www.willacather.org/big-read)

Looking ahead: Our March book selection is The Wrecker  by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott. Program times are Wed, Mar 12, 1–2:30 pm or Sat, Mar 15, 10:30 am–noon. Online registration begins Jan 15.

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