Charles Dickens 200th Birthday & Peanut Butter Drive
Tuesday, February 7 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A
To kick off a series of birthday celebrations for the British author Charles Dickens, a group of UI and community experts will introduce Dickens, the issues of his novel Oliver Twist, and how his work continues to speak to the issues our community faces today. The panel discussion will be followed by cake and punch (but no porridge!).
Help "Spread the Love"
The Dickens 101 and Birthday Celebration will be held on Tuesday, February 7, at 7:00 pm at the Iowa City Public Library. As part of The Crisis Center's Spread the Love drive in February, attendees are asked to bring a jar of peanut butter for donation to the Food Bank. This is an item in special need right now.
Dickens 101 Panelists
The evening's panelists will include:
- Teresa Mangum, a professor of Victorian literature in the UI English Department and directs the Obermann Center. She will discuss Dickens' literary career and anticipate themes of the novel.
- Jeffrey Cox, a professor of British Social, Imperial, and Religious History in the UI History Department. He will discuss poverty, the Poor Law, and the poorhouse "welfare" system in 19th century Britain.
- Miriam Gilbert, a professor of Shakespeare, drama, and performance criticism in the UI English Department. She will discuss stereotypes of "the jew" on stage and in the character of Fagin in Oliver Twist.
- Sarah Benson Witry, Food Bank & Emergency Assistance Director for The Crisis Center of Johnson County. She will discuss poverty and hunger in our own community in the 21st century.
In addition, Gregory Prickman, UI Special Collections Librarian, will assemble a small exhibit of Dickensiana.
For More Information
This event is part of the "Conversations and Controversies" Book Discussion Group. Dickens 101 is also the kickoff to a community reading of Oliver Twist. For more information about this and other scheduled events, visit icpl.org/dickens.