Join us Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. for the kick-off of the “Free Land? 1862 and the Shaping of Modern America”, Chautauqua Reading and Film Series at Kearney Public Library. The first featured book will be “By the Shores of Silver Lake” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Dr. Martha Kruse will lead a discussion of this book. Dr. Martha Kruse is an Associate Professor of English at University of Nebraska-Kearney, where she teaches courses on children’s literature, including the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
A second session will be held Sunday, March 15 at 2:00 p.m. at Kearney Public Library. Dr. Kruse will lead this discussion as well.
Future book discussions will feature:
• “O Pioneers!” by Willa Cather
o Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Kearney Public Library
o Sunday, April 12 at 2:00 p.m. location to be announced
• “I Am A Man” by Joe Starita
o Thursday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Kearney Public Library
o Sunday, May 17 at 2:00 p.m. location to be announced
• Additional copies of each title are available through the Kearney Public Library for individuals or book groups to borrow. Please call 308-233-3282 for more information.
The films for this series will be “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, showing on June 11 at the World Theatre, and “Heartland”. Details for the showing and discussion of “Heartland” will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Nebraska Chautauqua, presented by Humanities Nebraska, recreates the tent programs that traveled to Nebraska communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The summer 2015 Chautauqua in Kearney is called “Free Land? 1862 and the Shaping of Modern America”. This traditional, turn-of-the-century-style, festival explores the lasting impact of the Homestead Act and other landmark 1862 legislation on the people of the Great Plains, both settlers and Native Americans. Entertainment, historic presentations, exhibits, youth camps, and more are being planned for Kearney. This free festival will be held throughout Kearney June 17-21, with the evening tent programs taking place on the grounds of UNK’s historic Frank House.
The Chautauqua is sponsored by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and by many other generous contributors, sponsors, and volunteers.