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Uplifted Pages: Finishing ‘lola Leroy’ Together in a South LA Reading Marathon
In a little more than 24 hours, the 57 students of Ms. Barrios’s AP English Literature class finished reading Iola Leroy, the 1892 novel by Frances E. W. Harper, one of the most prominent African-American women writers of the 19th century. The reading marathon began at 3 PM on Saturday, October 17, with a three-hour…
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The Joy of Dickens
Phyllis Orrick, a former journalist and retired research editor at UC Berkeley, was inspired to embark upon reading Dickens’s fourteen novels in chronological order “by two circumstances that occurred nearly 30 years apart.” She uses the example of ‘The Pickwick Papers’ to explore themes of poetry, narrative technique, and the aspirational semi-biographical Dickens. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT…
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Little Dorrit and Arthur Clennam: A Modest Life of Usefulness and Happiness
In this week’s installment, Peter Ponzio, a tutor at Harrison Middleton University and instructor at Loyola University of Chicago, examines “the fallen state of mankind” Dickens creates within and outside of the Marshalsea Prison in Little Dorrit. While happiness is possible, no one is free from its lasting effects. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hello, my name is Peter…
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Edwin Drood: A Mystery to the Very End
Friends of the Dickens Project Board Member and published author, Carl Wilson, describes Dickens’s final novel’s instant success, along with the effect of its sudden conclusion. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hello. My name is Carl Wilson. I have been reading Dickens for more than fifty years. I have read all of his novels several times, but the…
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‘Lola Leroy’ in South LA: Call for Reading Buddies
We are seeking volunteers to create Reading Buddy “commercials” for sections of Iola Leroy. The commercials can take various forms: videos (filmed with your computer or phone), audio clips, or even text. The USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative’s high school students will use these segments to investigate the novel further.
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David Copperfield the Hero of ‘David Copperfield’
Gerhard Joseph, Professor Emeritus of the City University of New York, asserts that by viewing David Copperfield within the context of the novel, Charles Dickens’s life, and within the reader’s own life, David Copperfield must, indeed, the hero of his own life. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hello, I’m Gerhard Joseph, I’m a retiree from the City University…
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Delicious Passages from Great Expectations
Citing his favorite delicious passages from chapters 1 and 2 from Great Expectations, Dickens Project Director, John O. Jordan, underscores how the oral and aural pleasures of reading Dickens aloud can provide more clues to the story. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hi, I’m John Jordan from UC Santa Cruz and the Dickens Project with more favorite passages of mine…
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How to Handle an Old Book
Have you ever wanted to learn more about rare and antiquarian books? Tim Clark, Chairman of the Greater Riverside Area Dickens Fellowship and Friends of the Dickens Project Board Member, provides an introduction to the care required to handle old and rare books. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Coming soon! Tim holds various positions in his community. In…
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Concerning Bella’s Husband
UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student, Helen Everbach, demonstrates how Dickens captures a loving and intimate moment between newlyweds, Bella Wilfer and John Rokesmith, in Our Mutual Friend. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hi, my name is Helen Everbach, I work with the Dickens Project. I am in Santa Cruz, California right now, and I would like to talk about…
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Government: How Not to Do It
Bill Jordan, a public servant for around forty years, uses the Circumlocution Office’s example to show how artfully Dickens portrays “the foibles of government bureaucracy.” VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hi, my name is Bill Jordan. In this episode of “Dickens To Go,” I am speaking to you from my home in the Nation’s Capital, Washington, DC. I…
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Remembering Ed Eigner
It brings us great sadness to announce the death of Ed Eigner, professor emeritus at UC Riverside and Dickens Project co-founder.
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‘Our Mutual Friend’ and the Making of the Modern Narrative
Murray Baumgarten, Founding Director of the Dickens Project, describes how Charles Dickens’s innovative use of dynamic visuals changed the narrative form and served as a precursor to early films. Transcript coming soon. Dickens-to-Go is a weekly program of short videos designed to whet the viewers’ appetite for “more” of their favorite author. You can join…