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Saturday, January 31, 2009 3:00 AM Wilson reads Fitzgerald Wilson County Public Library and Theater of the American South encourage Wilsonians to read works by F. Scott Fitzgerald By Stephanie Creech | Times Senior Writer Mental breakdowns, alcoholism and a lavish lifestyle, which they could not afford, were all part of the lives of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The problems in their stormy marriage played out not only in front of their high society friends but also in characters found in many of Fitzgerald's novels and short stories. This year, readers and theater enthusiasts from Wilson County and beyond will get an intimate glimpse into the lives of Scott and Zelda as Wilson Reads and Theater of the American South present what's being called "Wilson Reads Fitzgerald." The focus is on Fitzgerald this year as one of the plays during the festival will be "The Last Flapper," a one-woman show about Zelda. Performances of "The Last Flapper" will run May 15 through 31 on Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Wilson Reads is a community program which encourages Wilson County residents to all read the same book at the same time then come together for discussions. Theater of the American South, which is in its fourth season this year, taps into people's love of theater, food, gardening and literature. Wilson Reads is encouraging everyone to read any of Fitzgerald's work. But the focus of two Wilson Reads events will be on "The Great Gatsby" and "Tender is the Night." On Feb. 23, Barton College English professor Rebecca Godwin will speak about Fitzgerald and about "The Great Gatsby." The event, which will be held at the Wilson County Public Library in downtown Wilson, is called "Fitzgerald, Act 1." The discussion will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. On May 21, Fitzgerald scholar Jackson Bryer, professor emeritus of English at the University of Maryland, will be in Wilson for a presentation called "Once Again, Zelda?: Zelda Fitzgerald's Presence in 'Tender is the Night.'" Bryer's discussion is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the library. "Tender is the Night" is generally regarded as the Fitzgerald novel which best captures the relationship between Scott and Zelda," said Gary Cole, the festival's founder. In "Tender is the Night," Fitzgerald focused his attention on life at Princeton. Fitzgerald attended Princeton between 1913 and 1917. In 1917, Fitzgerald left Princeton and joined the Army. While in the Army, Fitzgerald met Zelda in 1918. "Tender is the Night" is Fitzgerald's last novel. In "The Great Gatsby," Fitzgerald introduces readers to an interesting slate of characters ranging from Nick Carraway, a stock broker from the Midwest, to Jay Gatsby, a wealthy World War I veteran, to Tom and Daisy Buchanan, a very materialistic couple. On May 23, Bryer will deliver a second presentation on Fitzgerald at 10 a.m. at the Ragan Writing Center on the Barton campus as part of the theater festival. The title of that program is "Nothing Could Have Survived Our Life: The Complex Relationship of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald." Bryer is president of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society. "We are hopeful for participation by some of the high schools since 'The Great Gatsby' is on their reading list," said Lisa Anderson, who represents Friends of the Wilson County Public Library on the Wilson Reads Committee. Also, I would like to add, this is a book that many men have enjoyed -- Wilson Reads is not a single sex institution! My husband actually purchased a copy in the book store at Heathrow ( London' main airport) and read it as we traveled to Berlin last fall." Helping fuel the interest in Fitzgerald's work this year is the fact one of his better known short stories, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," has been adapted into a movie staring Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button. "Fitzgerald has an enduring appeal in our culture that never ceases to amaze," Cole said. "How many other writers would have an 85-year-old short story adapted for a major Hollywood movie?" Anderson stressed the importance of Wilson Reads. "Of course it is fun to think that your neighbors might be reading the same book," Anderson said. "Perhaps it will make points about common interests or even points of conflict which might lead to constructive insights in creating a sense of community. "Most of all, however, is the evidence that Wilson Reads provides to declare that Wilson is a community which values literacy and believes it is essential to build a strong community that can compete in the world in the future." This is the fourth Wilson Reads. Prior Wilson Reads events featured works by North Carolina writers Angela Davis-Gardner, Sheila Kay Adams and G.D. Gearino. creech@wilsontimes.com | 265-7822 ============================================================ About F. Scott Fitzgerald Born: Sept. 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minn. Died Dec. 21, 1940, in Hollywood, Calif., in the apartment of his mistress, Sheilah Graham, a writer and movie critic. Married: Zelda Sayre of Montgomery, Ala., April 3, 1920; She died in 1948 in Asheville, N.C., in a fire at Highland Hospital. Daughter: Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald was born in 1922 and died in 1986 Parents: Edward Fitzgerald (1853-1931) and Mary McQuillan (1860-1936) Fitzgerald works to consider: "This Side of Paradise" (1920) "Flappers and Philosophers," a collection of short stories (1920) "Tales of the Jazz Age," a second collection of short stories which includes "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," the short story upon which the current blockbuster movie is based (1922) "The Beautiful and The Damned" (1922) "The Great Gatsby" (1925) "All the Sad Young Men" (1926) "Tender is the Night" (1934) |
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