October 1, 2014, Filed Under: Authors, Books + Manuscripts, Exhibitions + EventsNational Book Award finalist Jayne Anne Phillips discusses writing process and historical inspiration for her novel “Quiet Dell” On Thursday, October 23, at 7 p.m., novelist Jayne Anne Phillips reads from Quiet Dell, a novel based on the true story of a murderous West Virginia con man who preyed on widows, in a Harry Ransom Lecture. A reception and book signing follow. Stephen King said of Quiet… read more
September 30, 2014, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, Film, Research + TeachingMatthew Bernstein delves into complexities of staging “Gone With The Wind” premiere in a segregated Atlanta in 1939 On Thursday, October 16, at 7 p.m., Matthew H. Bernstein, Professor of Film and Media Studies at Emory University, discusses “Selznick’s March: Hollywood Comes to White Atlanta” at the Harry Ransom Center. The world premiere of Gone With The Wind in Atlanta was the culmination of months of anxious… read more
September 30, 2014, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, Film“Films of 1939” The Ransom Center kicks off the series “Films of 1939” with a screening of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn this Thursday, October 2, at 7 p.m. 1939 is widely considered by film historians to be one of the most outstanding years in filmmaking. In conjunction with the Harry Ransom… read more
September 25, 2014, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, FilmIn the Galleries: Producer David O. Selznick defends casting Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara British actress Vivien Leigh is best remembered for her part as Scarlett O’Hara, the beautiful Southern belle who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Her inspired performance won an Academy Award for Best Actress. However, when word got out that she was being considered for the role,… read more
September 22, 2014, Filed Under: Authors, Books + Manuscripts, Research + Teaching, Theatre + Performing ArtsJohn Lahr delves into “treasure trove of Williams material” for new biography, “Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh” John Lahr, a renowned theater critic who wrote for The New Yorker for more than two decades, took up the task of continuing to record and analyze Tennessee Williams’s life in 2007. In Lahr’s new biography, Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh (Norton), he draws upon his subject’s plays,… read more
September 18, 2014, Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts, Research + Teaching, Theatre + Performing ArtsFellows Find: Digital tool allows Spalding Gray scholars to compare various drafts of performance notebooks James Sitar is an editor at the Poetry Foundation and teaches literature classes at Loyola University Chicago. Sitar’s work in the Spalding Gray archive was supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. He discusses his digital project that allows comparisons between Gray’s performance notebooks. The Ransom Center is celebrating the 25th… read more