Renowned Vanderbilt scholar to speak at Meredith College as part of statewide El Quixote Festival

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jan. 29, 2016 - PRLog -- Renowned Vanderbilt scholar to speak at Meredith College as part of statewide El Quixote Festival

Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Spanish and Professor of Comparative Literature and European Studies, Edward Friedman, will be giving a free public lecture on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, at Meredith College titled “Don Quixote and the Poetics of Reality.” This is the second such event Meredith has hosted as part of the statewide Quixote Festival (iamquixote.com). The lecture, which will be followed by a Q&A and reception with the speaker, will be at 6:30 pm in Carswell Concert Hall (view map (http://www.meredith.edu/images/uploads/docs/campus-map.pdf)).

Miguel de Cervantes’s celebrated Spanish novel consists of two parts, published in 1605 and 1615, respectively. It was an instant success at the time and made the best-seller’s list in the United States as recently as ten years ago. Over the course of four centuries El Quijote has consistently rated as one of the greatest novels ever written. The dates of El Quixote Festival coincide with the birth (September 29) and death (April 23) of Cervantes (both he and Shakespeare share the same death date: April 23, 1616). In celebration of the 400^th anniversary of the novel and its author, the festival has featured art exhibits, literary gatherings, opera, music, dance, theater, cinema, and gastronomy, together with several academic and educational events. The festival will culminate with a marathon reading of Don Quixote hosted by several North Carolina colleges/universities during the week of April 18, with many other events between now and then (events calendar (http://iamquixote.com/el-quixote-festival-events-calendar/)). For festival founder, Rafael A. Osuba, the festival is the realization of a longstanding dream: “This is a very quixotic project that has captured the imagination of many in our community and reaffirms what can be done when we collaborate and dare to dream big.”

Edward H. Friedman (http://as.vanderbilt.edu/spanish-portuguese/people/bios/?...) is the author of numerous critical studies and creative works and is former president of the Cervantes Society of America. His research has centered on early modern Spanish literature, with special emphasis on Cervantes, picaresque narrative, and the Comedia. Recent publications include Quixotic Haiku: Poems and Notes (2014), Crossing the Line: A Quixotic Adventure in Two Acts (2012), In the Mist: A Play based on Miguel de Unamuno’s Niebla (2011), and Cervantes in the Middle: Realism and Reality in the Spanish Novel (2006).

The lecture is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Kenan Charitable Trust, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Meredith College, and Artist Studio Project.

WHAT: Free Public Lecture: Don Quixote and the Poetics of Reality.”  By Edward H. Friedman (El Quixote Festival)
WHEN: February 9, 2016, 6:30 pm
WHERE: Carswell Concert Hall, Meredith College
MORE INFORMATION: Contact Dr. Jonathan Wade, Associate Professor of Spanish at Meredith College
 (919) 760-8738 / wadejon@meredith.edu

About Meredith College

Chartered in 1891, Meredith College opened with just over 200 women. Today, its student body has grown to nearly 2,000, and includes men at the graduate level. Meredith challenges students to explore their interests, expand their skills, and build on their strengths.