Bob Talks Lecture Series

Popular presenter Robert Van Dellen, PhD, is returning to the Elliott Museum in the Forum with a new series of engaging talks on enduring themes in literature. Bob’s book, Reflections on Literature: Exploring Meanings and Messages will be available for purchase.

3:00-4:30PM
BOB TALKS (on Tuesday in Jan, Feb, Mar, & Apr) dates and topics are listed below.

4:30-5:00PM
Book sales/signing

COST:  $18 Admission, FREE to members

MEMBERS: Please call 772-225-1961 to book your space.         

DATES & TOPICS

JAN. 16 at 3:00PM
Who Doesn’t Love a Good Love Story: This Talk looks at a diverse range of works that focus on the importance of love; what can we learn about love from such works as Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty: Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 116 (“Let me not to the marriage of true minds”): Romeo and Juliet: Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace: and the touching poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes.

FEB. 13 at 3:00PM
Friendships in Literature:  The Blessings and the Curses: Love and friendship are close cousins and literature has a lot to teach us about the need for and importance of friendship, exploring such works as Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, the classic Don Quixote, Mary McCarthy’s The Group, Moby Dick, Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig, James Dickey’s disturbing Deliverance, the famous Huck Finn, and others.

MAR. 12 at 3:00PM
Growing Old & Facing the Sunset of Our Lives: With love and friendship, we now have come full circle, exploring how to cope with the end of life, by discussing a wide range of literature that offers lessons about death, such as Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, King Lear, and many others.

APR. 9 at 3:00PM
The Tragic Vision of Arthur Miller: This valued playwright helped define modern tragedy and his works represent the very best of that drama.