Celebrate International Day of the Book with the presentation, Don Quixote: What Makes the Modern Novel Modern, by Dr. Carlos Hawley from NDSU Department of Modern Languages. Hawley will describe how poetry, industry, and empire coalesced around author Miguel de Cervantes and gave rise to fiction, literacy, and the modern novel.
In 1605 with Don Quixote Book I, and in 1615, Book II, Miguel de Cervantes gave us the novel as we know it today. 152 years before, in 1453, the printing press fell right into the European oral culture. Prior to Gutenberg’s gismo, writing primarily served one of three purposes: to archive data; to provide a snapshot of a given performance; or to offer performers material for enacting a performance. Publishing, making words public, was done orally, by criers and lectors and troubadours on a stage or some other performance space. The first generations to follow print found themselves transitioning from an oral tradition into literacy and, by the time Cervantes arrived on the scene, he could see that the book was becoming a space for poetic performance that might rival the stage, and he set out to make that happen. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Contact Lori at 701.476.5977. This event is part of the Main Library Building's 10th Anniversary Celebration series of events.
Tuesday, April 23 – Main Library at 7 p.m.