James Basker to present at library The Power of Literature: How Writers Helped End Slavery GRANTS PASS, OR, August 8, 2014—Josephine Community Libraries is proud to welcome native son James Basker, renowned scholar, author, and educational leader, for a special free presentation titled “The Power of Literature: How Writers Helped End Slavery,” 10–11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 23, at the Grants Pass branch. Basker is a professor of Literary History at Barnard College, Columbia University, and President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. As the son of former Josephine County Commissioner Anne Basker, he attended Grants Pass High School in his formative years. He went on to complete his education at Harvard, Cambridge, and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. Basker is also the founder and President of OxBridge Academic Programs, which for the past 25 years has sponsored academic summer programs and teacher seminars in Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, Barcelona, and New York. During his presentation at the library on August 23, Basker will discuss his most recent book, “American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation,” a collection of antislavery writings honoring the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. “Antislavery writing was one of the most energetic, voluminous, and transformative traditions of literature in the history of American letters,” said Basker. During the time, the opponents of slavery employed every available literary device to advance their cause to abolish slavery. In his book, Basker includes fiction and poetry, essay and autobiography, sermons, pamphlets, speeches, hymns, plays, and even children’s literature. This program is made possible by the Josephine County Cultural Coalition and is free to all participants. Registration is not required. For more information visit josephinelibrary.org, email [email protected], or call 541-476-0571.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:41:11 +0000
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