It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff of the Seanchai Library SL.
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
Sunday 30th June, 18:00: Charlotte’s Web (Part 1)
Caledonia Skytower commences a reading of E. B. White’s (of Stuart Little fame) children’s classic, originally illustrated by Garth Williams.
First published in 1952, Charlotte’s Web weaves a story of friendship, hardships, joy and tears. When her farmer father is about to slaughter the runt of a litter of pigs, Fern Arable intercedes and saves the tiny pig, calling it Wilbur. A bond forms between child a pig, but when Wilbur becomes too big to remain with his mother and is shipped off to the farm owned by Fern’s uncle, he is left shunned by the other animals and – with Christmas approaching – once again facing slaughter.
Then he is befriended by Charlotte A. Cavatica, a spider living in the rafters of the barn where Wilbur is kept.Charlotte hatches a plan in order to save him from death, and Wilbur finds himself the centre of new and strange attention…
Join Caledonia at Magicland Park. as she starts this tale of friendship, hardship and the miracles which can be found in the simplest of things
Monday 1st July, 19:00 – An Island Miracle
With Caledonia Skytower.
Tuesday 2nd July, 19:00: The Letters of John and Abigail Adams
With Independence Day approaching, Shandon Loring and Caledonia Skytower read from one of the definitive works of American history which spans the period before, during and after the revolution.
John Adams is perhaps best known as playing a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence. He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and was its primary advocate in the Congress.
After Independence, he served as the first Vice President of the newly formed Republic, and the second President of the United States, eventually defeated by Thomas Jefferson. Adams then went on to become the United States Minister to the Court of St. James’s (Great Britain), playing a part in the peace negotiations between the two countries, and also the United States Minister to the Netherlands in what was a long and fruitful political career which also served his home state of Massachusetts.
Throughout this time, he enjoyed and intellectually and emotionally fulfilling relationship with his wife, Abigail that lasted fifty-four years and withstood all the upheavals of the time, long periods of separation and personal tragedies.
This volume brings together the correspondence Abigail Adams, herself a strong and forthright individual and advocate of women’s rights, shared with her husband through these times. That correspondence in turn reveals the strength of the bond between her and her husband which gave rise to something of an American political dynasty, and provides unique insights into the emergence of a new democracy, the role of women in the period and much more.
Wednesday 3rd July, 19:00: “My Dear President”: Letters Between Presidents and Their Wives
Gerard Gawalt, a curator of presidential papers at the Library of Congress for thirty years brings together an inspiring collection of correspondence between U.S. presidents and their wives culled from the Library of Congress, private collections and assorted presidential libraries.
Many of the letters in this book had never been previously published, and all of them provide a wealth of insight into the lives, times, hopes, fears, triumphs and setbacks of America’s most public political figures: the President and the First Lady of the United States.
Regarded as the most comprehensive compilation of its kind ever put together, Gawalt presents the letters thematically throughout the book, rather than in any set chronology, although each letter is set in its historical context. Covering topics such as love, travel, sorrow, politics and war, every letter appears as originally written, with grammar and spelling intact. Many exchanges between husband and wife are included to help build even more of a picture of the couples behind the titles.
Kayden Oconnell and Caledonia Skytower read from this fascinating volume.
Thursday 4th July: Library Closed
The Library will be closed on July 4th to mark Independence Day.
—–
Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and additions to the week’s schedule.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 