More Info... (About the Events)
A Child's Christmas in Wales (Wednesday, December 28) is a prose work by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Originally emerging from a piece he wrote for radio, recorded by Thomas in 1952, the story is an anecdotal retelling of a Christmas from the view of a young child and a romanticised version of Christmases past, portraying a nostalgic and simpler time. It is one of Thomas's most popular works.
As with his poetry, A Child's Christmas in Wales does not have a tight narrative structure, but uses descriptive passages designed to create an emotive sense of the nostalgia Thomas is intending to evoke. The story is told from the viewpoint of the author recounting a festive season as a young boy in a fictionalised autobiographical style. In the first passage, Thomas searches for a nostalgic Western belief in Christmas past with the line, "It was snowing. It was always snowing at Christmas", furthering his idyllic memory of childhood past by describing the snow as being better and more exciting then, than the snow that he experiences as an adult. The prose is comedic, with exaggerated characters used either for comedic effect, or to show how childhood memories are enlarged through youthful interpretation
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (Thursday, December 29) is one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the seventh story of twelve in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in Strand Magazine in January 1892.
As London prepares for Christmas, newspapers report the theft of the near priceless jewel, The "Blue Carbuncle", from the hotel suite of the Countess of Morcar. John Horner, a plumber and a previously convicted felon, is soon arrested for the theft. Though the police have yet to find the jewel, and despite Horner's claims of innocence, the police are sure that they have the thief. Horner's record, and his presence in the Countess's room where he was repairing a fireplace, are all the police need.
The jewel is soon found in the crop of a Christmas goose and Holmes and Watson are off on a hunt to find the source of the goose, to whom it had been sold, and how the jewel wound up being fed to the fowl.
At both performances, Monia Joblin will read from an adaptation of Shawna Dolansky's The Truth(s) About Hanukkah, seeking to understand the multiple points of view about the Jewish holiday, widely celebrated in the USA but never even mentioned in the Old Testament.
A final segment will introduce one and all to Festivus, the modern approach to merry-making, with an aluminum pole (standing in for a tree) at the center of newly-minted family rituals.
Many of you have fond memories of Matt Orr, a former resident of Sarasota. In his years here, he founded The Young Professionals Group and The Hub; as “Mr. Downtown,” he helped develop an appreciation for the Rosemary District. He now lives happily on a canal in Venice, California, and works for AirBnB. We recently ran across this true story (based on his youth in rural North Carolina), The Devil Dog from Hell and the Death of Santa Claus - A Christmas Memory, and (with his permission) happily present it, January 28.
Both events include A Party - A Christmas Party
Celebrations of three major holiday traditions. Recitations, drawings of presents for the lucky ones, cookies, and a festive bowl of punch for all. Be there or be square.
In The Poem of My Life, (Tuesday/Wednesday, January 24/25) "Alan Brasington wraps the varied directions of his own life around the voices and characters of “Alice in Wonderland.” His journey has been just as fantastical in some ways as Alice’s adventures and experiences, with unexpected twists and turns prompted by supportive and encouraging family, friends and strangers he meets along the way.
"He begins before birth, with the muffled voices he heard in the womb, and leads the audience through infancy, his grade and high school years, his relationship to fellow students and the teachers who either inspired or discouraged him, and the guidance counselor who did little to help him.
"Brasington reads from a script in a spiral notebook as he tells the story, but it never feels like a lecture. He’s drawing you in with his own sort of poetry and clever connections to familiar stories and characters from “Alice,” which intertwine to become one. Lewis Carroll is a guide himself to Brasington’s development, as his work has been to so many readers." - Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune