2003 — If All of Rochester Read the Same Book…
Kindred Calendar of Events
A Workshop in Time Travel with Robert J. Sawyer
- Saturday March 1, Noon–2 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- $15 for W&B members, $20 for non-members.
Time travel lets your characters see themselves at different points in their lives, allows them to meet their distant ancestors or far-future descendants, and lets them visit—and even change—the great moments of history.
From its classic use in H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine, through the heart-wrenching experiences of Dana and Kevin in Octavia Butler’s Kindred, Robert J. Sawyer will take you on a literary tour of time travel and point out the potentials and pitfalls of this most powerful of literary devices.
Robert J. Sawyer is the author of fifteen science fiction novels, including the Hugo-Award finalists Starplex, Factoring Humanity, and Calculating God, and his Nebula-Award winning science fiction thriller The Terminal Experiment.
He is on the creative writing faculties of the University of Toronto and the Banff Centre for the Arts, and he is a much-in-demand speaker all over the world, having lectured in and accepted awards from the United States, Canada, Spain, and Japan, just to name a few.
Visual Art Exhibition Opening
- Saturday March 1, 2-4 pm, continues through March 15th
- Mood Makers Books, Village Gate Square, 274 N Goodman St [ map ]
- Free and Open to the Public
The Rochester Contemporary is hosting a juried exhibition of visual art created in response to the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler. Sponsored by Writers & Books.
Tuesday March 4—Friday March 7
Meet Octavia Butler
See: Meet the Author: Events with Octavia Butler
Lecture: “What’s Up” by Debora McDell, speaking on the painting by African American artist Hale Woodruff titled Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
- Thursday March 6, 5:30 pm
repeated on Sunday March 9, 1 pm
- Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Ave [ map ]
- Free with gallery admission
- Call (585) 473-7720 for information
Douglass was a strong proponent of the Emancipation Proclamation, and was known to have urged Lincoln to sign the document that set in motion the liberation of the enslaved African American population.
Woodruff studied mural painting with Diego Rivera in Mexico and is known for his colorful, expressionistic style. Few murals were awarded to African American artists and fewer depicted African American history.
Debora McDell is the Coordinator of Community Programs and Outreach Initiatives at the Memorial Art Gallery
Workshop: “The Kindred Soul in All of Us: Writing Your Family’s Genealogy”
- Monday March 10, 7-9 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- with Rochester City Historian Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck [ bio ]
- $15 W&B members; $20 non-members
Whether Kindred is fantasy or science fiction, one essential idea is that those who lived before us influence our lives and that we knowingly or otherwise reach for their counsel.
We all can learn to sharpen our sensitivities and become more aware of those “kindred” influences at work in our own lives. It is a voyage of self-discovery, of writing down for safe-keeping what we have learned about ourselves, and of making connections between our lives and those who lived before us.
- What influences will we have on future generations?
- Living right now gives us the opportunity to shape future history as it is written and to alter the legacy of past generations… our only real influence on the past?
This workshop will include discussion of Kindred, instruction and dialogue about writing genealogy and hand-outs to help launch workshop attendants in making their own connections.
Book Discussion of Kindred
Book-group Discussion of Kindred with the Mood Makers Book Club
- Thursday March 13, 6 pm
- Mood Makers Books, Village Gate Square, 274 N Goodman St [ map ]
- Free and Open to the Public
African American Heritage Film Series: A Raisin in the Sun (1961 by Daniel Petrie)
- Thursday March 20, 7 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- Free and Open to the Public
- Popcorn, soft drinks and coffee available for purchase
Valley Manor Senior Book Club Discussion
- Friday March 21, 10-11am
- Valley Manor, 1570 East Ave [ map ]
- Free and Open to the Public
Host Norm Davis leads an informal book discussion of Kindred in the comfortable surroundings of the Valley Manor Tea Room.
Time Travel Film Series: Back to the Future Marathon: I (1985); II (1989); and III (1990) by Robert Zemeckis
- Sunday March 23, Noon-6 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- Free and Open to the Public
- Popcorn, soft drinks and coffee available for purchase
All three Back to the Future films shown back-to-back. Pizza available for purchase between films II and III.
Book Discussion of Kindred
- Monday March 24, 7 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- Free and Open to the Public
Time Travel Film Series: Time Bandits (1981 by Terry Gilliam)
- Tuesday March 25, 7 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- Free and Open to the Public
- Popcorn, soft drinks and coffee available for purchase
Exhibition: “Through These Eyes: An African American Perspective”
This exhibition explores photographic views of African Americans from the era of daguerreotypes to the last century. The exhibition includes photographs of such notable figures as Auburn, NY resident, Harriet Tubman. [ Harriet Tubman Home ]
- Thursday March 27, 6-9 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- Free for Screenplay Salon club members, $10 W&B members, $12 non-members
- Popcorn, soft drinks and coffee available for purchase
Do The Right Thing is being screened as part of Writers & Books’ “Screenplay Salon” series. Every third or fourth Thursday of the month Salon members meet with Gannett critic Jack Garner to view and discuss a selected film and its textual origins. For more information visit Screenplay Salon or call (585) 473-2590 x104
African American Heritage Film Series: Sounder (1972 by Martin Ritt)
- Monday March 31, 7 pm
- In the Verb Café at W&B
- Free and Open to the Public
- Popcorn, soft drinks and coffee available for purchase
You are here > Home >Programs & Events > If All of Rochester Read the Same Book… > March Events
