Easily the most anticipated novel of 2015, Harper Lee’s “old-new” novel “Go Set a Watchman” has generated enough hype and controversy to fill more than an afternoon of discussion. The Friends of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library invite those interested in exploring this cultural phenomenon to join Mississippi University for Women’s Executive Director of University Relations Maridith Geuder at their Sept. 16 Table Talk.
Set some 20 years after her Pulitzer Prize-winning “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Lee’s “Watchman,” examines the fraught tensions in a 1950s Maycomb, Alabama, as the bastions of segregation begin to crack and crumble with the advance of the civil rights movement.
“I tried to read ‘Watchman’ with no preconceived notions and without reading any reviews, Geuder shared. “I wanted to make up my own mind. It is not ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ but it is a book that should be read for itself. It provides an insightful look at an emerging South and an emerging talent.”
With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, Geuder has worked in communications at The University of Alabama and at Mississippi State University, where she led the public relations office before coming to The W. She has held leadership positions with the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi, as well as with District III of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and has presented at regional and national conferences. Her work has been recognized with awards from both organizations.
“I have friends who won’t read ‘Watchman’ because of Lee’s portrayal of Atticus Finch as a staunch segregationist — a racist,” said Friends member Jo Shumake. “And, I admit, that his character is unsettling. I don’t like having my memory of the heroic Atticus undermined. It’s a disturbing read, but it makes you think as any serious novel should.”
Table Talks are presented on Wednesdays in September at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, 314 Seventh St. N. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. for those wishing to bring their lunch and socialize before the program begins at noon. The Friends will serve iced tea.
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