The Providence String Quartet

Thurs 5/14, 7pm: The Providence String Quartet plays Benjamin Britten's String Quartet No. 2. Great admirers of one another's music, Dmitry Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten stand as two giants of 20th century music. In February, PSQ played Shostakovich; their 2009 Athenaeum series ends with Britten's Second Quartet, written in 1945 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of the great English composer, Henry Purcell. This three movement work concludes with a immense baroque chaconne as a direct tribute. Tickets must be purchased before the day of the show! PSQ is notorious for selling out at the Athenaeum, so don't delay, call today! Tickets are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Call 401-421-6970 or stop by the library to purchase.

Eleventh Annual Philbrick Poetry Project Award and Reading

Fri 5/8, 7pm: Eleventh Annual Philbrick Poetry Project Award and Reading, with poet judge Marilyn Nelson and winner Jennifer E. Whitten. Poet judge Nelson has chosen Whitten's manuscript Auction as the 2009 Philbrick Poetry Award winner. Join us for the presentation of the award, and a reading by both poets. As part of the award, the Athenaeum has published Auction as a chapbook; copies will be on sale at the reading. The Athenaeum's Philbrick Poetry Project is named for long-time Athenaeum members Charles Philbrick, a noted poet, and his wife Deborah, a mentor to many poets, and fosters the art of poetry in RI and New England. Funded in part by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Free and open to the public!

Rhode Island – Culture of Corruption?

Tues 4/28, 6-7pm: WRNI presents Rhode Island – Culture of Corruption? the second installment of Policy and Pinot, a new conversation series on vital issues affecting our state. Join WRNI General Manager Joe O'Connor and WRNI political reporters Ian Donnis and Scott MacKay as they interview Robert Clark Corrente, U.S. Attorney for RI, and Mike Stanton, Providence Journal reporter and author of The Prince of Providence, about the role of corruption, past and present, in Rhode Island's political culture. This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED! To be part of the conversation, while also enjoying a glass of wine, please reserve with Rita Cidre, WRNI Membership Director, at rcidre@wrni.org or 401-351-0203

Matthew Goodman

Mon 4/20/2009, 6pm: Co-presented in partnership with the Providence Public Library: Matthew Goodman on his The Sun and the Moon: the Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York, takes place at PPL’s Empire Branch, Empire Street in downtown Providence. Fans of the 1830s: don’t miss this account of an 1835 tabloid-inspired hoax about a telescope that showed fantastical life on the moon, including scandalously-behaving flora and fauna. In the ensuing furor everyone had an opinion, including Poe, who claimed plagery.

Aaron Jungels

Friday 4/10/2009, 5-7pm: SALON - Choreographer and multi-media artist Aaron Jungels of Everett Dance Theatre on his new, Silas the Teenager, on stage at the Carriage House Stage April 17-19 and 24-26. Inspired by his 16-year-old nephew Silas, who has autism, Jungels utilizes vivid imagery and evocative physicality in depicting the pleasures and challenges of interacting with Silas. Interweaving video projection, dialogue, choreography, and kinetic-sculptural stage props, Jungels reflects upon the way Silas perceives the world. A live score by Alec K. Redfearn and five musicians accompanies the performances. Jungels researched the latest studies on the autistic mind; new theories about how people with autism perceive and process information about the world, as well as their reports "from the inside," guided the development of his work. Jungels received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Capital's Multi-Arts Production Fund and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to produce Silas the Teenager.

Free and open to the public! Sponsor: Antiques & Interiors

Evening of High Spirits

Wednesday, December 3, 7 - 9pm

An Evening of High Spirits to Benefit
The Providence Athenaeum!

Warmly welcome upcoming winter holidays with Dickens, lively music, seasonal treats, and a Port tasting, too! Actor Robb Dimmick conjures the world of Dickens with readings from A Christmas Carol, fiddlers extraordinaire Cathy Clasper-Torch and Mike Fischman play spirited accompaniment, Blackstone Caterers serve celebratory appetizers, and Campus Fine Wines pours a variety of Port wines to toast the merriment.

Thank-you to our event sponsor Hegeman & Co. Fine Jewelry

James Wood

Tues 11/18, 7pm:
Series: The Once and Future Library, part 3: The New Yorker's literary critic James Wood on Reading and Writing on Reading. A world of libraries presupposes a world of readers; what is the future of that world? Wood gives a brief history of the notion of the common reader, describing how critics and writers have tried over centuries to engage a large, public readership; defends the idea of the common reader against attacks from both populism and faux-populist elitism; and distinguishes between current academic writing and his brand of literary journalism. Wood's new How Fiction Works available for sale and signing thanks to Borders. Free and open to the public! (Series Sponsor: Dan Siegel, M&S Rare Books)

Proustfest

Sunday, November 16, 2008, 4 to 6pm at the Music Mansion, 88 Meeting Street in Providence

Proustfest: Music and Wine from the World of Marcel Proust!
Proceeds to benefit the Providence Athenaeum

Featuring:
The Aurea Ensemble performing works by Ravel, Faure, Franck and other composers Proust knew and loved, plus reading passages from his writing
A Champagne and sparkling wine tasting with Campus Fine Wines
Fabulous French hors d'oeuvres by Blackstone Caterers

The Legendary Pub Quiz!

Fri 11/7, 7:30pm: The Legendary Pub Quiz! Call 421-6970 to reserve a spot. $5 for Athenaeum members; $10 for non-members.

Rick Ring

Thurs 11/6, 7pm:

Series: The Once and Future Library, part 2: "To Promote the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge": The Formation of the Providence Public Library as an Ark of the Arts and Sciences in Providence. Rick Ring, Special Collections Librarian of the Providence Public Library, revisits the creation of the PPL from its first glimmers in the 1870s by a group of cultural institutions, to the construction of the Italian Renaissance revival-style building in 1900.

Free and open to the public! (Series Sponsor: Dan Siegel, M&S Rare Books, msrarebooks.com)

Senator Lincoln Chafee and Ted Widmer

Tues, 10/14/2008, 7pm:

Election Day Approaches: What's Next? In an increasingly global world fraught with conflicts past, present, and promised, what is the future for US foreign policy? As the 2008 presidential campaign (aka The Hundred Years' War) closes, what is America's place in the world? What should it be? Come converse with two contrarian witnesses to history, former Senator Lincoln Chafee (now distinguished visiting fellow at Brown's Watson Institute), a liberal conservative, and Ted Widmer, former foreign policy speechwriter for Bill Clinton, now Director of the John Carter Brown Library, a conservative liberal. Copies of Senator Chafee's Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President and Ted Widmer's Ark of the Liberties: America and the World will be available for sale and signing, thanks to Borders!

Free and open to the public.
(Sponsor: Yankee Travel, yankeetravel.com)

Dr. Warren Simmons

Tues, 9/23, 6:30-8:30pm:

The Athenaeum hosts The Covenant with Black America: Education, with Dr. Warren Simmons, Executive Director, Annenberg School for Education Reform, Brown University; moderated by Mary Sylvia Harrison, Vice President of Programs, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. How do the disparate educational opportunities within Providence’s diverse population affect the quality of life and prosperity in the city? Join us for a conversation on how to address the disparities between Black America and White America. The Covenant with Black America is a program series based on Tavis Smiley’s bestselling essay collection, The Covenant, outlining key life issues and providing lists of resources to help people improve their lives. It is funded by the RI Council for the Humanities, presented by Anne Edmonds Clanton; more info: 401-258-1910. Free and open to the public! (Sponsor: Benefit Street Antiques, 140 Wickenden Street, 401-751-9109)

Happy Birthday, Providence Athenaeum! and All Hail, Athena!

Friday, July 11th 2008 7pm

An Olympian celebration of the Athenaeum's 170th birthday at 251 Benefit Street, Providence Rhode Island!

Poet Brett Rutherford, along with other votaries, will present a lyrical introduction and tribute in poetry and music to our patron goddess, Athena, as we prepare to install our new bust of her in the library. Come help us welcome the goddess of wisdom to her spiritual and intellectual home!

Nectar and ambrosia - or earthly equivalents - will be served.

The event is free and open to the public, befitting these words spoken by Francis Wayland at the dedication of the Athenaeum on July 11, 1838:

"Let us all cheerfully unite, fellow-citizens, in every reasonable effort to elevate the standard of social and intellectual character among us… Let us abandon, forever, and forget that they ever existed, all local and petty distinctions. Let us not labor for the east side or for the west side, but for the city of Providence ."

He then added the following:

"In every useful and public-spirited object , let every hand beat time, all our hearts be in unison; and if money be needed to accomplish it, let our wealth flow out like water."

Which is just to say that gifts of tribute, while not expected, will neither be refused!

Procession

Poetry by Brett Rutherford

Text of "ATHENA AND MEDUSA"

A Wee Dram of Scotland

A Birthday Celebration of Robert Burns. Brighten the long winter with an evening of light, warmth, music, poetry, spirits, camaraderie, and a rare glimpse at some rare editions of Burns. Join us for readings by actors Thomas McDonald Oakes and Alyn Carlson, Scottish folk music by Cathy Clasper-Torch and Mike Fischman, a tasting and discussion of single malt Scotches thanks to Campus Fine Wines, and a display of the finest items from the Athenaeum's rarely exhibited Burns Collection, consisting of over 450 volumes of Burns's works from the 18th and 19th centuries, assembled by Athenaeum member Charles Bradley during his 19th century lifetime and donated by his widow in 1924. Thanks to Sally Strachan for envisioning this program and bringing it to life!

Cathy Clasper-Torch and Mike Fischman

Alyn Carlson

Thomas McDonald Oakes

The True Martin Van Buren Song

Martin Van Buren Scandalized in Song

Martin Van Buren vs. Rudy Giuliani

Happy Birthday, Martin Van Buren - The Final Round

Last year we set out to quietly honor The Red Fox of Kinderhook, who was president when the Athenaeum opened in 1838--and the rest is history. Given the wild emotions that we now know MVB to provoke, we decline to elaborate on the plans for this year's observance, though we can promise that MVB biographer Ted Widmer will be on hand and we do have a small but impressive display of MVB ephemera kindly donated to the Athenaeum over the past year. Free and open to the public, though perhaps not for the faint of heart.