Be it
through iPads, tablets, online versions, comic strips or film adaptations,
reading today includes far more than physically opening a book. A free lecture
will discuss these changes in light of Marcel Proust’s novel, “In Search of
Lost Time,” which has gained more readers thanks to Starbucks and the Internet.
The
lecture, “Starbucks, iPads and French Literature” will be presented by Vera
Klekovkina, an assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at
6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12. Held in the Pinery Room of the Portage
County Library, 1001 Main Street, Stevens Point, the presentation is the third
of the eight-part University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College of Letters and
Science 2013-14 Community Lecture Series. The public may attend free of charge.
“Today’s
hectic life, accelerated by new technologies, may leave us little time to
read,” said Klekovkina. “However, reading Proust in bits and pieces can still
be enriching and even life-changing.”
The
year 2013 is special for Marcel Proust, she said. France, the United States and
many other countries, festivities and cultural events commemorate the
publication centennial of “In Search of Lost Time.”
“To
celebrate Proust’s work with the rest of the world, here at Stevens Point, is
heartwarming,” Klekovkina said.
Klekovkina
earned master’s and doctoral degrees in French from University of California in
Los Angeles. She teaches several courses including French, French Composition
and French Literature. Her research ranges from 19th to 21st
century French and francophone studies. She is also interested in cinematic
adaptation and French film history.
The
entire College of Letters and Science Community Lecture Series schedule and
previously recorded videos may be viewed at www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries.