Ithaca Bound

A few years back, I made a failed attempt at trying to revive the all but lost art of reading aloud in public. I put together a program I called “Christmas with Charles Dickens,” sent out flyers to libraries and schools, asking for what I thought was a modest fee, and eventually ended up with four or five performances over a two year period. The program, which I performed in 19th Century costume, consisted of readings from a variety of Dickens’ writings about Christmas, interspersed ...A few years back, I made a failed attempt at trying to revive the all but lost art of reading aloud in public. I put together a program I called “Christmas with Charles Dickens,” sent out flyers to libraries and schools, asking for what I thought was a modest fee, and eventually ended up with four or five performances over a two year period. The program, which I performed in 19th Century costume, consisted of readings from a variety of Dickens’ writings about Christmas, interspersed with a few pieces of music appropriate to the period. Most of the programs were enthusiastically received, but nothing more ever came of it.

It was just a simple, quiet sort of program. Nothing spectacular or showy. Nor was I pretending to be Charles Dickens. The intent was simply to celebrate the season by recalling the writings of the man who is often credited with reviving the spirit of Christmas and with fostering the traditions through which we celebrate Christmas today.