Discussion Leader Dennis Etzel Jr. and Librarian Ruth Harries discuss the feature play and book, “Picnic,” written by William Inge. The next book talk will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Marcus Smith
Marcus Smith
Lantern Staff
If one loves to read and talk about books, there is a book talk hosted in the Butler library about three times a semester, which is open for anyone to attend. Every month, they host a different “theme” of books, and this month’s theme is Kansas literary heritage.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Discussion Leader Dennis Etzel Jr. discussed the book and play, “Picnic” written by William Inge.
The Kansas Humanities Council hosts the program, they are the ones that have the different theme options and the book that matches the options as well as a list of potential discussion leaders.
“The goal is to enrich people’s lives,” Ruth Harries, access and instruction librarian, said “Literature is really powerful, and it’s helpful for people to read about people who are not them. And really, I think that’s the goal of the whole program the Kansas Humanities Council offers, is to help people connect through literature.”
“Picnic,” published in 1953, takes place in a small town in Kansas, where neighborhood women are preparing a picnic. The town is a fairly uneventful, boring town until a young, charming man comes into town, turning the ladies’ heads and causing drama and conflict among the community.
This talk featured the plot of “Picnic,” movies, home remedies and news. Etzel, also an English professor at Washburn University, enjoyed the diverse topics at this talk.
“It sounded like a great opportunity,” Etzel Jr. said. “I teach English at Washburn, I love books, so I applied and I got in.”
Etzel Jr. received a call one day, and the Kansas Humanities Council asked him if he would be the discussion leader. He has hosted events like this before, which he began in 2012 and normally hosts about 10 a year.
Past employees at Butler and people who have been involved in the Life Enrichment program are frequent attendees of the book talks.
Anyone is welcome to participate and attend. The next book talk is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1, and they will be discussing the book “Sod and Stubble” by John Ise.
“We would love to get students involved,” Harries said.