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Supernatural Presences in East Asia

August 28th, 2009 Molly

The Supernatural Presences in East Asian Cultures book group will meet this fall at the Madison Public Library from 7-8 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month, beginning September 10th.  The series starts with a look at the silly, spooky, and sometimes saintly monsters found in Japanese Tales, a collection of (very) short stories from medieval Japan. The UW’s Charo D’Etcheverry, a specialist in early Japanese literature and culture, will be on hand to introduce the tales & their history, but most of the session will focus on talk about monsters–what makes them scary and how these East Asian examples compare to personal favorites.

The book group will meet at the Central Library at 7:00 p.m.:

• September 10th
• October 8th
• November 12th
• December 10th

and at the Sequoya Branch Library at 7:00 p.m.:

• January 14th
• February 11th
• March 11th
• April 8th

Suggested reading includes any or all of the following sections from Japanese Tales:

“Haunts” (pp. 16-24)
“Tengu and Dragons” (pp. 47-55)
“Foxes” (pp. 114-124)
“Tengu, Boar, and Badger” (pp. 172-177)
“Snakes” (pp. 193-199)
“Demons” (pp. 236-241)
“Haunts II” (pp. 282-285)

Part of the 2009-2010 Year of the Humanities at UW-Madison, Supernatural Presences in East Asia is a year-long series of events, including this book group, lectures, film screenings, and ritual performances. For a complete schedule see Supernatural Prescences.  This series is funded by the Center for the Humanities.  Please E-mail Charo D’Etcheverry with any questions.

Entry Filed under: Authors and Books, Central Library, Events, Kids & Families, Sequoya Updates