Fire in the Sky: The Frightful Appearance of Comets in Literature

Session title: "Fire in the Sky: The Frightful Appearance of Comets in Literature."

Presenter: Dr. Brian Fehler, Texas Woman's Univeristy.

Date and location: Wednesday, February 11, 2015 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Denton South Branch Library.

Series: Professor's Corner: A Literary Discussion Group.

Session description: The last few years of the twentieth century saw the release of a number of theatrical and TV movies about the threat of comets crashing into the earth. Films such as Deep Impact, Armageddon, Doomsday Rock, and Meteorites may have tapped into ancient human fears about the appearance of comets, especially ones that appeared near momentous calendar events. While humans have not always been able to present the spectacle of comets in big-screen, computer-generated splendor, for many centuries in many places people around the world have produced "comet literature," literature that expresses the various emotions comets have long inspired: wonder, anxiety, and curiosity. During this session, we will recapture some of those feelings as we read samples of comet literature, including Walt Whitman's poem "Year of Meteors (1859-60)," Goethe's poem "Threatening Signs," William Blake's poem "Gwin, King of Norway," and excerpts of sermons by Increase Mather.

Cost: This program is free and open to the public.
Refreshments will be served.

Coordinator: Fred Kamman, Denton Public Library; Fred.Kamman@cityofdenton.com; 940-349-8752.

Producer: Dr. Stephen Souris, Texas Woman's University; SSouris@twu.edu; 940-898-2343.

Location of the South Branch Library: 3228 Teasley, Denton, TX 76210. The South Branch Library is just south of the Teasley & Lillian Miller intersection.

Supporters: Denton Public Library, Voertman's Bookstore, Recycled Books Records CDs, Cooper's Copies and Printing, and Humanities Texas. "This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities."