Invitation to celebrate Oscar Wilde's birthday in NYC, Friday, October 16
I've never done this before, but I'm organizing a scholarly steampunk event in honor of Oscar Wilde's birthday on Friday, October 16. You can drop in any time during this event, and you can even arrive early at either of our destinations if you like. First we'll be meeting at the Pierpont Morgan Library, 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, at 7:00 p.m. to view their Oscar Wilde collection. They have recently acquired a real treasure: a 50-page volume, bound in red leather, containing, among other notable documents, Oscar's earliest letter to Bosie, the original manuscript of "The Selfish Giant," written in his wife Constance's hand (which casts some doubt on the tale's true author), and several of his short, cryptic "Poems in Prose." The startling thing about this volume is that it is stamped with the arms of the Marquess of Queenberry. It belonged to the grand-son of the ninth Marquess of Queesberry, Old Q, the man who ultimately destroyed Oscar Wilde's life, his health, his career, and his reputation. No-one is quite sure why these letters and documents ended up as part of the Queensberry estate, but a fair guess would be that they belonged to Lord Douglas (Bosie), who was Q's son.
So we'll be meeting at the Library to look at these and other documents in their Oscar Wilde Collection. Admission is free, starting at 7:00 p.m., but you are welcome to arrive earlier if you don't mind paying the $12. And of course, if you just want to join us for dinner and drinks, that's fine, too. I will not mind if no-one else shows up at the Library, as I had intended to go there anyway, and what better time than Oscar's birthday?
Afterwards, we'll proceed to Lillie's Irish Victorian Pub, 13 East 17th Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, and we'll meet there at approximately 9:00 p.m. We might be earlier, depending on how much time we spent at the Library, but I allotted two hours for the Library and for transportation to Lillie's. At Lillie's, we'll enjoy dinner, drinks, or whatever you'd like, and discuss Oscar's life and works in round-table fashion. We may read some of his poetry or short prose aloud. And we'll toast him on his birthday, perhaps with one of his favorite tipples (he was fond of Champagne and Korbel brandy), or whatever spirits you favor, if you do. Naturally you're welcome to toast with a soft drink or club soda if that's your fancy.
Costumes are optional for this event, as I hadn't planned on taking any photographs, but Lillie's allows photography if you wish. Children under the age of 14 are not welcome at the latter part of this event, not because Oscar was homosexual or bisexual, but because some aspects of his life are not appropriate discussion for children. The transcripts from his trial contain dreary, sexually descriptive details. Topics like sodomy and British law, male prostitution, and blackmail may arise. Certainly the harsh conditions of Oscar's imprisonment, and the way it broke his spirit, are not what I'd consider acceptable conversation for young children. However children will not be excluded from the visit to the Pierpont Morgan Library, just from the round-table discussion at Lillie's.
I have some ideas for discussion and I hope you'll bring some of your own.
Oscar the scholar - his early career at Oxford
Constance Wilde - a remarkable lady in her own right
The American lecture tour
Aesthetic Dress and Oscar's editorship of Woman's World
Lesser-known works: The fairy-tales
The pinnacle: Oscar's dramatic works
Censorship and Dorian Gray, with an analysis of the omitted passages
Bosie - why was Oscar mixed up with such a prat?
Artists and writers of the Decadent movement
Did Oscar write the pornographic novel Teleny?
The role of Oscar's fame in his trial and harsh sentencing
Oscar's faithful friend Robbie Robertson
The final years of exile
Oscar's legacy
I hope to see you all on October 16!