Fragments from the Fire: A Literary Salon

Please join us at Arden Hearth, 202 N. 15th St., for an elegant evening of sharing recitations and readings of poems or short excerpts from your favorite books. If all books were to be destroyed by fire, what fragments of literary greatness would you snatch from the flames? What lines of poetry are etched in your memory safe from the fate of ashes? After sharing our readings and reasons for preserving these writers, we’ll enjoy well-read conversation, coffee, and dessert in the charming setting of a fine old Victorian home of Richmond. RSVP to jasims100@yahoo.com.

This occasion is one of a series of events sponsored by The Ripple Effect, this year encouraging Richmond and surrounding communities to read Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and to talk about its significant themes of literacy and censorship.

The Ripple Effect is a multi-media, multi-venue collage of shared reading, special events, theatre productions, exhibits, discussions, films, contests, and personal writing that has been designed to promote active engagement with and creative response to great literature. Based upon the belief that literature and the arts are not only vital to the growth and wholeness of individuals but also the well-being of society as a whole, The Ripple Effect offers an opportunity for members of our community to explore together a classic work of literature and respond to the interesting and challenging issues it raises. Our theme this year is “The future is in our hands,” and we expect that the book we have chosen – Fahrenheit 451 – will challenge us to take that statement seriously.