2023 Audacious Read: The Prairie Trilogy by Willa Cather Online
For this year's Audacious Read Book Group, we invite you to delve into three books by Willa Cather that are loosely grouped together as the Prairie Trilogy: O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Antonia (1918).
Each novel has a distinct storyline, but all are set in the Great Plains near the turn of the century, as small towns and individuals are struggling to define themselves on a kind of frontier in the American West. They invite us to think about the nature of community, about the relationships of individuals to place, and about individual dreams in the context of social expectations. Willa Cather is one of the most significant American writers of the 20th century, and her works, now a century old, may resonate in surprising ways today.
We will devote about three months to each novel, reading all three over the course of the year, building connections between them along the way.
This group will convene via Zoom the first Tuesday of each month from 4 to 5 p.m., beginning Tuesday, February 7. For the first meeting, participants are encouraged to read just the first five pages or so of O Pioneers!
The first Tuesday of each month, February 7 - November 7, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. (Mountain), on Zoom.
Register to get the full reading schedule and Zoom link. Please note: registration is for the entire year. New participants will be welcome for the first several meetings.
- Dates & Times:
- 4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, February 7, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, March 7, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, April 4, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, May 2, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, June 6, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Thursday, July 6, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, August 1, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, September 5, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, October 3, 2023
4:00pm - 5:00pm, Tuesday, November 7, 2023
- Time Zone:
- Mountain Time - US & Canada (change)
- Online:
- This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
- Audience:
- Adults
- Categories:
- Classes & Discussions
Reading Schedule:
*Note: Any edition of the books will be fine. There is no preferred edition.
February 7 - Introduction and first chapter of O Pioneers!
March 7 - Part I-Part III of O Pioneers!
April 4 - Part IV-Part V of O Pioneers!
May 2 - Part I of The Song of the Lark
June 6 - Part II-Part III of The Song of the Lark
July 6 - *Note different day due to holiday – Part IV-Part V of The Song of the Lark
August 1 - Part VI of The Song of the Lark
September 5 - Book I of My Antonia
October 3 - Book II of My Antonia
November 7 - Book III-Book V of My Antonia