Promising to start “literally” with a bang at 9:00 a.m. this Saturday (yes,
there will be an explosion), the Hugo House’s marathon celebration of
the Brontë sisters spends all day reveling in Yorkshire splendour. Participants
can hear a 15-hour reading of Jane Eyre, compete in the madwoman-in-the-attic
scream contest, take a walk on the moors, sip weak tea and eat thin gruel, make
tiny books, watch puppets and videos of Wuthering Heights, admire Victorian
costumes, and listen to bands put Brontë poetry to music. Modeled on last
year’s eminently successful Stein-a-thon, a tribute to Gertrude Stein, the Brontë-Saurus
occurs in the same month that Emily, Charlotte, and Anne first published poetry–under
the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell–in 1846. Gothic, dramatic individualists,
the Brontës left a remarkable volume of work despite being pestered by
tuberculosis, alcoholism, and societal sexism. So lace up your tall boots, smudge
dark circles under your eyes, and head to the garret at the Hugo House.
Sat May 15 9 am-12 mid, free
Hugo House, 1634-11th Ave, 322-7030