Montreal Dickens Fellowship
for the best of times

Hour #1: Guest Speaker: Kirk Davis
               Topic: Dickens and Film Adaptation( Details pending)

Bio: Relatively new member, Kirk Davis, from Huntington Beach California, was born in Florida, but soon moved to Toledo, Ohio. He attended Cleveland State University, receiving his degree in Computer Science. He moved to Los Angeles where he joined IBM and married his wife Nora. They have no children, but spoil their nine nieces and nephews at Disneyland very frequently. He is a retired software engineer who spent 25 years with IBM. His specialty when he retired was consulting on internet-based object- oriented transaction systems. He is now a computer support for his extended family of 40 people.
Kirk's main avocation is cinema. He has frequently attended numerous film festivals. He had Critics Credentials at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and is a founding juror of the Cleveland International Film festival.
He has seen just about everything Dickens on film, including various “Great Expectations” adaptations. He will be examining the varieties of approaches to adaptation (both visual and textual) that have occurred over the decades, including details on the various "Great Expectations" interpretations..
Kirk is a huge fan of Shakespeare and a relative new-comer to Dickens. Four years ago, he joined the pandemic era Dickens Universe via Zoom for A Christmas Carol, and has been Zooming every year since.
He is currently reading “The Old Curiosity Shop" and is amazed at Dickens' narrative structures and use of language. After having studied Bleak House with Professor Jordan of University California Santa Cruz, he is convinced that Dickens is almost on the same level as Shakespeare.

Hour #2: Dr. Ellie-Clavier-Rothstein: Introduction to “Our Mutual Friend”
               You Tube Video: Murray Baumgarten: “Narratives in "Our Mutual Friend”

Hour #1: Review of Study Questions Book II Chapters 1-8/ Open Discussion
Hour #2:   Suggested Resource for Viewing and Discussion:
              BBC  T.V. Production  “Our Mutual Friend” Part III (50 minutes)

Dickens In-Person Birthday Celebration
L’Usine de Spaghetti
273 Rue St. Paul E.
Montreal, QC H2Y 1H2
Raffle / Trivia Quiz/ Toasts

Hour #1: Review of Study Questions Book II Chapters 9-16 / Open Discussion
Hour #2:  Suggested Resource for Viewing and Discussion:
               BBC  T.V. Production  “Our Mutual Friend” Part IV (50 minutes)

Hour #1: Professor Malcolm Andrews: "Dickens Dream" and exploration of Dickens’s creative processes, drawing on his own descriptions and on the reports of others.

Hour #2:  Suggested Resource for Viewing and Discussion:
               BBC  T.V. Production  “Our Mutual Friend” Part V (50 minutes)

Review of Study Questions Book III Chapters 1-10 / Open Discussion

Hour #1. Guest Speaker: Henrietta Johnson
               Topic: The Thames: Liquid History through Dickens's OMF

Bio: Henrietta Johnson is a retired English teacher who hails from Kentucky. She is a dual resident, citizen and thinker of the U.S. and Canada. She obtained her early education in the U.S. She attended the University of Kentucky and completed graduate studies at Washington University (St. Louis). She also worked as a research assistant in sociology and community medicine. Henrietta joined the Toronto Dickens Fellowship (1972) and Philadelphia Dickens Fellowship (1978) and treasures the many long- standing friendships she has made within these groups. She has attended many branch conferences worldwide and has given many presentations on Dickens and his writing. Through teaching courses on Dickens, she has come to appreciate the wealth of humor, history and humanity in his novels. She is currently “retired” but active as ever. As well as a student of 19th century England, she is also a student of 19th century America due to her admiration and study of Abraham Lincoln.


Hour #2:  Review of Study Questions Book III chap 11-17 and Book IV chap 1-6

DiscussionSuggested Resource for Viewing and Discussion:
               BBC  T.V. Production  “Our Mutual Friend” Part VI (50 minutes)

Hour #1: Guest Speaker ( To Be Announced)
                 Topic ( To be Announced)
Study questions. Book IV chapters 7-16

 Hour #2:  Suggested Resource for Viewing and Discussion:
                BBC  T.V. Production  “Our Mutual Friend” Part VII (50 minutes)