Thank you for joining us at Davie County Public Library this fall for Davie Reads, a community reading experience. This year our theme was O. Henry and his wonderful short stories.

Print this Davie Reads event calendar for your convenience. See event details below.

Biography
From http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/: William Sidney Porter, who wrote as O. Henry, (1862-1910) was a prolific American short-story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people. A twist of plot, which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance, is typical of O. Henry's stories. William Sydney Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. His father, Algernon Sidney Porter, was a physician. When William was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his paternal grandmother and aunt. William was an avid reader.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry: Porter's most prolific writing period started in 1902, when he moved to New York City to be near his publishers. While there, he wrote 381 short stories. He wrote a story a week for over a year for the New York World Sunday Magazine. His wit, characterization and plot twists were adored by his readers, but often panned by critics. Porter married again in 1907, to childhood sweetheart Sarah (Sallie) Lindsey Coleman, whom he met again after revisiting his native state of North Carolina. However, despite the success of his short stories being published in magazines and collections (or perhaps because of the attendant pressure that success brought), Porter drank heavily. His health began to deteriorate in 1908, which affected his writing. Sarah left him in 1909, and Porter died on June 5, 1910, of cirrhosis of the liver, complications of diabetes and an enlarged heart. After funeral services in New York City, he was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina. His daughter, Margaret Worth Porter, died in 1927 and was buried with her father.

Programs
In September, the library will have copies of O. Henry's The Four Million and Other Stories for participants to enjoy ahead of special programs. During the months of October and November, the following programs will run:

Thursday, October 15th 7:00 PM
A showing of the 1952 movie O. Henry's Full House is scheduled in the library auditorium. From www.imdb.com: John Steinbeck introduces five of O. Henry's most popular short stores. In "The Cop and the Anthem" a homeless alcoholic is increasingly frustrated in numerous attempts to get arrested and jailed for 90 days in a warm cell rather than face the rigors of a New York winter. In "The Clarion Call" a NYPD detective has a crisis of conscience when he is torn between his duty to arrest a childhood friend for a murder only he knows he committed and the debt of honor he owes to him. In "The Last Leaf" a naive young girl is stricken with pneumonia after being seduced and jilted by venal actor. When she loses her will to live, her devoted sister and an eccentric Greenwich Village artist try to help her to survive. In "The Ransom of Red Chief" two bumbling con men kidnap the son of a rural sheriff for ransom but find they've taken on more than they can handle. In "The Gift of the Magi" an impoverished but devoted young couple struggle to pay for Christmas gifts worthy of their mutual love.

Sunday, October 18th 4:00 PM
Meet at the Kinderton campus of Davidson County Community College for a presentation on Picturing America. Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Through this innovative program, students and citizens will gain a deeper appreciation of our country’s history and character through the study and understanding of its art. Our presenter is Dr. Charles McAllister, Catawba College history professor. McAllister will focus on American visual arts and artists contemporary with O. Henry.

Monday, November 2nd
Last day to register for Reynolda House tour. The Friends of the Library have made possible discounted admission fees for the first 25 registrants. Admission fee is $9.00.

Saturday, November 14th 10:00 AM
Meet at 10:00 AM for a tour of Reynolda House American Art Museum in Winston-Salem. Reynolda House docents will plan a tour focused on early 20th century art, when O.Henry was writing. They also will lead the group around the house and costume collection, both of which are of that same time period. The tour will end around 11:30 am and participants can visit the art collection on their own, or go to lunch or shopping in Winston. The Friends of the Library have made possible discounted admission fees for the first 25 registrants. Please note: Registration and $9.00 admission fee deadline is Monday, Nov. 2.

A pplace on a YVEDDI van to Reynolda House can be reserved at the Library for $5.00. The van will leave the Mocksville Library parking lot at 9:00 am on Nov. 14th and can pick up people in Kinderton in front of Town of Bermuda Run offices at 9:15 am. Reservations for the van are required or furnish your personal transportation. Minimum of six reservations will be necessary for the van to be used for this program. Fees are not refundable unless tour or van is cancelled. Deadline for van reservation and fee is also Monday, November 2nd.

Thursday, November 5th 4:00 and 7:00 PM
Elliot Engel returns to conclude our 2009 Davie Reads experience, with "O. Henry: His Surprise Ending and Beginnings." From www.authorsink.com: Few authors have suffered more undeserved neglect than O.Henry. Dr. Engel redeems this master of the short story by emphasizing the forces which shaped his unique and universally appealing fiction.

Mocksville Branch 371 N. Main Street Mocksville, NC 27028 (336) 753-6030		Cooleemee Branch Cooleemee Shopping Center Cooleemee, NC 27014 (336) 284-2805
This project was supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina.