Reading Groups

Chekhov's "The Black Monk" and a Cocktail with Elizabeth Howard

$30

Includes a Complimentary Cocktail from Our Café & Bar

Out of stock

Wednesday, 6:30 pm EDT - 8:00 pm EDT June 14, 2023

The Center for Fiction

“The Black Monk” is a novella divided into nine chapters that portrays a young man suffering from delusions of grandeur.

It was written in 1893 when Chekhov was living in the village of Melikhovo and published the following year in The Artist, one of the leading Russian magazines on theater and music in the last quarter of the 19th Century.

The “black monk” appears in this story as supernatural – guidance coming from a hallucination. This raises questions around “speculative fiction” and futurism.

The story lends itself to many interruptions, which can lead to a fascinating and engaging discussion.

A link to the story will be sent to participants upon registration. Participants should read the story before the session.

Led by

Elizabeth Howard

Elizabeth Howard

Elizabeth Howard grew up with a passion for books and reading. Her articles have appeared in Corporate Board Member, Communication Arts, European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, the Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others. Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, a book of reflections on growing up in New Hampshire, was published by Thornwillow Press in 2011. Her other books include, A Day with Bonefish Joe (David R. Godin, 2015) and she edited Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). She was the inaugural Madeleine L’Engle Fellow at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

She is the producer and host of a podcast, the Short Fuse, that can be found on Spotify, Amazon Music, Simplecast and through the Arts Fuse, the online journal of criticism and commentary. Through the Short Fuse she is often in conversations with authors.

Elizabeth Howard lives in New York City.

About this series

Reading Groups

Whether you’re looking to catch up on great novels or you’re interested in exploring a new writer or literary period, our reading groups offer high-level literary discussion led by experts in the field.

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