Annual Brontë Weekend to Take Place in Haworth

A press release from the Brontë Society:

Annual Brontë Weekend to Take Place in Haworth

8-10 June 2012

A special programme of events is planned to take place in Haworth from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 June 2012 as part of the annual Brontë Society weekend, which will see writers, academics and Brontë Society members visit Haworth from all over the world.

The weekend opens on the afternoon of Friday 8 June with a talk by Michael Slater on ‘Charles Dickens and the Brontës’ at 2pm. The talk, which takes place as part of the Dickens 2012 celebrations and is on the eve of Dickens’ death, will look at the incredible impact that both Dickens and the Brontës have had on national culture. Michael Slater is Emeritus Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College, University of London and a renowned Dickens scholar, publishing his acclaimed biography Charles Dickens in 2009. Places for this talk are still available and tickets are £6.

The weekend continues with an annual service of remembrance at the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels, Haworth on Saturday 9 June at 11.15am, and all are welcome. The address will be given by Reverend Peter Mayo-Smith, Rector of Haworth, and will celebrate the bicentenary of Patrick and Maria Brontë’s wedding.

On Saturday 9 June at 8pm, a special evening event will explore the themes of race and slavery in Wuthering Heights. The casting of a mixed race Heathcliff in Andrea Arnold’s 2011 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights put issues of race into the spotlight. The documentary A Regular Black: The Hidden Wuthering Heights examines themes of slavery and race coded into the text, and uncovers parallels between the fictional Earnshaws and the slave-owning families of Yorkshire. Following a screening of the documentary, panellists Terry Eagleton, Bonnie Greer and Caryl Phillips will tease out some of the themes. The evening will offer a fascinating new reading of the novel, and the audience will be invited to join in the debate. Tickets are £12.

All events except for the church service will take place at the West Lane Baptist Centre in Haworth. For further details or to make a booking contact jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk/ 01535 640188.