Renowned scholar and storyteller Dr. Elliot Engel returns to Piedmont Arts with The Wizardry of Oz, an engaging talk about L. Frank Baum and his beloved novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, on Thursday, Nov. 7 at the museum.
Using anecdotes, analysis and large doses of humor, Dr. Engel delves into Baum’s life and reveals the reasons for the enduring and endearing fame of Baum’s Oz series, which features 14 novels and several short stories written by Baum.
Guests can enjoy dinner with Engel prior to the talk or attend the talk only. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. and advance reservations are required. The talk begins at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
Tickets are $45 for the talk and dinner or $20 for the talk only. Tickets can be purchased at Piedmont Arts and online at PiedmontArts.org.
The program is sponsored by King’s Grant.
Engel lives in Raleigh, N.C., where he has taught at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at UCLA. While at UCLA he won that university’s Outstanding Teacher Award. Engel has written ten books published in England, Japan, Turkey and the United States. His mini-lecture series on Charles Dickens ran on PBS television stations around the country.
Piedmont Arts is a nonprofit art museum in Martinsville that inspires and engages the diverse Martinsville-Henry County community and surrounding areas through visual arts, performing arts and arts education. It is located at 215 Starling Avenue, Martinsville. Museum hours are Tuesday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. Learn more at www.PiedmontArts.org.