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Kirk Lynn: Playwright's Reflections

Thornton Wilder’s THE EMPORIUM Playwright’s Reflections

I still marvel at Our Town, a play my parents think of as a well-made story, and I study for its formal innovation. How does Thornton Wilder do both at once? In order to find out I decided to read everything by Thornton Wilder. I read all his plays and novels. I read biographies and letters. And at the very end I was working my way through his journals when I came across notes about an unfinished play: The Emporium.Continue reading

Finding Herself: Why Jane Eyre is More Than Just a Love Story

Jane Eyre is widely recognized as one of the greatest romance novels ever written. Since the time of its publication it has entered mainstream media, quickly becoming one of the most frequently adapted novels of all time. In the vast majority of adaptations, the emphasis is placed on the fraught courtship of Jane by her employer, Edward Fairfax Rochester. Although this is arguably the central relationship in the novel, it’s interesting to note that it only encompasses about half of the actual text.Continue reading