Circe: Examining the Impact of a Retelling

What happens to a traditional story when a bit-part player becomes the starring role, when the figure on the edges takes center stage, when she whose speaking is limited in the first telling now has plenty to say?

In the 8th century BC, Homer told his version of Circe in The Odyssey–a threat, a danger, a sorceress. What happens when an incidental symbol in one man’s narrative becomes a character of sensitivity who offers insight in her own words in another narrative? What happens to the old story when this character speaks up? And what happens to us who hear her? Come, spend an hour to investigate what Circe is saying to you.

About the Presenter:

The Reverend Joanne Epply-Schmidt served for many years as an Episcopal Priest in NJ, most recently as Associate Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton. Joanne began her professional Storytelling career in the late 1990’s serving as a teaching artist and Storyteller in the Juvenile Justice system and in Trenton city schools. She has performed and taught the art of Storytelling in workshops and programs in schools, colleges, seminaries, churches, and retreat centers in the US and Canada. Currently Joanne is serving as Interim Rector at St Laurence Anglican Church just outside of Vancouver, Canada.

This event is part of the 2024 NEA Big Read – an initiative designed to broaden our imaginations and understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The featured book Circe by Madeline Miller retells a Greek story from the eponymous heroine’s point of view, giving voice to a lesser goddess of Homer’s The Odyssey. Please visit PenningtonLibrary.org/2024BigRead for a full calendar of events and more information.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.