The Cazenovia Public Library will bring the 2016 film Genius to the big screen Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. and 6:30 pm in the Community Room.
The British-American biographical drama is based on the 1978 National Book Award-winner, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. Michael Grandage’s debut film is brimming with A-list actors, including Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Dominic West, Guy Pearce and Laura Linney.
Genius recounts the volatile professional relationship and complex friendship between the unruly Southern American writer Thomas Wolfe and the disciplined New York editor Maxwell Perkins. Perkins was the most widely known literary editor of his time, celebrated for his role in shaping the century’s great American novels. Over the course of his nearly four-decade career at Charles Scribner’s Sons, the editor fought to bring the prose of writers like Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald to the public.
When Wolfe’s manuscript is accepted for publication in 1929, it becomes clear that the 5,000-page text will require considerable editing. Wolfe, however, feels a great attachment to each and every word he has written. His lack of artistic self-discipline poses a great professional challenge to Perkins. Wolfe and Perkins pore over each line of text and after a tremendous struggle Wolfe manages to trim 90,000 words from his novel. The resulting work, Look Homeward, Angel, achieves critical acclaim and becomes an instant bestseller. The pair dedicates another two years of hard work to editing Wolfe’s second successful work, Of Time and the River (1935). While initially grateful to Perkins for helping him to realize his potential, Wolfe comes to resent the public perception that his literary success is owed to his editor. After years of collaboration their relationship begins to deteriorate.
This film is presented in association with the Library’s new Lobby exhibit, “Famous Cazenovia Connections: The Engagement Letters of Walter Oakman, Jr. and Anna Burr Hubbard.” The special exhibition—a tribute to the vast historical holdings at the Cazenovia Public Library and Lorenzo State Historic Site—will open this October in celebration of “American Archives Month” and remain on display through November.
Maxwell Perkins is remembered for revolutionizing American literature through his professional relationships with some of the most celebrated writers of the twentieth century. Less known to the public were his personal relationships with members of the small rural community of Cazenovia. On Sunday, June 8, 1930 Perkins wrote a congratulatory note to Cazenovia’s own Anna Hubbard on her engagement to Walter Oakman, Jr.—a close friend of Perkins since his Harvard days. This letter, along with written correspondence with other famous individuals, is the focus of the new Library exhibit.
Genius is rated PG-13 and runs 104 minutes.
Free popcorn will be provided.
All events at the Cazenovia Public Library are free and open to the public. For more information on this or other Library events, call 655-9322 or visit www.cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.