Join us for our next book in the Rubber Banned Book Club!
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, NATIONAL BESTSELLER
His first published novel, Carrie (1974), is about a tormented teenage girl gifted with telekinetic powers. Its inspiration was sparked by King’s memories of his brief stint working as a janitor in a high school and from an article he had read in Life magazine that proposed that girls might be susceptible to having powers of telekinesis at the time of their first menstruation. The novel’s protagonist, a misfit named Carrie White, was created as a composite of two girls whom King knew when he was growing up. After drafting three pages of the novel, King had second thoughts about his idea and threw the pages away. His wife, however, rescued the pages from the trash, read them, and encouraged him to keep going. Carrie was an immediate popular success and was adapted into a film for the first time in 1976 (directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie). Other versions have appeared as television movies, feature films, and a musical.
WHY WAS THIS BOOK BANNED IN SOME SCHOOLS & STATES?
“It is one of the most frequently banned books in United States schools because of Carrie’s violence, cursing, underage sex, and negative view of religion. Much of the book uses newspaper clippings, magazine articles, letters, and excerpts from books to tell how Carrie destroyed the fictional town of Chamberlain, Maine while exacting revenge on her sadistic classmates and her own mother, Margaret. This book has been banned in Nevada, Vermont, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and Florida.”
Source: First Amendment Museum
HOW DOES THE CLUB WORK?
Admission is free. There are 2 sessions. Professional artists will read aloud sections of the book and members discuss.
Oct 22 (6:30-8:00pm) – meet at the theater (5627 N Lincoln, Chicago).
Nov 26 (6:30-8:00pm Central) – meet via Zoom.
CREATIVE TEAM
STEPHEN KING was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world’s most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.
Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.
DAWN BACH has a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater since 1993. Dawn has appeared in numerous American Blues productions over the years, including Catch-22, A Stone Carver, On the Waterfront, A Lie of the Mind and Dark at the Top of the Stairs. She served as musical director/composer for Medea and wrote original music for Toys in the Attic, for which she received the After Dark Award for outstanding original music. She has hosted and narrated numerous industrial films and has appeared on the stages of Lifeline, Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Bailiwick, Next, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Northlight (Cowgirls & Smoke on the Mountain) and Goodman Theatre (A Christmas Carol). A long-time student of the late Mary Ann Thebus, Dawn is also a trained singer and violinist.
J.G. SMITH is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater.You may have seen her performing with Blues in The Last Wide Open, It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, On Clover Road, Ripped, and virtual readings of The Cratchits (in America), The Thanksgiving Play and On the Greenbelt. Theatre: I And You (Peninsula Players); Mother of the Maid (Northlight); Plantation! (Lookingglass); The Art of Sisters (Vision Productions); MARYSHELLEYSHOW (National Tour, Chicago Fringe, TheTankNYC); Peter and the Starcatcher (City Equity Theatre); Alice in Wonderland, As You Like It, King Lear, A Christmas Carol (Alabama Shakespeare); and Censored on Final Approach (The GYM at Judson). Film/TV credits include Jennifer Reeder’s Knives and Skin, MTV’s Short Comings, The Dancing Monkey, Dreaming Grand Avenue, Pry Me Open, and Dorm Therapy. Her original films and performance art have shown at New Orleans’ Hell Yes Film Festival, Williamsburg Circus, Salonathon!, Undiscovered Countries: The Infinite Fest, and TransVisions’ virtual SOFT PALETTE festival. She is a proud Equity member and repped by Paonessa Talent Agency.