Quinnipiac University to Present ‘A Salute to Oscar Wilde’

HAMDEN - “A Salute to Oscar Wilde,” an event to mark the 121st anniversary of the Irish poet and playwright’s premature death, will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, in the Arnold Bernhard Library at Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Ave.

Wilde, who was born in Dublin, continues to be one of the most influential figures in English literature. His plays, novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” poetry and aphorisms continue to be shown, read and quoted as each new generation discovers the power of his prose.
In addition to being a cultural icon, Wilde is also a gay icon who remains one of the most famous people to be incarcerated under the British government’s draconian legislation that had made homosexuality a criminal offense. For the perceived crime of having same-sex relationships with another man, Wilde was imprisoned for two years, with hard labor. In prison, he sustained an ear injury when he fell off a treadmill, and an untreated infection led to his death in exile in Paris at age 46.

To salute Wilde, and to honor all who have suffered for their sexuality or their sexual choices, and all who have been imprisoned for daring to be different, there will be readings of Wilde’s most celebrated poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” on each hour between noon and 3 p.m. All are invited to read a few stanzas.

Tours will also be offered of the exhibition, "Oscar Wilde and The Importance of Being Irish," which is currently on display in the Lender Family Special Collection Room at the Arnold Bernhard Library.

Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute and the library are co-sponsoring the program. For more information, contact Christine Kinealy, director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute and professor of history, at Christine.Kinealy@qu.edu.

Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University is a scholarly resource for the study of the Great Hunger, also known as An Gorta Mór. Through a strategic program of lectures, conferences, course offerings and publications, the institute fosters a deeper understanding of this tragedy and its causes and consequences. To encourage original scholarship and meaningful engagement, the institute develops and makes available the Great Hunger Collection, a unique array of primary, secondary and cultural sources, to students and scholars.