Project focuses on two famous works by Ernest Hemingway

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<p>Spencer Tracy has the title role in the film version of ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’ which you may want to watch at the Dietrich Theater, in conjunction with the Wyoming County Reads project.</p>
                                 <p>imbd.com</p>

Spencer Tracy has the title role in the film version of ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’ which you may want to watch at the Dietrich Theater, in conjunction with the Wyoming County Reads project.

imbd.com

<p>In addition to reading Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Farewell To Arms,’ you may wish to see the 1932 film version, starring Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper, at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock. It’s all part of the Wyoming County Reads project.</p>
                                 <p>imbd.com</p>

In addition to reading Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Farewell To Arms,’ you may wish to see the 1932 film version, starring Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper, at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock. It’s all part of the Wyoming County Reads project.

imbd.com

For Erica Rogler — and many other people — Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea” was a high school assignment.

“I read it for ninth grade English, and I remember thinking, why are we reading about this old man fishing,” she reminisced in a telephone interview. “With time, obviously, your perspective changes. I now see it as a beautiful piece of literature. It’s short — a novella —and what Hemingway packs in there is truly amazing.”

“That’s why it won the Pulitzer Prize, and it contributed to him winning the Nobel Prize,” said Rogler who, as executive director of the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock, has helped organize the 2021 Wyoming County Reads project.

If you’d like to revisit “The Old Man and The Sea,” or perhaps experience it for the first time, and learn what other readers think about it, it’s not too late to participate.

This year the program focuses on two books, both by Hemingway. In addition to “The Old Man and The Sea,” which is set in Cuba and follows an elderly fisherman’s mighty struggle with a marlin, it includes “A Farewell To Arms,” which features a love affair between an ambulance driver and a nurse in Europe during World War I.

Readers are welcome to borrow copies of the books from the Tunkhannock Public Library and they will be able to take part in free book discussions via Zoom. The Dietrich Theater will also host free screenings of the 1958 film version of “The Old Man and the Sea,” which stars Spencer Tracy, as well as the 1932 film version of “A Farewell to Arms,” which stars Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper.

“They’re both classics,” Rogler said of the films. “It will be fun to bring them to the big screen.”

This is the 17th year of the Tunkhannock Public Library’s and Dietrich Theater’s partnership on the Wyoming County Reads project, which is sponsored by the Wyoming County Commissioners.

And the impetus for this year’s selection came from public television, because on April 5, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s three-part, six hour documentary Hemingway will premiere on WVIA.

“After learning about the Hemingway documentary from Chris Norton of WVIA, it seemed like the perfect pick,” Rogler said via a news release. “We had never read an Ernest Hemingway novel as part of Wyoming County Reads even though he is viewed as one of the most influential and iconic American 20th Century authors, and to have the opportunity to learn about this complex man and his work from a Ken Burns’ documentary, well, it just doesn’t get better than that!”

Bill Chapla, who will lead the book discussions via Zoom on March 3 and March 17, said both of the Hemingway stories “relate poignantly to our world today. ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’ a classic from our high school days, is a quick read but long in discussion. Hemingway’s simplicity of style and complexity of context is evident in this work. Not only is this novel a fable of the spirit of man, but it is also a religious parable. ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ a modern day Greek tragedy, is a realistic depiction of the disillusions of war and how true relationships are made difficult in a fractured world, which is what we have now.”

Following is the schedule of events for this year’s Wyoming County Reads. Everyone is welcome to participate in one or all parts of the program:

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 3 — The Old Man and the Sea book discussion via Zoom

• 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10 — The Old Man and the Sea Movie at the Dietrich Theater

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17 — A Farewell to Arms book discussion via Zoom

• 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 – A 30-minute preview of Hemingway by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick with WVIA at the Dietrich Theater followed by the showing of A Farewell to Arms movie at the Dietrich Theater

• Monday, April 5 — Hemingway documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick premieres on WVIA.

To register for the Zoom book discussions, please call the Dietrich at 570-836-1022 ext. 3.

Free tickets to the movie showings are limited and can be picked up at the Dietrich’s ticket booth or reserved by calling the number mentioned above.

The Dietrich is following CDC guidelines for mask wearing and social distancing. Face masks are required to enter the theater and must be worn at all times when navigating the theater. Once seated in socially distance seat, you may remove your mask to enjoy popcorn and other concession items.