Booking and details
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Dates Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 7:30pm
Venue Folger Theatre
Tickets $20
Duration 60 minutes
This year, our annual birthday tribute to American poet Emily Dickinson will also honor English novelist Jane Austen on her 250th birthday.
Noted scholar Martha Nell Smith will discuss the life, work, and legacy of Dickinson and Austen and how they continue to shape writers of today, highlighting well-known passages.
The reading, which is co-sponsored by the Emily Dickinson Museum, will be followed by a book signing in the Great Hall. Emily Dickinson’s famous black cake, based on her own recipe, will also be served.
Virtual access
Can’t join us in person? Purchase virtual access to a live streaming of the reading.
Please note: Children under the age of 4 are not permitted to attend this event.
About the speaker
Martha Nell Smith
Martha Nell Smith is Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, Professor of English, and Founding Director of the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH http://www.mith.umd.edu) at the University of Maryland.