Herman Melville's great whale has never stopped surfacing. Explore the journey of Melville's epic 1851 novel Moby-Dick from early neglect to powerful resurrections: D.H. Lawrence restoring Melville to the literary canon, Ray Bradbury wrestling the leviathan for Hollywood, and the crowdsourced absurdity of Emoji Dick. This infinitely looping novel proves every generation needs its own whale. Come find out why one novel continues to be endlessly renewed, with no clear beginning or end, and why every generation seems to need its own whale.

This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

About the Speaker

Aaron Jaffe is the Frances Cushing Ervin Professor of American Literature at Florida State University, where he teaches modernism and modern and contemporary literature, culture, and media. He is the author of Modernism and the Culture of Celebrity, The Way Things Go: An Essay on the Matter of Second Modernism, and Spoiler Alert: A Critical Guide. His new book, Second Modernism: Risk, Form, Media, is forthcoming. He is editor or co-editor of Modernist Star Maps, The Year's Work in Lebowski Studies, The Year's Work at the Zombie Research Center, and Thinking Further: Fragments of Communicology, the first English translation of Vilém Flusser's final lecture series. Before coming to FSU in 2016, he was Professor of English at the University of Louisville. He holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University.

This project was funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Florida’s LSTA program is administered by the Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services.

Join us as we chat with award-winning historian David O. Stewart about his newest work, The Democracy We Must Keep, and the question he explores throughout the book: What did America's founders say about democracy, and can we remain true to their vision for America?

Two hundred fifty years ago, passionate men attempted to create something the world had never seen before: a nation built not on kings or armies, but on ideas where the people ruled.

In The Democracy We Must Keep, historian David O. Stewart takes readers inside the nine key documents that shaped the formation of the United States—from Patrick Henry's thunderous cry for liberty to the carefully crafted design of a government chosen by the people, with limits on all officials holding power under the Constitution.

Through the words of seven visionary founders—Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, and others—Stewart shows how a fragile experiment in self-government took shape.

These men were not saints. They argued passionately. They worried that the new nation might fall apart. Yet together, they forged the principles that must still define American democracy:

• Power must be limited.
• Leaders must answer to the people.
• Individual rights must be protected by law.

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, The Democracy We Must Keep urges readers to rediscover core ideas that built the nation—and to consider what it will take to protect them.

Register for this virtual Author Talk at LeonCountyLibrary.org/AuthorTalks. 

View upcoming Author Talk programs and recordings of past talks at LeonCountyLibrary.org/AuthorTalks. 

The Author Talk series is sponsored by the Friends of the Leon County Public Library.