[NEohioPAL] Nathan T. Oliver Discusses Charles W. Chestnutt - Cleveland Public Library, February 23

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The Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library celebrates Black History Month by hosting a FREE and open to the public talk by educator Nathan T. Oliver about the African American author, Charles W. Chestnutt, Saturday, February 23 on the 2nd floor Literature Department of the Main Library Building, 325 Superior Avenue at 2:00 p.m.

 A native of Cleveland, Chestnutt (1858-1932), was recently honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a commemorative Black Heritage Series stamp. He is the author of The Wife of His Youth, The House Behind the Cedars, The Conjure Woman, and numerous other novels, stories and essays reflecting African American life in latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century. Chestnutt lived on Cleveland’s East Side and was a legal professional and civil rights activist who, along with Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, worked to improve the social, political and economic standing of African Americans.

Nathan Oliver, of Akron, Ohio, is the founder of the Charles Waddell Literary Society, an organization that promotes the literary standing of this once-renowned African American author. He has taught at the University of Akron and at Kent State University in the Pan-African Studies Department.

Oliver has written extensively about Chestnutt and has served as chair of the annual Chestnutt symposium, sponsored by the Western Reserve Historical Society. Oliver’s talk will examine the life and works of Chestnutt and his place in American literature. During the month of February, a Black History exhibit featuring Chestnutt’s manuscripts, photos, and books will be available for viewing in the Special Collections Department of Main Library. For more information, call 216-623-2831.