Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Purple Coat club launch

The first meeting of a medical humanities book/film club will be held on Tuesday 31 May. We'll be kicking off with a film: Hitchcock's Spellbound. We are meeting in Room 311 in the Mechanical Engineering Department, Imperial College London (South Kensington campus) at 7.30 pm. We'll watch the film, then have a discussion. Anyone is welcome to attend and it's free, but please let me know if you are coming so that (a) arrangements for security access can be made if you do not have a swipe card, (b) I know how much popcorn to bring. E-mail giskin dot day at imperial dot ac dot uk or click here. Please also e-mail or post as a comment any suggestions you have for films and books for future gatherings.

Waterstone's on the Imperial College campus is offering 10% discount on these books: just mention the book club when you purchase them.

The next few months' programme:

Tuesday, 28 June, 7.30 pm: book to be discussed: Abraham Verghese's The Tennis Partner. This acclaimed book is about the author's friendship with a cocaine-addicted intern. You can access extracts and audio clips here.

Tuesday, 26 July, 7.30 pm: book to be discussed: Safelight by Shannon Burke. A fast-paced novel about a paramedic working in Harlem with a sideline in gruesome phtoography. There are lots of interesting ideas in this book, not least about visual representation and the psyche. (Don't let the poor cover and badly written blurb put your off!)

Tuesday, 30 August, 7.30 pm: film viewing and discussion: Now, Voyager starring Bette Davis in a classic tale of psychiatric metamorphosis.

In case you are mystified by the name 'Purple Coat Club', it is based on a poem by physician-poet Dannie Abse. Copyright restrictions prevent me from reproducing it here, but e-mail me for an explanation.

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