University Library Benefit Dinner
Saturday, January 30, 2016
6:00 p.m. Speaker, F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre
Ulysses Grant Dietz, Chief Curator, Newark Museum:
“Grant, Twain and the Gilded Age: How a Symbol of Corruption Became a Literary Hero”
The Friends of the Library hosted their eleventh biennial Benefit Dinner on January 30, 2016, with Honorary Dinner Chairs, Drew President MaryAnn and Ron Baenninger. The evening began at Kirby Theatre with a program featuring Ulysses Grant Dietz, chief curator at the Newark (NJ) Museum and author of books on the decorative arts, the White House, and two vampire novels! Dietz spoke on “Grant, Twain and the Gilded Age: How a Symbol of Corruption became a Literary Hero.”
Mark Twain’s astonishing novel The Gilded Age, a Tale of Today (co-written with Charles Dudley Warner, 1873) gave a name to an era, and it was not a flattering one. Ulysses S. Grant was at the very center of this era, surrounded by scandals in his second term as president. In the 1880s, as Grant struggled against personal bankruptcy, public humiliation, and cancer, Mark Twain became his mentor, and helped him achieve what was arguably the most heroic act of his life—his memoirs.
Ulysses Grant Dietz, great-great grandson of the general and president (and a big Mark Twain fan), offered his perspective on how Twain’s perception of Grant changed over time, and as a result changed the nature of American autobiography.
Following the 6 p.m. program, guests gathered in Mead Hall for the Gala reception and dinner, including presentation of the Béla Kornitzer book prizes. The Gala benefits the Friends of the Library Book Endowment Fund. For more information, please call the Library at 973.408.3471.