Events and Programs

“The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tabs, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations and two or three canteens of water.”—The Things They Carried

These events took place in 2003.

For more information, please call (312)747-1194. Except where noted, all programs are free and open to the public.

Tim O’Brien
Thursday, October 30, 6:00 p.m.
Chicago Public Library
Harold Washington Library Center
Auditorium
400 S. State Street
National Book Award winner Tim O’Brien will read from and discuss his book, The Things They Carried. Books will be available for purchase. A book signing will follow the reading.

John Mahoney and Frank Galati
Friday, October 24, 5:30 p.m.
Chicago Public Library
Harold Washington Library Center
Auditorium
400 S. State Street
Please enter on Plymouth Court
Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble members John Mahoney and Frank Galati will read selections from The Things They Carried. John Mahoney has received Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for his role as Martin Crane on TV’s Frasier. Frank Galati, associate director of the Goodman Theatre and professor of performance studies at Northwestern University, has won two Tony Awards for adapting and directing The Grapes of Wrath.

WBEZ’s Stories on Stage: Chicago’s Dramatic Short Story Reading Series
Stories on Stage presents two selections from Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried as part of its 2003 broadcast season on Chicago Public Radio (91.5 FM):

• October 11 and 12, 7:00 p.m.
  “The Things They Carried,” read by Rob Riley
• October 18 and 19, 7:00 p.m.
  “How to Tell a True War Story,” read by David Pasquesi

The Songs They Carried

• Tuesday, October 14, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
  The Old Town School of Folk Music
  4544 N. Lincoln Avenue
• Friday, October 17, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  The Old Town School of Folk Music
  909 W. Armitage Avenue

Come join us at the Old Town School of Folk Music for a community song circle in tribute to The Things They Carried. Bring your voice, bring your instruments and join the faculty and students in carrying on the music of the Vietnam era.

Old Town School’s Field Trip Concert Series—‘60s Songs of Struggle

• Friday, October 17, 10:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, October 29, 10:30 a.m.

4544 N. Lincoln Avenue
Old Town School guitar instructors will perform a wide array of powerful songs from this turbulent era, with an emphasis on the Vietnam War. For school groups, grades nine-12 only. Tickets are by reservation. Call (773)728-6000.

The Things They Carried—A Great “Nonfiction Novel” About Vietnam
Monday, October 20, 6:00 p.m.
DePaul University
Student Center, Room 120
2250 N. Sheffield Avenue
Attend a panel discussion on The Things They Carried and its importance in the literature that has emerged from the Vietnam War. Panelists will include Vietnam veterans who have written about the war and scholars from area schools and universities who teach Vietnam War literature.

Staged Reading from The Things They Carried
Monday, October 27, 6:00 p.m.
DePaul University
Student Center, Room 120
2250 N. Sheffield Avenue
Join us for a powerful dramatic reading of three stories from The Things They Carried, “On the Rainy River,” “How to Tell a True War Story” and “Church.” Following this performance, the audience will have the opportunity to engage in a discussion with the cast.

“They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing—these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight.”—The Things They Carried

Films

Every Saturday in October will feature a free screening of an Academy Award-nominated film on the Vietnam War at the Chicago Public Library Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State Street.

Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)
Saturday, October 4, 1:00 p.m.
Auditorium
Captain Willard receives orders to seek out a renegade military outpost led by a mysterious Colonel Kurtz during the Vietnam War. Starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper and Laurence Fishburne. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 202 minutes (Redux version). DVD.

Platoon (1986)
Saturday, October 11, 1:00 p.m.
Video Theater
A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when a sergeant orders a massacre of villagers. Starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen and Forest Whitaker. Directed by Oliver Stone. 120 minutes. DVD.

The Deer Hunter (1978)
Saturday, October 18, 1:00 p.m.
Auditorium
The Deer Hunter examines the personal impact of the Vietnam War on the lives of people in a small industrial town in the United States. Starring Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep. Directed by Michael Cimino. 183 minutes. Video.

Regret to Inform (1998)
Saturday, October 25, 1:00 p.m.
Video Theater
In a film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1998, Barbara Sonneborn chronicles her journey through the country where her husband fought and died. Woven into her personal odyssey are interviews with American and Vietnamese widows from both sides of the conflict who speak openly about the men they loved and how war changed their lives forever. Directed by Barbara Sonneborn. 72 minutes. Video.

Read The Things They Carried at DePaul University
Enroll in “Chicago’s One Book: Issues and Perspectives”
The centerpiece of this interdisciplinary, graduate-level course will be Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. DePaul University invites adults to take this opportunity to read the city’s book selection in a setting that reaches beyond the limits of a book discussion group. This 10-week course meets Monday evenings beginning September 15 (Prerequisite: bachelor’s degree).

“They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing.”—The Things They Carried