1984+20 Project: Worldwide Readings of Orwell's 1984, 4/4/04

1984+20
P R O J E C T
04/04/04

The 1984 INDEX stands at

"It was a bright cold day in April,
and the clocks were striking thirteen..."

In the tradition of The Lysistrata Project and Operation Strangelove... a literary response to the present challenges to civil liberties, human rights, and peace.

On April 4, 2004, citizens around the world will mark the twentieth anniversary of the opening date of George Orwell's novel 1984 with complete or partial readings of this dystopian classic.

Why Read 1984?

Because we still can.

I suspect that anyone who has read the novel immediately recognizes its applicability to the present situation. Though we are admittedly far from the full realization of Orwell's dark vision, the present post-9/11 climate shows a marked tendency towards three of the most chilling aspects of Oceania's Ingsoc society: total surveillance, restricted personal freedoms, and perpetual warfare.

By staging public readings of 1984, we can stimulate discussion and renewed awareness of the novel and its relevance.

Ways to Stage a "1984+20" Event

It is my hope that libraries, bookstores, high school English classes, civil liberties groups, and other groups and individuals around the world will take advantage of the twentieth anniversary of the book's opening date (Winston Smith's first diary entry is April 4, 1984) to stage public readings of 1984. Here are a few notes to consider regarding aspects of the event...

There are several possible formats:
- Marathon solo reading (one reader, the whole book)
- Sequential solo reading (several readers, one after the other)
- Reader's theatre (several readers, with some staging, lighting, etc.)
- Excerpts/highlights (with one or many readers)
The format that you choose will depend on the kind of space you have available, the number of people interested in reading, and the time that you have for preparation.
The entire book takes about 10 hours to read, if the length of the available unabriged audiobooks is any indication. Therefore, readings that begin at 1 PM (when "the clocks were striking thirteen") would wrap up around 11 PM.
Another possibility to explore is breaking up the readings with brief discussion periods, presentations from local activists, or other opportunities for listeners to react to and discuss the issues raised by the book.

If you don't want to do a reading, you can obtain a video of the excellent film adaptation starring John Hurt and Richard Burton, invite a few friends over, and have a "1984" movie night.
If you missed the opportunity this year, don't fret: start thinking about 1984+25 in 2009!
LINKS: The text of the novel and other information can be found at:
- The Literature Network
- The Wikipedia entry for the novel
- (More resources to be added soon)

What to Do Next

If you are interested in making a "1984+20" event happen in your area, or if you are interested in helping spread this idea and making it a truly worldwide occurrence, please write to me, Skip Mendler, at smendler@well.com.

NEW: (12/16/03) We've set up a discussion group at Yahoo! for folks to share announcements, suggestions, and so on. Use the form below to subscribe.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Skip Mendler, Honesdale PA
latest update 27 March 2004

Subscribe to 1984plus20

Powered by groups.yahoo.com

1984+20 P R O J E C T04/04/04

Why Read 1984?

Ways to Stage a "1984+20" Event

What to Do Next

1984+20
P R O J E C T
04/04/04