March Midday Program

“So, are you going out with that Aldus guy again?”

“I don’t know. Not sure I like that type.”

Aldus. Aldine Press. Italics. Octavo. All immensely influential in the history of printing innovations. So let’s Zoom to Venice in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries to meet that fascinating and exacting printer, publisher, and nurturer of writing talent: Aldus Manutius.

Our guide on this journey will be Dr. Oren Margolis, associate professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature. Much published, Margolis created an exhibition called Aldus Manutius: The Struggle and the Dream at Oxford’s Bodleian Library and is the author of Aldus Manutius: The Invention of the Publisher (Reaktion Books, 2023).

Even though he was awarded his PhD from Oxford and his MA in Medieval History from King’s College London, Oren speaks passable American, having earned his BA from that traditional Big Ten school the University of Southern California.

Aldus printed incunabula, was instrumental in publishing and printing works of Desiderius Erasmus, and in a remarkable feat that outshone anything Nostradamus forecast, once predicted that he would be the subject of a well-attended Caxton Club meeting. Don’t let Aldus down. Register today!

Live attendance and optional lunch

View Zoom program on eighth floor, Steel Room, Union League Club. Presentation begins at 12:00 PM CT. Optional lunch immediately following in the fourth floor Rendezvous. $35 includes non-alcoholic beverage, a cup of soup, and your choice of sandwich, salad, or hot entree, tax, and tip.

Zoom presentation is free and open to all.

Zoom begins at 12:00PM CT/1:00 PM ET. Preregistration required via website.

Please forward this notice to anyone who may find it of interest.

Even if you can’t attend at the scheduled time, if you’re interested, please register. After the program, we’ll send an email to all registrants, asking if you’d like a link to the complete recording. That way you can see the program even if you couldn’t attend live, ran into technical issues, or simply wanted to watch it again.

Transportation to the Union League Club at 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

The Union League Club is easily accessible through many public transportation methods. Additionally, the following options are available for those who wish to travel by cab or car.

The Union League Club front desk offers a connection to cab service through Curb. The desk will call cabs for members and all guests while allowing riders to remain inside until the cab arrives. No curbside wait. Cabs will accept all payment forms, following the payment procedures you experience with a street-hailed cab.

If you are traveling by car, the Union League Club offers valet parking for Caxton events at $35.00. You must register and prepay in advance through the Caxton Club. Valet parking options will now be included as an option with all event registrations.

Spot Hero is an independent parking option, generally offering spots at the 318 S. Federal Street garage adjacent to the Union League Club. You may reserve and pay for a guaranteed parking spot through the Spot Hero app or website (spothero.com).

March Evening Program

Portions of this event are being underwritten by the Clayton Kirkpatrick Charitable Remainder Trust.

Part of James Joyce’s genius was his ability to find the poetry in everyday life. For Joyce, even a simple object like a table becomes magical, “a board that was of the birchwood of Finlandy and it was upheld by four dwarfmen of that country but they durst not move more for enchantment.” How might we learn to regain some of the child-like play with language and sense of delight in the ordinary that comes so naturally to Joyce?

The Joyce of Everyday Life teaches us how to interpret seemingly mundane objects and encounters with openness and active curiosity in order to attain greater self-understanding and a fuller appreciation of others. Through a close examination of Joyce’s joyous, musical prose, it shows how language provides us with the means to revitalize daily experience and social interactions across a huge, diverse, everchanging world.

Acclaimed Joyce scholar and the Clayton and Thelma Kirkpatrick Professor of English at the University of Illinois, Vicki Mahaffey demonstrates how his writing might prompt us to engage in a different kind of reading, treating words and fiction as tools for expanding the boundaries of the self with humor and feeling. A book for everyone who loves language, The Joyce of Everyday Life is a lyrical romp through quotidian existence.

This event will include a hot buffet dinner with vegetarian options. Full beverage service available (additional cost). Valet Parking: $35

Club members: remember to bring your Caxton badge.

Registering for the program will allow you the opportunity to purchase copies of The Joyce of Everyday Life for $20 with pickup at ULCC on the night of the program. Books will not be offered for sale night of program.

Registration and prepayment required by 5:00 PM 3/14, no exceptions.

Transportation to the Union League Club at 65 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

The Union League Club is easily accessible through many public transportation methods. Additionally, the following options are available for those who wish to travel by cab or car.

The Union League Club front desk offers a connection to cab service through Curb. The desk will call cabs for members and all guests while allowing riders to remain inside until the cab arrives. No curb side wait. Cabs will accept all payment forms, following the payment procedures you experience with a street-hailed cab.

Spot Hero is an independent parking option, generally offering spots at the 318 S. Federal Street garage adjacent to the Union League Club. You may reserve and pay for a guaranteed parking spot through the Spot Hero app or website (spothero.com).

This calendar event serves as a placeholder for our upcoming 2025 Annual Caxton Club Meeting to be held on Thursday, 22 May 2025 at 6:30 PM CST.

Registration for this event will be via the Caxton Club website. Please check the website in the weeks ahead of this event to register. The event will be held via Zoom.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact secretary@caxtonclub.org.