Historian to give Thoreau Lecture on Nov. 16

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- October 26, 2009 -- Historian and living history interpreter Richard Smith brings Henry David Thoreau to life at Northwoods Unitarian-Universalist Church, located at 1370 North Millbend Dr., The Woodlands, TX 77380, on Monday, November 16, 7-8:30 p.m.

“Mr. Thoreau” will take the stage for an evening of lecture and conversation. He will answer audience questions and share with passion his views of slavery, government, war, and education. The audience will get a glimpse of pre-Civil War America, circa 1860, including his views of the Transcendentalists and mid-19th Century America.

Thoreau (1817-1862), best known for his book Walden and his essay “Civil Disobedience,” was one of America’s most famous philosophers and essayists, as well as a poet, leading Transcendentalist, abolitionist, historian, surveyor, and naturalist. He was friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, A. Bronson Alcott, Horace Greeley, Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and William Ellery Channing II.

Thoreau re-enactor Richard Smith earned his B.A. in history from the University of Akron. He says, “For 10 years I have studied the life of Henry David Thoreau and since moving to Concord, Massachusetts in 1999, I have performed as Thoreau throughout New England.”

Smith has appeared twice on C-Span’s “American Writers” series, on Boston television’s “Chronicle,” and the Thoreau Society’s DVD “Life with Principle.” He has appeared at Walden Pond and other historic sites in Concord, at places where Thoreau visited (including Lowell, Boston, Salem, and Cape Cod), and many places where he didn’t visit. Smith has appeared at schools and public events and has done public readings of some of Thoreau’s essays, such as “Live without Principle,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “Walking.”

This event is free and open to the public, and no registration is required. For more information, call Northwoods Unitarian-Universalist Church at 281 298-2780.