23 April is celebrated as the International Day of the Book. Selected to commemorate the date on which two of the world’s greatest writers --Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and William Shakespeare-- died in 1616, this day is marked in many Hispanic cities by public readings of Cervantes’ masterpiece Don Quijote de la Mancha. In collaboration with Bethlehem’s Touchstone Theater, Muhlenberg will be hosting a marathon reading of Don Quijote from 22 to 23 April. The reading at Muhlenberg College will be accompanied by prints made from a rare set of Don Quixote engravings by William Strang (1902), part of the Martin Art Gallery’s Tonner Collection.
Other events scheduled throughout the year to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first half of Don Quijote include community reading circles and a conference held at Touchstone Theater with students in Dr. Sutherland’s fall Cervantes seminar. Creating yet another bridge between Muhlenberg and our surrounding community, neighboring universities, and local cultural organizations, these events have been designed to bring Don Quixote to life again.