Table Reading: What is Freedom?

Join for a session of careful, attentive live reading and interpretation of “What is Freedom” from The School of Public Life by the late Fred Dewey. Table Reading sessions are hosted at Beyond Baroque, led by Renee Petropoulos and the Fred Rogers Dewey Legacy Project (FRDLP).

Historically, these sessions presented texts from the work of Hannah Arendt, but the FRDLP is celebrating Dewey’s work by reviving this series with one of his own texts: “What Is Freedom,” the last chapter of his book The School of Public Life. This project involves participants reading aloud around a table and interpreting the text as each pulls meaning from it. The activity is a public interpretation of ideas, read together without “expertise,” but with mind and heart. Following Dewey’s commitment to her work, this series will include readings of Hannah Arendt as we move through the months.

We will follow Fred’s model for the Working Group, which entails that we, a group of interested individuals, will engage with a text with no prior knowledge of it. So, there is no need to read anything ahead of time—the text will be passed out at the table. Just come, sit, and read with us. We look forward to your presence.

Renée Petropoulos is an artist living in Venice, California. She has shown and performed her work internationally and is the recipient of many awards for her work. She is also part of the Fred Dewey Legacy Project, a group created to promote the life work of Fred Dewey. Most recently, she has performed at the Broad Museum and the Wende Museum (2022), continuing with her project Among Nations (Mostly).

This event is Free & In-Person at Beyond Baroque.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, staff, fellow attendees, or performers.

Host or Publisher Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center