(Ending) Poverty Exhibit in Penrose

Sojourn Theatre’s How to End Poverty in Ninety Minutes, in production at Whitman’s Freimann Studio Theatre from April 13-17, will offer audience members the opportunity to try to answer the question, “How do we attack the problem of poverty in America?” as they collectively determine how to spend $1000 dollars to help address this problem. More information on the participatory performance, directed by Jessica Cerullo, can be found on the Harper Joy Theatre blog.

In conjunction with the performance, Penrose Library has created a display of books and artifacts related to poverty in the United States. Students in Jenna Terry’s Intermediate Composition class chose these artifacts related to poverty in Walla Walla from holdings in the Whitman College and Northwest Archives. The students have provided brief examinations of their findings as part of this exhibit; their more extensive explanations in audio form will be available in the theatre lobby during the run of the production.

Whether or not you will attend the performance – but especially if you will – we invite you to consider historical, political, and economic contexts of poverty presented in the books from Penrose Library’s collection, on display through April 18. All books in this display may be checked out.

Display credit: Sarah Owen, with Jen Pope. Thanks to Bill Huntington and Melissa Salrin in the Archives for the scans.