Thirty years ago, a peaceful demonstration by university students in the Czechoslovakian capital of Prague set off a chain of events that effectively brought communist rule in the country to an end. Based on actual events, the 2014 film Listopad: A Memory of the Velvet Revolution tells the story of three teenage boys who were swept up in the 10-day bloodless overthrow. The Library screens the 90-minute, Czech-language film (with English subtitles). Producer Jeffrey Brown then leads a discussion of the impact of nonviolent action by ordinary, engaged citizens, which in 1989 was instrumental in transforming authoritarian rule into democracy.

Kick off the holiday season with a great movie on the big screen: 2004’s magical, visually stunning The Polar Express starring Tom Hanks (rated G). Appropriate for all ages.

Adrienne Walker Hoard began her long relationship with South Africa’s Ndzundza Ndebele people in 1996. The country was settling into democratization, and she would observe over two decades of visits how it impacted the life and art of the Ndebeles' exceptionally creative women.

There may be no more ardent disciple of literature today than John Freeman, founder of Freeman’s anthology of new writing and the former editor of Granta. In his new Dictionary of the Undoing, he takes exception to what he sees as a great affront in these agitated times—an assault on language that’s robbing words of the meanings they once had.