The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New society aims to bring Barrie out of ‘Peter Pan’s shadow’
AUTHOR: Writer penned plays and other books as well as legendary work
A new literary society is being launched to encourage readers to appreciate the full breadth of an Angus writer’s genius.
JM Barrie was born in Kirriemuir in 1860 and died in 1937 in London, where he wrote a number of successful novels and plays.
The novelist and playwright, who studied at Edinburgh University, was one of the highest-earning dramatists in Britain but today he is chiefly remembered for writing Peter Pan.
The JM Barrie Literary Society wants to change that and “celebrate the breadth and depth of his dramatic, fictional and non-fiction writing”.
The society will be officially launched on May 9 at 2pm at the Barrie Pavilion, Kirrie Hill, on what would have been his birthday.
There will be a talk by society founder Cally Phillips as well as the opportunity to join the group and find out about its plans for the future.
She said: “Our goal is to bring the works of JM Barrie out of the shadows of Peter Pan.
“We hope to encourage both reading for pleasure and critical commentary of his prose and drama.
“We welcome members who know a lot, or a little about Barrie’s work.
“Our main interest is in exploring Barrie’s textual output rather than biographical fact or fiction.
“We hope for this to be a place where people can voice and share their opinions and where all can learn from each other.
“We think Barrie would both have appreciated and enjoyed the flexibility of this suggestion.”
She said Barrie’s work is of much greater significance than he has been given credit for, either in the academic world or by the reading public.
Joining the society is free for a limited period but donations are welcome to help cover the costs of getting it off the ground.
Anyone interested in finding out more should email jmbarriesociety@gmail. com or go to www.jmbarriesociety.co.uk or www.facebook.com/jmbarriesociety. gstrachan@thecourier.co.uk