If “A Respectable Woman” wanted to don “A Pair of Silk Stockings” to travel “Beyond the Bayou” and into “The Unexpected,” it would be “A Very Fine Fiddle” to get in on The Awakening of the memory of a St. Louis native.
That would be writer Kate Chopin, who was born here in 1850, and died here in 1904. Though she spent much of her young adulthood in New Orleans, her presence is still felt—on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, at St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Oakland House in Affton, and in her final home on McPherson.
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On March 11, a bust of Chopin (sculpted by locally based artist Jaye Gregory, and comissioned by the Central West End Association), will join ranks with Tennessee Williams and T.S. Eliot in the “Writer’s Corner” at Euclid and McPherson. This new dedication presents a chance to revisit the gorgeous melancholy of her works, and reflect on her legacy with Chopin family members. Whether celebration extends to repeated literary puns is up to you.
The dedication happens at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, with a reception to follow from 3-5 p.m. at Herbie’s Restaurant (405 N. Euclid). Tickets are $35 for Association members and $45 for non-members; call 314-367-2220 to order. Cost includes French wine and hors d’oeurves to set the mood for literary discussion, and a book signing by Chopin family members. For more information, visit https://www.katechopin.org/bust.shtml.
