Anniversary Edition – Stephen King: IT

Anniversary Book – Stephen King: IT

 For the third installment of our event series, we’ll take a closer look at Stephen King’s cult classic novel, IT, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its publication this year.

The evening’s guest speaker: Krisztián Kovács, writer and communications director at Agave Books.

Stephen King: IT — Childhood, Trauma, and the Thousand Faces of Evil

Why has It become one of the essential classics of modern horror? What makes it work simultaneously as a terrifying horror novel, a generational story, a sociological study, and a poignant coming-of-age novel?

During the lecture, we’ll the novel’s genesis, the myths and decay of small-town America, the town of Derry as a living organism, and how Stephen King intertwines supernatural horror with very real human traumas: abuse, exclusion, childhood fears, and the distortion of memory.

The evening explores the novel’s narrative structure, its film adaptations, its cultural impact, as well as why the character of Pennywise is so much more than a “simple” horror clown. Because in King’s world, the real monster is rarely what it seems at first glance.

The lecture is intended for both long-time fans of the novel and those who would like to understand how a thousand-page horror novel became a modern American myth.

Agora Chamber Hall

Admission is free.