Sleepy Hollow: Washington Irving and Popular Culture

Open University of Wellfleet presents Sleepy Hollow: Washington Irving and Popular Culture Instructor: John Dennis Anderson Dates: Wednesdays, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18 Time: 1pm-3pm Location: Wellfleet Preservation Hall Washington Irving and his work have been a pervasive presence in American pop culture for over a century. Best known as the author of mythical tales of a terrifying Headless Horseman and Rip Van Winkle’s twenty-year sleep, Irving was the first professional American man of letters. His pop cultural legacy ranges from Joseph Jefferson’s 40-year-run on stage as Rip Van Winkle, to Irving himself as a character in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, to many film and TV adaptations of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” that include Walt Disney’s 1949 animated version, Tim Burton’s 1999 horror film Sleepy Hollow, and a popular 2013-2017 TV series. The class will read select works by Irving and adaptations of them and survey the range of works he inspired. $60