News And Events

ESU Happy Hour

Most of Frederic W. Schwartz, Jr.'s Seven Ages of membership in The English-Speaking Union,
with apologies to William Shakespeare

Join us for our next ESU Happy Hour on July 28, 2021 at 4:00 pm Central Time with Frederic W. Schwartz, Jr. This is a free program but registration is required. Click here to register.

Mr. Schwartz was invited in 1964 to join the Providence Branch of The English-Speaking Union after he returned from an idyllic summer at Balliol reading metaphysical poetry under the tutelage of a great-great-great cousin of William Wordsworth and drinking too much sherry. Read More

 

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Celebrating Centennial Stories: An evening of Storytelling

June 24, 2021, 4:00 PM CDT

Join us this Thursday, June 24th at 4 pm CDT in Celebrating Centennial Stories: An evening of Storytelling! This will be an exhilarating evening of stories, exploring how, since its founding 100 years ago, the English-Speaking Union has been enriching lives and changing futures. During this special event, we'll be unveiling our new virtual time capsule website, which compiles all submitted ESU stories to the 100 Years, 100 Stories Project. 

The 100 Years 100 Stories project presents a snapshot of the impact and achievements made by ESU's members, volunteers, students, tutors, and anyone ever touched by ESU's programming over the past 100 years. The event will feature an exclusive performance by the Oxford Philharmonic and spotlight the winners of the 'Outstanding Story' Award. We will also be joined by some very special guests, who will be speaking about their enriching relationship with the ESU. 

The ESU Kansas City Branch has submitted three video stories, two written stories, and Kansas City member, Ben Martin, also submitted a written story

The program is free and open to ESU members and the public. Optional donations are also welcome. Your gift will support the design and maintenance of the website and will help underwrite the storytelling competition prizes. Click here for a list of the donation levels and what you will receive for each level of donation. Immortalize your name in the ESU Centennial Virtual Time Capsule by making a donation today.

Be sure to register for this free exciting and historic program of storytelling today.

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ESU Happy Hour

Storied & Scandalous Kansas City—A History of Corruption, Mischief, and a Whole lot of Booze

Guest Speaker: Karla Deel

Friday, May 21 from 6:00-7:00 PM (EDT)

Our next Happy Hour guest speaker is author and publisher Karla Deel. Her book, "Storied & Scandalous Kansas City—A History of Corruption, Mischief and a Whole Lot of Booze," is an in-depth account of how Kansas City operated in its early days with mobsters, bootleggers, madams, political bosses, and raucous entertainers who truly brought the party to the plains even during Prohibition.

Join us for this free Happy Hour program on Friday, May 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM CDT. Happy Hour programs are free but registration is required. Please register here:

Register Here 


When the ESU Kansas City Branch was founded in 1920, Kansas City was one notorious and scandal-ridden town. Karla will tell the storied history of Kansas City—the Paris of the Plains. You'll witness the best parades, the wackiest costumes, and the wildest scams. Kansas City's sordid underbelly is full of surprises sure to delight and entice—the odd, macabre, and delightful.

Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look at Kansas City in its early days. We will have a door prize drawing for her book, "Storied & Scandalous Kansas City." Read More.

 

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ESU Happy Hour

ESU Happy Hour:

Best-Selling Author: Joby Warrick

Red Line: A True Life Thriller

The true story of the most daring disarmament feat of modern times.

 

ESU's next Happy Hour features best-selling author and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Joby Warrick who has written the true story of the most daring disarmament feat of modern times. Join ESU members and Friends on Wednesday, May 12 at 3:00 pm for this fascinating ESU Happy Hour program. It's a free online program but registration is required.

 

Warrick's story is a  character-driven narrative with a cast of heroes and villains, including weapons hunters, politicians, doctors, diplomats, and spies. Drawing on astonishing original reporting, Warrick reveals how the United States embarked on a bold adventure to prevent one catastrophe but could not avoid a tragic chain of events that empowered America's enemies. Read more.

 

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ESU Happy Hour

Shake Up Shakespeare

Guest Speaker: Carol Ann Lloyd

Our next Happy Hour program features Carol Ann Lloyd—a speaker, educator and writer who shares English history and Shakespeare with a broad audience across the US and abroad. She takes a fresh look at Shakespeare's works and presents them in a way anyone can appreciate his literary talents. Join us on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 3:00 pm (CDT). It is a free program but registration is required.

For more than 400 years, Shakespeare and his plays have been part of our lives. From the playhouses of the sixteenth century to the American Wild West, and from formal theatres to high school festivals, Shakespeare's stories have resonated around the world. Shakespeare created worlds our of words that continue to inform and shape our language and our culture. Read More.

 

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The English-Speaking Union

Kansas City Branch

Kansas City Branch Landmark Photo