Hundred-Year Book Debate
Vote for the best book from a hundred years ago!
Are books that were popular a hundred years ago still relevant today? That’s the question we ask every year.
Three distinguished panelists make a strong case for their books. The audience chooses the winner.
Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1926 Recap
Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1926 Recap
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Boston Public Library's Rabb Hall and Livestreamed on Zoom
Are books that were popular 100 years ago still relevant today? Each year at the Associates of the Boston Public Library’s Hundred-Year Book Debate, three distinguished panelists make the case for their chosen title—and the audience decides the winner. On February 10, 2026, more than 400 attendees joined us in person at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square and via Zoom for the 1926 debate featuring:
· The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, championed by scholar and curator Hilary Justice
· The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes, championed by literary performer Regie Gibson
· Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, championed by author and professor Jackie Horne
Dr. Hilary Justice explored the postwar world of Hemingway’s Lost Generation in The Sun Also Rises. Regie Gibson brought the Harlem Renaissance to life with a live performance of The Weary Blues. And Professor Jackie Horne charmed the audience with the enduring wisdom of Winnie-the-Pooh—complete with her 50-year-old Pooh bear in tow.
Curious who won? Watch the full video to find out.
Meet the 1926 Title presenters
Hilary K. Justice
Hilary K. Justice is the Patrick and Carol T. Hemingway Scholar-in-Residence at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where she is curator of Hemingway at the JFK, the definitive online resource for Hemingway's life, times, works, and legacy. An award-winning scholar and educator, she has published extensively on Ernest Hemingway, including her book, The Bones of the Others: The Hemingway Text from the Lost Manuscripts to the Posthumous Novels. A featured speaker at Hemingway conferences and events worldwide, she recently served as music consultant on Ken Burns's Hemingway documentary. She has served on the Boards of the International Hemingway Society and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park and currently serves on the Editorial Board of The Hemingway Review. She holds an A.B. in Music from Dartmouth College, an A.M. in English from Trinity College (Hartford), and a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from The University of Chicago.
Regie Gibson
Literary performer, Regie Gibson, has performed in the U.S., Cuba & Europe. Regie received both the Absolute Poetry Award in Monfalcone & The Europa in Versi Award in LaGuardia di Como. He’s a Brother Thomas Fellow & received two Live Arts Boston Grants to develop The Juke: A Blues Bacchae, which intersects the ancient Greek tragedy with African-American spiritual & musical culture. He’s also the creator of The Shakespeare Time-Traveling Speakeasy— a theatrical, literary-concert. Regie has consulted for the NEA & the “Mere Distinction of Color” exhibit at James Madison’s Montpelier home on American slavery & the U.S. Constitution. He’s composed texts for choral ensembles, including the Handel+Haydn Society & features with the Lexington Symphony. He teaches at Berklee College of Music and Clark University and is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Jackie C. Horne
Jackie C. Horne worked for a decade in children’s book publishing before returning to academia to earn an M.A. in Children’s Literature from Simmons College and a Ph.D. in 18th and 19th century British literature from Brandeis University. As an Assistant Professor at the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons, she taught courses on Fantasy and Science Fiction for Children and Young Adults, Multicultural Literature, and Writing Pedagogy. She is the author of History and the Construction of the Child in Early British Children’s Literature, the editor of Conversations with Madeleine L’Engle, and the co-editor of The Wind in the Willows: A Children's Classic at 100 and The Secret Garden: A Children's Classic at 100. She has also written seven historical romances published under the pen name Bliss Bennet.
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises (free download) by Ernest Hemingway is about the "Lost Generation" of American and British expatriates in post-World War I Europe. Following journalist Jake Barnes and the independent Lady Brett Ashley from Paris to the bullfights in Pamplona, Spain, the novel explores themes of disillusionment, lost love, and moral decay through sparse, powerful prose.
The Weary Blues
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh (free download) by A. A. Milne is a classic children's book featuring the adventures of a teddy bear and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, including Christopher Robin, Piglet, and Eeyore, brought to life by E. H. Shepard's illustrations. After World War I, A. A. Milne turned from adult writing to children’s stories, drawing inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh from his son Christopher Robin’s stuffed animals and Winnie, the London Zoo bear adopted by Canadian World War I veteran Harry Colebourn and named after Winnipeg.
Meet the moderator
Kennedy Elsey
Kennedy Elsey will moderate this debate for the fifth year. She is the co-host of the popular morning radio program Karson and Kennedy, on Mix 104.1. Raised in suburban Chicago, Kennedy spent countless hours at the Wheaton Public Library, where a lifelong love of books was nurtured—thanks in large part to her mother, who read to her every morning at breakfast.
Kennedy is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a double major in Theater and Psychology. She is also a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, serving on the board of Samaritans and raising funds through initiatives such as Your Light Is Needed and Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk.
Previous Hundred-Year Book Debates
To read about the previous debates click below to expand each section.
