It’s Valentine’s Day, and you know what that means: a free reading by Haki Madhubuti and Amina Gautier at the Lincoln Park campus! Join us from 6-8 p.m. in room 103 of the Arts & Letters Hall for this great event co-sponsored by African and Black Diaspora Studies and the Department of English!
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The University of Saint Thomas Graduate English Department is hosting its annual conference in April, and they have issued a Call for Papers to all graduate students.
The UST English Graduate Program will hold its annual conference on FRIDAY, APRIL 27th, 2012, 12:30-8:00 p.m.
While papers addressing any aspect of literature and culture will be considered, the graduate program particularly welcomes proposals for papers exploring the topic of “Writing as a Public Act.”
As an election year is before us, the idea of how writing is used in the public forum comes to the forefront, and with it a set of more particular questions of how the activity or the vocation of writing as a creative or artistic endeavor might be understood in this context. For instance:
How can we distinguish between the “public” and the “political” dimensions of a literary text, or of the activity of attempting to bring such a text into being and to share it with readers?
How do writers influence political rhetoric? How do they raise consciousness about central social concerns? What is the role, historically and today, of protest poetry, postcolonial narratives, satires and cultural critiques? Does writing polemically or advocating for social justice strip literary art of its artistry?
Many writers of the past and today see their role as advocating for certain viewpoints within their art; others think that art must somehow remain “universal” or depoliticized; how are we to understand / balance / adjudicate among the claims of the ethical, the rhetorical, and the aesthetic in our consideration of the literary or cultural text?
We invite writers to submit papers that focus on these themes in their broad contexts. What are the theoretical challenges of reading texts that deal with these concerns? We encourage analysis of literary, cultural, cinematic texts that explore themes concerning “writing as a public act” in their political, psychological, social, economic, or philosophical contexts.
E-mail two-page (maximum) proposals for individual presentations or for panels of three to Catherine Craft-Fairchild (c9craftfairc@stthomas.edu). Final papers should take 15 minutes (20 minutes maximum) to present.
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS IS MONDAY, APRIL 3rd, 2012.
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On Friday, February 17th at 8:00 p.m. in the DePaul Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden, Composer Kurt Westerberg, Humanities Center Fellow and Chair of the Department of Musicianship Studies and Composition at DePaul, will present the inaugural performance of his newest work: Vision and Prayer (on a text by Dylan Thomas). This performance, presented by DePaul School of Music’s New Music DePaul series, represents a unique opportunity for DePaul students to experience the vivid intersection of literature and music.
Westerberg on Vision and Prayer (on a text by Dylan Thomas) (2011):
“I have been acquainted with Dylan Thomas’ poetry since childhood and have wanted to set this particular poem, but avoided it because of its length and because it had been previously set to music by composers such as Milton Babbitt and Bernard Rands. However, its imagery and shaped strophes consistently intrigued and appealed to me [and these] shapes are reflected in the music on various levels ….There are phrases and images that run throughout each part and even throughout the entire poem (‘wren bone’, ‘midwives’, ‘in the name of’) and these are set with similar musical ideas whenever they appear….other voices sustain, expand or ‘comment’ (sometimes ironically) on the principal text, sometimes quoting from Mozart, Duruflé, French Nativity Carols, bluegrass, ‘Amazing Grace’, and, since Thomas was Welsh, ‘All Through the Night’.”
For more information about the event, contact the DePaul School of Music (773-325-7260; music@depaul.edu; music.depaul.edu).
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Buried Letter Press invites everyone to submit your writing to their monthly publication. They are looking for creative and critical essays about poetry, fiction, nonfiction, music, visual art, and more. They publish monthly, so this could be a great way for you to get some publication credits added to that CV, as well as supporting a fun new artistic venture.
Visit their website for more information, to submit, and to read their latest edition.