Believe it or not, next week begins the month of October, and once again, there are tons of great literary events happening on and around campus. Grab your calendars, and we’ll see you there!
One Book One Chicago at Depaul- Oct. 2nd and 10th
Every year, the city of Chicago and Chicago Public Libraries host a series of events for the One Book, One Chicago (OBOC) program, an “opportunity to engage and enlighten our residents, foster a sense of community and create a culture of reading in our city.” DePaul University is proud to be the host of two OBOC events this October:
The Book Thief and the History of Reading
Tuesday, October 2nd, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
DePaul University, Lincoln Park Campus
Arts and Letters Hall, Room 207
2315 N. Kenmore Avenue
For The Book Thief’s Liesel Meminger, reading is a means of both resistance and reconciliation. With attention to literature’s changing material and interpretive practices, DePaul faculty—Jenny Conary and Marcy Dinius, English; Lisa Z. Sigel, History; and Traci Schlesinger, Sociology—discuss what it has meant to be a reader in different times and places, from early modern Europe to today. Sponsored by DePaul University’s Department of English.
The Book as Object
Wednesday, October 10th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
DePaul University, Lincoln Park Campus
John T. Richardson Library, Room 400
2350 N. Kenmore Avenue
A book exists as more than just a vessel for the written word—it’s an artwork, a collectible and, of course, a target for thieves. Join librarian Kathryn DeGraff and artist Matthew Girson, along with cultural critic Rachel Shteir, author of The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, as they discuss various personal and cultural ways of experiencing The Book beyond reading. Sponsored by DePaul University’s Department of English.
To find out more about OBOC, this year’s selection, and other events around the city, visit the official OBOC events page. All OBOC events are free and open to the public.
Rose Metal Press Flash Nonfiction Reading- Sept. 28th
Rose Metal Press, co-founded by the DePaul English Department’s Kathleen Rooney, will be celebrating the release of their new book The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction, which “features 26 eminent writers, editors, and teachers offering expert analysis, focused exercises, and helpful examples of what make the brief essay form such a perfect medium for experimentation, insight, and illumination” with a reading this Friday, September 28th.
The reading will take place at The Book Cellar, located at 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave., and will feature readings by new DePaul faculty member Barrie Jean Borich, as well as Phillip Graham, Jenny Boully and Sue William Silverman, who are all featured in the collection. This event is free and open to the public. See the event page for more information.
DePaul Humanities Center Presents: Indigenous Poetry- Oct. 4th
The DePaul Humanities Center invites everyone to join them at the opening event for the Humanities Center’s New Voices in the Humanities series on Thursday, October 4th, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in room 314 of the DePaul Student Center (a reception will precede at 5:30 pm) for an evening of poetry and discussion with three of North America’s most exciting young Indigenous poets.
Natalie Diaz, Santee Frazier, and Orlando White will read selections from their poetry, followed by a discussion and audience Q&A moderated by DePaul Professor Mark Turcotte, exploring ways in which the poets’ Native beliefs and traditions influence and are expressed in their art.
Click on the poster to read more about this event and its three featured poets.
Visiting Writer’s Series: “Writer as Editor/ Editor as Writer” – Oct 5th
The second event in the DePaul Visiting Writer’s Series features Phong Nguyen and Michael Nye and
is entitled “Writer as Editor/Editor as Writer” and it takes place on Friday October 5th from 11:30 AM-1:30 PM in Room 115 of the Richardson Library. Lunch will be served.
Please click on the poster for more information about the two featured writers and their upcoming conversation.
Society of Midland Authors Presents: An Evening with Mahmoud Saeed – Oct. 9th
Chicago author and DePaul Visiting Professor Mahmoud Saeed, a native of Iraq, will discuss his novel The World Through the Eyes of Angels, in a Society of Midland Authors program Oct. 9th at the Cliff Dwellers Club, along with one of his translators, Allen Salter of Chicago.
Saeed has written more than 20 novels and short story collections, starting with “Port Saeed and Other Stories” in 1963. That same year, Iraq’s first military-Baathist government seized two of his novels and imprisoned him for a year. After being incarcerated six times, Saeed left Iraq in 1985. He has lived in the United States since 1999, and he now teaches Arabic and Arabic culture at DePaul University.
Salter has lived and traveled in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. He has worked as a teacher and translator. Under the pseudonyms Sam Reaves and Dominic Martell, he has published 10 novels.
They will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan Ave., 22nd floor, Chicago. A social hour, with complimentary snacks and a cash bar, begins at 6 p.m. Reservations are not required. Admission is free, but the Society will accept donations to defray the cost of programs. For more information, see www.midlandauthors.com.