Monday, January 30, 2012

Belmont Hosts Poet Chad Sweeney on February 9


On Thursday, February 9 (7:30 p.m., Multimedia Hall, Bunch Library), Belmont will host poet, translator, and professor Chad Sweeney for a reading and lecture, followed by Q&A (Culture & Arts convo credit offered). According to Belmont professor Gary McDowell, Sweeney's poetry, "with leanings toward the surreal and fantastical, offers spiritual enlightenment while liquefying the boundaries between imagination and the very world it inhabitshis work always surprises, always transforms, and always inspires its audience." A video clip of such work can be found here. Be sure to mark your calendars for this exciting event!


Below is Sweeney's biographical info from http://www.chadsweeney.com/bio.html:

"Chad Sweeney is a poet and translator. He is the author of four books of poetry, Parable of Hide and Seek (Alice James, 2010), Arranging the Blaze (Anhinga, 2009)An Architecture (BlazeVox, 2007), and Wolf Milk: Lost Poems of Juan Sweeney (Forklift, 2012, bilingual English/Spanish). He is the translator (from the Persian, with Mojdeh Marashi) of The Selected Poems of H.E. Sayeh:The Art of Stepping Through Time (White Pine, 2011). He has published five chapbooks of poetry, including A Mirror to Shatter the Hammer (Tarpaulin Sky, 2006) and the bilingual (English/Spanish) Lost Notebooks of Juan Sweeney de las Minas de Cobre (Forklift, 2010), which has been translated into Catalán by poet Anna Aguilar-Amat of Barcelona. Sweeney edited the anthology Days I Moved Through Ordinary Sounds: the Teachers of WritersCorps in Poetry and Prose (CityLights, 2009) and is coeditor of Parthenon West Review, a print journal of contemporary poetry, translation and essays, based in San Francisco. Chad’s poems have appeared in Best American Poetry 2008, The Pushcart Prize Anthology 2011, American Poetry Review, Black Warrior, New American Writing, Colorado Review, Denver Qtly, Verse, Volt, Barrow Street and The Writers Almanac. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and is a PhD candidate at Western Michigan University. He teaches poetry in the MFA program at California State University, San Bernardino, and lives in Redlands, California with his wife, poet Jennifer K. Sweeney, and their son Liam." 

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Liberating Voice of Philosophy

Tomorrow evening, January 25 at 7 p.m. in the Massey Boardroom, Dr. Philip Edward Phillips will deliver a talk titled "The Liberating Voice of Philosophy: The Function of Poetry in Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy." Dr. Phillips, a Belmont alumnus, is Professor of English and Interim Associate Dean of the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. His teaching and research areas include medieval and early modern literature, Milton and the epic tradition, Boethius and the vernacular translations of The Consolation of Philosophy, and Poe and early nineteenth-century American literature.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Still Time for Tragedy


That's right. If you haven't already caught former Tennessee Titan Eddie George as Julius Caesar in the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's winter production, there's still time.  Today, NPR featured Eddie in an All Things Considered story.

The final weekend of the production starts this Thursday, the 26th, and runs through Sunday, the 29th. Because of popular demand, a performance on Sunday, the 29th, has been added at 7:30 p.m. All shows are at Belmont's Troutt Theater, and student tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Additional information can be found at: http://nashvilleshakes.org/wintershakespeare.htm


Thursday, January 19, 2012

English Club Kicks Off Spring Lecture Series

The English Club proudly announces its annual Spring Lecture Series beginning next Friday. Dr. Douglas Murray will kick off the series on Friday, January 27 at 10 a.m. in Massey 100 with his lecture, “English Comfort/English Discomfort: Conflicting Cultural Spaces in Jane Austen’s Emma” (academic lecture convocation credit available). Please mark your calendars now for Dr. Murray's lecture on the 27th!

The Spring Lecture Series is designed for students (particularly English majors and minors) to see the kinds of work and subjects their faculty are interested in beyond the classroom. Subsequently, there will be presentations by Dr. Andrea Stover, Dr. Gary McDowell, and a panel discussion by Dr. Marcia McDonald, Dr. Cynthia Cox, and Professor Sue Trout.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Study Abroad Opportunities for Belmont Students

Dr. Maggie Monteverde, Assistant Provost for International Education and Programs Away, would like to remind students that a number of summer, study-abroad opportunites are still open for applicants. If you are interested in study abroad this summer, please mark your calendars for an informational meeting on January 27 at 10:00 a.m. in MBC 103.

In addition, English majors may be interested in several of the upcoming semester-abroad programs. Dr. Monteverde will host a meeting regarding these semester-long programs on February 17 at 10 a.m. in MBC 103 (convo credit available for this meeting). Please make plans to attend!

Nashville Public Library Presents "Nevermore"

from Nashville Public Library press release...

NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY PRESENTS “NEVERMORE”

Nashville Public Library presents a new series entitled "Night at the Library" which will consist of diverse programming for all ages throughout the year. The premiere event, "Nevermore” will take place Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m. and will feature a performance by film and television star Jeffrey Combs. A reception will be held prior to the performance at 6:15 p.m. Combs will be performing as the brilliant but tragic poet and storyteller Edgar Allan Poe in honor of the bicentennial of the author’s birth. He will recite Poe’s most famous poem “The Raven” as well as other selections including “The Tell–tale Heart” and “Annabel Lee.” The production is directed by Stuart Gordon and co-written by Dennis Paoli.

WHAT: Night at the Library series featuring "Nevermore." The event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m. (reception at 6:15 p.m.)

WHERE: Nashville Public Library