Posts Tagged 'Jennifer Shore'

‘The Curfew’ brings a dystopia to Chautauqua as CLSC selection

August 16, 2012·Comments closed

If the Chautauqua Institution were Oceania and the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle were The Party, Big Brother would want you to read The Curfew by Jesse Ball.

For those familiar with dystopian novels such as 1984, Brave New World and Anthem, the CLSC selection for Week Eight, The Curfew, is one to read.

The book follows William and his daughter, Molly, as they live with their heads down and remain indoors before the police-mandated curfew begins. After William’s wife is taken, he risks everything to venture out after dusk into war-torn surroundings where an uprising is building.

Ball will present a reading and lecture on his book at 3:30 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy.

Literary Arts

Former Poet Laureate Kooser joins Writers’ Center for Week Eight residency

August 15, 2012·Comments closed

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser has never been to Chautauqua, but he has sampled the Chautauqua experience.

Kooser lives in Nebraska, where annual Chautauqua events are held — along with others in central states, which are modeled on the original programming.

“I have been interested in the Chautauqua movement for many years, and it will be a pleasure to be there,” Kooser said.

Kooser, who said he is looking forward to being part of the Chautauqua community, will present a reading of his poems at 4 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy.

Literary Arts

Keep on writin’ in the free verse, says poet-in-residence Welsch

August 14, 2012·Comments closed

obert Frost once said free verse is like playing tennis without a net.

Gabriel Welsch, poet-in-residence for Week Eight, will keep that in mind during a Brown Bag Lecture, “Finding the Net: The Urge for Order in Contemporary Poetry” at 12:15 p.m. today on the Alumni Hall porch.

His lecture will focus on how contemporary poets have come of age in a time when there are not as many dominant modes to work with — as a result, poets tend to work in “received forms,” which already exist.

Literary Arts

Writers’ Center’s radical ideas include friendship, fiction and poetry

August 11, 2012·Comments closed

Week Eight at the Writers’ Center adds something extra to the classes and lectures — friendship.

Writers-in-residence J. David Stevens and Gabriel Welsch met while earning their master’s degrees at Penn State University, and they have remained close ever since.

Their families usually vacation together every year, but Welsch said he is excited to spend the week at Chautauqua as friends, vacationers and colleagues at the same time.

The week’s morning lecture platform is “Radicalism,” which Stevens will include in his weeklong workshop, “Writing on the Edge: Radical Fictions,” and Brown Bag Lecture, “Literary Radicalism: How Far Have We Really Come in 200 years?,” at 12:15 p.m. Friday on the Alumni Hall porch.

Literary Arts

Goodman offers food for writing inspiration in Brown Bag

August 10, 2012·Comments closed

Eggplant parmesan cooks for an hour at 400 degrees. Before that comes a lot of prep work, including chopping, breading and sautéing. After that, it is hard to refrain from second helpings, but Matthew Goodman sees the dish differently — in the tomatoes, a new world conquest in the old world; in the eggplant, the Arab invasion of Europe.

Goodman, prose writer-in-residence for Week Seven, will present a Brown Bag lecture, “From Plate to Page: Food as History, Food as Literature,” at 12:15 p.m. today on the Alumni Hall porch to discuss how food carries history — both social and personal.

Literary Arts

In crafting first book, CLSC author Harbach learns the art of novel writing

August 9, 2012·Comments closed

When Chad Harbach started to write The Art of Fielding, it was on the backburner.

Harbach will present the novel, his first, for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle at 3:30 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy.

The CLSC selection for Week Seven is a New York Times besteller and on the list of the New York Times’ “Best Books of 2011.” Yet when Harbach first started to write the novel in 2000, he was working as an assistant to a psychotherapist.

Literary Arts

CLSC brings Chautauqua back into Kurtz’s life

August 8, 2012·Comments closed

Ed Kurtz’s portrait hangs on the wall of his room.

Although the painting was created a few years ago, it still captures his vibrant personality, the connection he has to Chautauqua and his fashion sense, as it shows him standing among the jars of jam, flowers and piles of vegetables at the Farmers Market.

When Kurtz’s wife died three years ago, he decided to move into a care facility, where he primarily watched television — until Chautauqua came back into his life.

He read and/or listened to the 12 required books, and he will graduate today with the CLSC Class of 2012.

Literary Arts

‘Pillars of Understanding,’ 134 years of tradition support CLSC Class of 2012

August 8, 2012·Comments closed

For 134 years, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle has been an integral part of the Institution, and the 115 readers of the CLSC Class of 2012 will graduate and join the ranks of the historic book club’s alumni today.

“This is one of the binding events for Chautauquans,” said Jeff Miller, coordinator of CLSC activities. “Generations have done it, and each year, hundreds of people are added to the list of thousands and tens of thousands of graduates. As far as the service itself, we try and keep as many touches as we can to say it’s traditional.”

Literary Arts

Poet-in-residence considers metaphor as an artful lie

August 7, 2012·Comments closed

Poet-in-residence Julia Kasdorf will present a Brown Bag lecture, “Metaphor, the Artful Lie,” at 12:15 p.m. today at the Alumni Hall porch.

Kasdorf, whose poems have won a National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship and a Pushcart Prize, said she often returns to metaphor in her own writing and will examine how language can deceive readers and reveal truth.

“I’m going to be talking about metaphor as a principle that structures our thought, and as the basis of poetic imagination, and as a way of thinking that is not literally accurate as we think of it,” Kasdorf said.

Literary Arts

Krivak presents Chautauqua Prize-winning ‘The Sojourn’

August 6, 2012·Comments closed

The Chautauqua Prize was presented to Andrew Krivak for The Sojourn on Sunday at a Bestor Society event, but planning for the award can be likened to the lengthy process of writing a book itself.

Sherra Babcock, director of the Department of Education and Youth Services, spent years meticulously planning the prize, which nationally recognizes the author and “celebrates a book of fiction or literary/narrative nonfiction that provides a richly rewarding reading experience,” according to the release announcing the prize.

Thirty-six publishers nominated 65 books for the prize, and Babcock recruited 35 reviewers to narrow down the list. Each reviewer was a Chautauquan who has or had a profession related to books, Babcock said — some are professors or teachers of writing and literature, librarians, booksellers, editors, publishers or published writers.