MFA Residency Public Lecture and Reading Schedule -Friday, July 13th

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF LOCATION:

FRIDAY MORNING’S  9:30 am lecture with Alan Shapiro, and Charles Baxter’s 10:45 AM lecture have been moved from Fellowship Hall to NAB 110.

Here is the schedule for tomorrow, Friday, July 13th

 

Friday, July 13                 ALAN SHAPIRO: Poetry and Friendship
9:30 AM   NAB 110
This is a lecture on poetry (and the literary arts in general) as embodied intimacy, a form of connection and
belonging that may be drenched in contemporary culture but whose roots reach back to our human beginnings
(both as individuals and as a species).

Friday, July 13                   CHARLES BAXTER: Wonderlands
10:45 AM  NAB 110
In certain stories, plays, and novels, an x factor occurs so that a metaphorical door closes, whether in the mind or
in the physical universe, and subsequently reality becomes destabilized and nightmarish—becomes a
“Wonderland.” Both reader and character have trouble distinguishing what is ‘real’ from what mysterious x
factor is disrupting the mental or physical landscape. The landscape itself becomes subjectivized and seems to
reflect a dire psychological state or condition. It is as if the landscape itself is gazing back at the viewer or
character. Wonderlands reflect unstable political climates and can be deployed for political purposes,
particularly for minority groups. I haven’t settled on final texts, but I might end up discussing Macbeth,
Dostoevsky’s The Double, Daphne Du Maurier’s “Don’t Look Now,” and Jordan Peele’s film Get Out.

READINGS by GRADUATING STUDENTS

Friday, July 13 ~ 4:30 PM, Kittredge Theater, followed by Graduation Ceremony
William Burnside, Andres Reconco, Leah Nieboer, Anika Streitfeld, Megan Pinto