Olga Livshin will discuss how culture, translation, history, current events and her own biography intermingle in her 2019 book of poems, A Life Replaced, which reflects on the experience of living as an immigrant under the Trump administration and with Putin’s war on Ukraine looming. Raised in Odessa and Moscow, Livshin writes witness poetry about xenophobia, war, and strongmen at the helm on both sides of the world. The book braids original poetry in English with translations from Anna Akhmatova, the great poet of 20th-century Russia, and Vladimir Gandelsman, fellow immigrant and winner of the Moscow Reckoning, Russia’s highest prize for poetry. Livshin’s poems, translations, and essays appear in The Kenyon Review and Poetry International, and are widely published. She holds a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literature, and taught at the university level for a number of years before focusing on writing and translation.
Please join us in the May Room for a reception immediately following the lecture.
Sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University and by the Russian Department at Wheaton College.
Tommy “Teebs” Pico describes himself as a poet (he guesses), a screenwriter (or whatever), a co-host of a dumb podcast for jerks, and begrudgingly as a performer. His books, IRL, Nature Poem, Junk and Feed have received numerous accolades including the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, a Lambda Literary Award, an American Book Award and the prestigious Whiting Award.
Wheaton alumna Sandra Yannone’s poetry amplifies the split-second when the everyday turns into catastrophe; the moment of impact when knowing and unknowing collide; the fusion of before and after. And the aftermaths. All constellate here in Yannone’s first full-length collection, Boats for Women, to orient us toward that “choice/to turn toward a sacred face, a turn/toward your own longing to live.”
Seniors graduating with a degree in creative writing and literature showcase original works of poetry, fiction and dramatic writing.
Author and editor Kathryn Kulpa, winner of the Vella Chapbook Contest for her flash fiction chapbook Girls on Filmand the Mid-List Press First Series Award for her short story collection Pleasant Drugs, is also the author of Who’s the Skirt?, a micro-chapbook published by the Origami Poems Project. Kupla, whose work has also been featured in anthologies and literary magazines will read from her recent work.
As part of the Wheaton Institute for the Interdisciplinary Humanities’ symposium on Narrative Medicine and the Healing Arts, guest co-host, Haas Visiting Artist and poet Sarah Gambito and Performance Artist Robbie McCauley read from their works. Professor Gambito, director of Fordham University’s MFA creative writing program, brings a poet’s mind to psychic, emotional, and physical healing. Emerson College Professor Emerita Robbie McCauley uses methodologies of theatre and storytelling to address charged issues of race and to frame the personal through the large.
Please join us for an evening with Frederick Wiseman. In our conversation with this award-winning documentary filmmaker, we will explore the creative process that drives his work, as well as his approach to our shared human experience. We will also watch excerpts from his acclaimed documentary EX LIBRIS and we will have the opportunity to ask him questions. A reception will be held in the Woolley Room immediately following the talk. This event is sponsored by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through Wheaton College’s initiative on integrative learning in the humanities. All are welcome to attend.
Campus movie showings: Four screenings of EX LIBRIS have been scheduled in advance of Mr. Wiseman’s visit. Click here for dates and times to watch one of the campus movie showings that fits your schedule.
Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman will be on campus on October, 3, 2018 at 5:00 pm in the Holman Room. We invite the campus community to view his award-winning documentary, EX LIBRIS at one of the four scheduled show times on campus.
EX LIBRIS – The New York Public Library, goes behind the scenes of one of the greatest knowledge institutions in the world and reveals it as a place of welcome, cultural exchange and learning. With 92 branches throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, the library is committed to being a resource for all the inhabitants of this multifaceted and cosmopolitan city, and beyond. The New York Public Library exemplifies the deeply rooted American belief in the individual’s right to know and be informed. It is one of the most democratic institutions in America – everyone is welcome. Sponsored by The Andrew Mellon Foundation
Campbell is the author of the speculative fiction novel TreeVolution and the story collection Circe’s Bicycle. Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous literary magazines. Much of what she writes is crossover sci-fi, or speculative fiction, about what happens when an ordinary person (or creature) faces extraordinary circumstances. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, she currently lives in Washington D.C.
Dennigan is the author of three books, including her most recent, Palace of Sub-Atomic Bliss (Canarium Books, 2016). Her work has appeared in Boston Review, Poetry Magazine and the Bennington Review. She teaches at the University of Connecticut.