Monthly Archives: September 2018

Communal Aesthetics — This past week, my family and I participated in Chihuly Nights at the Biltmore House in Asheville.  During this special evening viewing of the garden exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures, the artwork is made even more striking by the use of lighting effects.  The light plays off the colored glass, deepening the hues and sometimes creating a prism effect.  The light also plays off the plants in the garden, casting dramatic shadows and enhancing the visual connections between the plants and the glass sculptures.  Since Chihuly draws much of his inspiration from the botanical world, participating in Chihuly Nights is like touring a wondrous midnight garden.

Chihuly Nights has proven to be very popular. On the night that we went, we were joined by hundreds of other people as we wandered down the dimly lit garden paths and gazed at the glass sculptures.  For me, viewing this exhibition in the presence of many other admirers of Chihuly’s art made the visit even more pleasurable.  I did not know any of these people, but we were brought together through a shared aesthetic experience.  I enjoyed observing the other participants’ reactions to the sculptures and listening to their comments.  On several occasions, a person standing next to me struck up a brief conversation with me about some aspect of the artwork that we were viewing together.  For the span of a few hours, the participants in Chihuly Nights became part of a community–a community that flickered into existence because of the catalyst of Chihuly’s sculptures.

My interest in communal aesthetics is not limited to the visual arts.  One of the reasons I helped establish the Center City Literary Festival is that it provides participants with an opportunity to enjoy oral readings of poems and stories in the presence of other people who turn to the literary arts for pleasure and meaning.  To this end, I am pleased to report that Angie Williams and I met last week with Ann Duplessis, the Associate Director of UNC Charlotte Center City, and we worked out the financial details for this year’s Center City Literary Festival.  Although we still have not set a firm date for the festival, we know that it will take place in March 2019.

As I see it, Chihuly Nights and the Center City Literary Festival both tap into the the communal aesthetic that I associate with shared cultural experiences.  This type of shared experience adds a new dimension to the works of art that the participants are enjoying together. The actual work of art, be it a glass sculpture of red reeds or a poem about a dodo bird, doesn’t change when it is the focal point of a communal aesthetic experience, but the perception of it does change.  I am reminded of the umami flavor that foodies often mention.  It is hard to define, but it makes a real difference.

English Learning Community News — The English Learning Community volunteered at KidsFest on Saturday.  Members set up an activity table and helped kids of all ages create bookmarks.  The festival was well attended, and the ELC stayed busy throughout the day making sure their young visitors had fun.

Kudos  — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department.  Here is the latest news:

Allison Hutchcraft and Juan Meneses have published two translations of contemporary Spanish poet Concha García’s poems in the current issue of The Massachusetts Review.

Quirky Quiz Question — The exhibit of Chihuly glass sculptures at the Biltmore House will close on October 7.  However, there is a long-term exhibit of his work at a museum called Chihuly Garden and Glass, which is located in the city where Dale Chihuly currently lives.  What is the the name of this city?

Zero Mostel won a Tony Award for his performance in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  Two years later he won the Tony Award for his performance in another musical in which he played a character named Tevye.  What is the title of this 1964 musical hit?  

A Funny Thing Happened — I think that the word forum is more interesting than the word meeting, although the two words are listed as synonyms in most dictionaries.  What I like about the word forum is that it has two related meanings.  According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, the word can be used when referring to “a public meeting involving audience discussion,” but it can also be used when referring to “a public meeting place for open discussion.”  The word forum also has interesting historical and cultural associations.  The word dates back to the ancient Romans, and it is featured in works of popular culture, such as the 1962 musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, starring the great Zero Mostel.

I started thinking about the word forum after I adjourned Friday’s English Department meeting.  Even after the official meeting ended, many faculty members stayed in the department, talking in clusters.  They were not wearing togas, but they reminded me of pictures I have seen of Roman citizens standing together while engaging in lively debates.  I saw several faculty members in the hallway talking with Natalie Ornat, our guest speaker from Atkins Library, about various library-related projects.  I saw Chris Davis and Aaron Gwyn in the lobby area talking about their various creative-writing endeavors.  I saw a number of the faculty members who teach British literature courses gathered together in the faculty/staff lounge talking about their courses and research projects.  It seemed that everywhere I went in the department I saw people carrying on conversations and sharing their plans for the year.  This prompted me to come up with a slightly altered version of the title of the aforementioned musical.  My new title is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way from the Forum.  The funny thing that happened is that the English Department forum kept going long after the official English Department meeting came to a close.  It just relocated to other areas in the department.

Another thought popped into my head as I contemplated the two meanings of the word forum. The definition of forum as “a public meeting place for open discussion” is a perfect description of the space that houses our English Department.  Nearly every day I see faculty, staff and students gathered in the public areas of our department talking about classes, books,  research projects, and current events.  In some ways, our department is like an inclusive version of a Roman forum.

Kudos  — As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of the English Department.  Here is the latest news:

Pilar Blitvich recently co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Pragmatics (the flagship journal in the field) on im/politeness and globalization.  The special issue includes seven articles and a state-of-the-art introduction.  Pilar co-authored the introduction and was single author of one of the articles, which is titled “Globalization, Transnational Identities, and Conflict Talk: The Superdiversity and Complexity of the Latino Identity.”

Upcoming Events and Meetings — Here is a list of upcoming events and meetings:

September 12 — The Early Modern Paleography Society (EMPS) will have its first fall meeting of 2018 on September 12th, 2018, from 3:30-5:15 in Fretwell 290B. Pizza will be provided.

Quirky Quiz Question — Zero Mostel won a Tony Award for his performance in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  Two years later he won the Tony Award for his performance in another musical in which he played a character named Tevye.  What is the title of this 1964 musical hit?

Last week’s answer: Matilda
Roald Dahl’s belief in the importance of reading is especially evident in his children’s book about a brilliant girl who taught herself how to read at the age of three. A musical based on this book will be performed by the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte this fall. Do you know the title of this book?

Promoting Literacy and Literature — I had the privilege of interviewing Roald Dahl about a year before his death.  I concluded the interview by asking him if he found it more satisfying to write for children or adults.  Here is his response: “It’s more rewarding to write for children.  When I am writing for adults, I’m just trying to entertain them.  But a good children’s book does much more than entertain.  It teaches children the use of words, the joy of playing with language.  Above all, it helps children learn not to be frightened of books.  Once they can get through a book and enjoy it, they realize that books are something that they can cope with.  If they are going to amount to anything in life, they need to be able to handle books.  If my books can help children become readers, then I feel I have accomplished something important.”

Dahl’s response to my question popped into my head when the the Charlotte Chapter of the Executive Women International (EWI) invited me to participate in their Reading Rally at the Merry Oaks Elementary School in Charlotte.  They asked me if I would read a book aloud to a large group of children participating in the school’s enrichment program.  They explained that they host their Reading Rally at this school at the beginning of every school year.  As part of this annual event, they provide all of the children in the program with free children’s books and school supplies.  When I received their invitation, I flashed back on Dahl’s comment about the importance of helping children appreciate books, and I immediately accepted their invitation.  Given that I was already thinking about Dahl, I decided to read Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile.

The EWI Reading Rally took place on August 30, and it was a great success.  The children enjoyed hearing about the Enormous Crocodile’s foiled plans to gobble up unsuspecting children, and they were thrilled at the opportunity to select two children’s books that they could keep and take home to read at their leisure.  The women who organized this event did an excellent job of encouraging the children to become readers and develop an appreciation of books.

Although I had never heard of the Charlotte Chapter of the Executive Women International prior to being invited to participate in their Reading Rally, I knew several of the members because of their associations with UNC Charlotte.  In fact, two of the members–Shannon Homesley and Brenda Shue–took graduate courses from me while they were earning their M.A. degrees.  Participating in the EWI’s Reading Rally reminded me that there are many community organizations that are interested in promoting literacy and literature and in partnering with our English Department in our various community engagement activities.