UNT Institute for the Advancement of the Arts celebrates fifth anniversary with readings by Faculty Fellow

Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - 19:43
Category:

What: An exhibition and program of literary readings featuring University of North Texas English faculty members Bonnie Friedman and B.H. Fairchild. Friedman will read from her new book, Surrendering Oz: A Life in Essays and Fairchild will read from his new book, The Blue Buick: New and Selected Poems. The program is part of UNT's Institute for the Advancement of the Arts' fifth anniversary celebration.

When: Oct. 24 (Friday). A reception will begin at7 p.m., with the reading following at 7:30 p.m.

Where: UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm, Denton

Cost: Free

Contact: Herbert Holl at Herbert.Holl@unt.edu

DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The Institute for the Advancement of the Arts, whose mission is to promote artistic and creative expression at the University of North Texas, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a series of events, including an upcoming literary reading.

On Oct. 24 (Friday) IAA will present emeritus Faculty Fellow Bonnie Friedman in a reading of her work. Participants for the IAA Faculty Fellow program are selected through an annual application process open to all UNT (Denton campus) full-time faculty in the visual, performing and creative literary arts. As an IAA Faculty Fellow, Friedman was able to take a semester off from teaching to pursue creative research in the arts. Friedman will read from her new book, Surrendering Oz: A Life in Essays (Etruscan).

"The subtitle of my new book is 'a life in essays,' which seems apt to me both because the book is a memoir-in-essays but also because writing essays has allowed me to live more richly and coherently," said Friedman. "Without the tool of essay-writing, I would probably have remained obtuse, foggy-minded, credulous, a nice, bland, insecure, generally compliant girl who couldn't sort her ideas from the ideas of others. Essays helped me forge a mind for myself and to discover what I knew and what I felt. They are laboratories for self-discovery. I am a grand devotee of them, and hope to inspire many other essay writers."

Friedman also invited English Professor, B.H. Fairchild, to share the evening with readings from his work. Fairchild will read from his new book, The Blue Buick: New and Selected Poems (Norton).

"I'm thrilled to have the honor to read with B. H. Fairchild, a poet of astonishing brilliance and generosity," Friedman said, adding that she's read some of his poems so many times that she knows them almost by heart. "I know it will be a revelation to hear him."

The year-long celebration of the fifth anniversary started with an exhibition at UNT on the Square of IAA Fellows: Celebrating Five Years of Achievement, which will run through Nov. 5 (Wednesday) with artwork and displays featuring the 14 emeritus IAA Fellows, among them:

  • Paintings by Robert Jessup, professor of studio arts
  • Paintings by Vincent Falsetta, professor of studio arts
  • Photography by Dornith Doherty, professor of studio arts

Audio and video display as well as wall panels featuring literary excerpts will also be among the items included in the exhibition.

Other programs throughout the year will highlight other faculty including a reading by English Professor Corey Marks and Assistant Professor of English Miroslav Penkov.

About the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts

Launched in 2009, the UNT Institute for the Advancement of the Arts (IAA) aims to showcase, support and advance excellence in the visual, performing and creative literary arts at UNT, among its faculty members and in conjunction with their renowned colleagues and collaborators. The three central components of the Institute are UNT on the Square, the IAA Faculty Fellows program and the IAA Artist-in-Residence program. The IAA Faculty Fellows program provides UNT (Denton campus) Faculty Fellows with 100 percent reassignment for one semester to accomplish and present creative research projects. Participants are selected through an annual application process open to all UNT (Denton campus) full-time faculty in the visual, performing and creative literary arts.

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