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New film features U.Va., local writers
Photo
credits: Rita Dove (Fred Viebahn); Charles Wright (Photo courtesy
of WHTJ-TV); and John Casey (Lynn Brubaker).
By Rebecca Arrington
The premiere of "Writers,"
one of the two programs filmed thus far in the new, locally produced
TV series, "East of the Blue Ridge," will be screened
Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in Newcomb Hall Theater, free of charge.
Sponsored
by the Virginia Festival of the
Book and Central Virginia's public television station, WHTJ-TV
41, "East of the Blue Ridge: Writers" taps the wealth
of local literary talent and Charlottesville's love of reading and
books, says the series' executive producer Conni Lombardo. "It's
the people of this area who are the stars -- the writers and poets.
Everyone who lives here appreciates the beauty of central Virginia.
This program looks at what makes it vibrant and interesting -- and
that's the people."
Key
segments of the film feature U.Va. English
professors. Poet Rita Dove talks about life with her writer-husband
Fred Viebahn and rebuilding their Charlottesville home after a devastating
fire. Novelist John Casey is filmed sculling on the Rivanna River
Reservoir and explaining why he prefers Charlottesville to Rome.
Poet Charles Wright discusses the inspiration he finds in his Charlottesville
backyard and visits a poetry class at U.Va. Other local writers
in the series include novelists John Grisham and Rita Mae Brown.
The
other program, "East of the Blue Ridge: Horses," follows
an entire year of equestrian activities in central Virginia. Full
story.
What's the University for?
Series of speakers will address the role of higher
education in a changing world
By Robert Brickhouse
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Peggy
Harrison
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| Sunlight
casting column shadows on the Lawn's brick walkway gives one
pause for reflection. |
Is
the main purpose of a college education to prepare students to achieve
economic success? Is "the life of the mind" increasingly
irrelevant? Have some professors so refined their scholarly interests
that they can't help solve pressing issues facing American society?
Do universities have a moral purpose?
Some
of the country's foremost thinkers on higher education's role today,
not all of them likely to be in agreement with each other, will
address such questions at U.Va. this spring in an intensive, three-part
public conference titled "What's the University For?"
Speakers, from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives, include
Mark Edmundson, T.J. Jackson Lears, Gerald Graff, Russell Jacoby,
Ross Posnock, George Marsden, Julie A. Reuben and Richard Rorty.
Full story.
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