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December 2010

Wednesday, 12/1

A Talk by Ned Eisenberg

"The Cloud Over The Floating World: Tokyo's Modern Ukiyo in the Age of the Internet"

a Heled Travel Grant Presentation

6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event

Ukiyo:
1. ("Floating World") the urban lifestyle, especially the pleasure-seeking aspects, of Edo-period Japan (1600–1867).
2. ("Sorrowful World") the earthly plane of death and rebirth from which Buddhists sought release.

The Tokyo metropolis is, by any account, a modern wonder. Easily the most crowded city in the world, Tokyo exemplifies all that you'd expect from a futuristic megalopolis: compact living space, a mechanized service industry, and a historic emphasis on social conformity. Yet this miracle city is just a microcosm of a larger Japanese miracle. Since opening its borders to foreign trade in 1868, the Japanese nation drastically exceeded the world’s expectations over the course of the 20th century, first militaristically and, later, economically. Yet in spite of the nation's inarguable modernity, Japanese society remains paradoxical, retaining a strong sense of secularism and ethnic purity while simultaneously embracing the Internet and globalization. The result is a blossoming Japanese counterculture, the likes and extremities of which are unprecedented in a society accustomed to homogeneity.

Recipient of the 2010 Terry B Heled Travel Grant, senior Ned Eisenberg will be speaking about his 11-day stay in Tokyo, during which he gave up access to the Internet and set out to document the topography of Tokyo's counterculture. Inspired by duplicate homophonic translations of "Ukiyo", Ned relates the paradoxical nature of Tokyo, a city at once endlessly diverting and, at times, inescapably lonely. Aside from conducting this program at the Kelly Writer's House, Ned is drawing on his travel experience in a long-form travel log, which he hopes to have published in the coming year.

Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

Thursday, 12/2

RealArts@Penn

an informational lunch program hosted by Anthony DeCurtis

12:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event

Come learn more about the RealArts@Penn internships. Often it's true that a university's arts curriculum is good and beautiful and sufficient unto itself. But perhaps just as often, learning the arts - truly coming to know the importance, value, and potential impact of creative work and ideas - will depend on whatever connections a university can help students make to the world beyond the university, where people work in the realm of practice, where business is relevant, and where businesspeople don't always know how to talk to "the creative people" and vice versa.

RealArts@PENN is a project designed to help some of Penn's most creative students make those connections by offering summer internships. Not your typical arrangement, either. We are not talking about passing Penn students off to impersonal, group-selection and mass-orientation processes. Nor do RealArts@PENN internships turn out to be jobs as gophers. These are unique, special arrangements with the hosting entities. Once a student has been chosen to be a RealArts@PENN intern, he or she is it.

Whenever We Feel Like It

a reading by Writers House affiliated poets Trisha Low, Henry Steinberg, Leo Amino, Amaris Cuchanski, Allyson Even, Florentina Dragulescu, Gareth Glaser, John Bang, & Pimrapee Thungkasemvathana

presented by the Whenever We Feel Like It series

6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event on PennSound

The Whenever We Feel Like It reading series is put on by Committee of Vigilance members Michelle Taransky and Emily Pettit. The Committee of Vigilance is a subdivision of Sleepy Lemur Quality Enterprises, which is the production division of The Meeteetzee Institute.

Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

Friday, 12/3

Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

Saturday, 12/4

Sunday, 12/5

Monday, 12/6

POETRY in 1960 – A SYMPOSIUM

6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

hosted by: Al Filreis
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event
browse: this entire program on PennSound



KWH Faculty Director Al Filreis curates a remarkable gathering of poets to present brief commentaries of books of poetry published in 1960 – to help mark the 50th anniversary of each. Each poet will read his or her 500- to 750-word critical commentary or retrospective review, after which there will be a Q&A session and a celebratory reception. The poet's commentaries will later be published as a special feature on the poetry & poetics of 1960 in Jacket2.

Featuring:

Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

Tuesday, 12/7

A reading by Greg Djanikian's Poetry Class

5:30 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event


Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

Wednesday, 12/8

A reading by Lynn Levin's poetry class

6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event

Teen Speakeasy: Poetry, Prose, and Anything Goes!

8:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
listen: to an audio recording of this event

Special Teen Speakeasy!

Speakeasy is an open mic night held at the Kelly Writers House every other Wednesday evening. It's an opportunity for writers to share their work, or the work of others, in a friendly setting. Speakeasy was founded in 1997 and continues to be an important part of the regular Writers House programming series. While normally geared towards participants of all ages, this speakeasy features a special open mic night for high school and middle school students. All teenagers willing to bust a rhyme or share their mind are welcome! As always: Poetry, prose, anything goes!

Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

Thursday, 12/9

Wuhan Poets

10:00 AM in the Arts Cafe

co-sponsored by: The Chinese/American Association of Poetry and Poetics and the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing
listen: to an audio recording of this event
watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV

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Featuring:

Wuhan Poets
  • Liang Biwen
  • Liu Yishan
  • Chen Ying-Song
  • Tian He
  • Wang Xinmin
  • Ke Yumin
  • Li Ming
  • Hu Xiang
  • Liu An
  • Penn Poets
  • Bob Perelman
  • Sarah Dowling
  • Michelle Taransky
  • Charles Bernstein
  • Greg Djanikian
  • Yanrong (CAAP Scholar in Residence)



  • A conversation with singer-songwriter Patti Smith

    presented by the Blutt Singer-Songwriter Symposium

    5:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

    moderated by: Anthony DeCurtis

    The Blutt Singer-Songwriter symposium brings eminent and lauded songwriters into the intimate space of the Arts Cafe for not just a performance, but a conversation about the work and the form.

    Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

    Friday, 12/10

    Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

    Saturday, 12/11

    Sunday, 12/12

    Monday, 12/13

    A reading by Jamie-Lee Josselyn's Memoir Writing Class

    6:00 PM in the Arts Cafe

    watch: a video recording of this event via KWH-TV
    listen: to an audio recording of this event

    Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

    Tuesday, 12/14

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    Wednesday, 12/15

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    Thursday, 12/16

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    Friday, 12/17

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    Saturday, 12/18

    Sunday, 12/19

    Monday, 12/20

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    Tuesday, 12/21

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    Wednesday, 12/22

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    Thursday, 12/23

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    Friday, 12/24

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    Saturday, 12/25

    Sunday, 12/26

    Monday, 12/27

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    Tuesday, 12/28

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    Wednesday, 12/29

    Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

    Thursday, 12/30

    Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)

    Friday, 12/31

    Meetings and classes (may require registration or permission; email for more info)