Athenaeum Programs

December 2011

Fri 12/2, 5-7pm:  SALON: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, part 12: Writer LaShonda Barnett on “‘To Serve Before The Mast’: Recovering The Lost Legacy of Rhode Island’s Black Seamen.” Our generous sponsor is the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, rihumanities.org. Note: Program rescheduled for 2/17/12. See February 2012 program listing.

Thurs 12/8, 7-8:30pm (7pm reception; 7:30 program): Community MusicWorks Players joined by Frank Rosenwein, principal oboist of The Cleveland Orchestra. The CMW Players, which includes members of the Providence String Quartet, is a flexible ensemble made up of the ten musicians-in-residence at Community MusicWorks. This program will explore, in performance and conversation, music for oboe and strings by Boccherini and Barber. Tickets are $30 for Atheneum members, $35 for non-members and MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE. Seating is limited, so buy your tickets early! Call 401-421-6970.

Fri 12/9, 5-7pm, SALON: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, FINALE:  D. Graham Burnett, Professor of the History of Science at Princeton, discussing his new book, The Sounding of the Whale, forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press. In this final program on Moby-Dick we will contemplate Melville’s nuanced and arguably prescient view of these creatures and consider their uncertain future. Our generous sponsor is M&S Rare Books, msrarebooks.com.

 

November 2011

Thurs 11/3, 7-8:30pm (7pm reception; 7:30 program): Community MusicWorks Players joined by the Haven String Quartet, quartet-in-residence for Music Haven, a 5-year-old program inspired by CMW, based in one of New Haven’s urban neighborhoods. The CMW Players, which includes members of the Providence String Quartet, is a flexible ensemble made up of the 10 musicians-in-residence at CMW. This program, presented as part of CMW’s November Bach Festival, will feature music by Bach and Bartok. More info: communitymusicworks.org. Tickets are $30 for Atheneum members, $35 for non-members and MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE. Seating is limited, so buy your tickets early! Call 401-421-6970.

Fri 11/4, 5-7pm: SALON: Historian Tony Horwitz on his new Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War. John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in US history, yet few know the full story of this desperate strike at the slaveholding South. Brown saw slavery as a sin against America’s founding principles and was willing to take up arms. In 1859 he prepared for battle in a Maryland hideout, joined by his teenage daughter, three sons, and a guerrilla band including former slaves. On October 17, the raiders seized Harpers Ferry, stunning the nation; Robert E. Lee led the counterattack. After Brown’s capture, his defiant eloquence galvanized the North and appalled the South, which thought Brown a terrorist. The raid helped elect Abraham Lincoln, who later began to fulfill Brown’s dream with the Emancipation Proclamation, a measure he called “a John Brown raid, on a gigantic scale.” Books available for sale and signing thanks to the Brown Bookstore. Our generous sponsor is Fontaine, DeCarvalho & Bell, LLP - Attorney Kas DeCarvalho, fdblegal.com.

Fri 11/4, 7:30pm: The Legendary Pub Quiz! Call 421-6970 to reserve a spot. $5 for Athenaeum members; $10 for non-members. 

Mon 11/7, 5:30-7pm: New Members’ Reception! Join us for a tour of the building, refreshments, and a chance to meet other members as well as the staff. For new Athenaeum members and their guests.

Thurs 11/10, 5-7pm: SALON: Author and Brown University Professor of Comparative Literature, Arnold Weinstein, on his memoir, Morning, Noon, and Night: Finding the Meaning of Life’s Stages Through Books. Major works of literature have a great deal to teach us about two of life’s most significant stages – growing up and growing old. Weinstein explores classic writing’s insights into coming-of-age and surrendering to time, and considers the impact of these revelations upon our lives. With literary examples and moving personal observations, Weinstein leads us to look deep inside ourselves and these great books, to see how art can be both mirror and guide. Tapping into the hearts and minds of memorable characters from Sophocles’ Oedipus to Artie in Art Spiegelman’s Maus, he makes a powerful case for the role of great literature as a knowing window into our lives and times. Our generous sponsor is risdworks, risdworks.com.

Tues 11/15, 7-8:30pm: Proustfest Part One - Writer Damion Searls on his new transla-

tion of Proust’s essay, On Reading. This essay originally appeared as Proust’s preface to his translation into French of author and art critic John Ruskin’s book about reading, Sesame and Lilies; it is also the first example of Proust’s mature fictional style. Searls discusses the biographical background of Proust’s engagement with Ruskin, Proust’s unique (and often bizarre) approach to translation, Proust’s and Ruskin’s theories of reading, and some of the exquisite scenes that shed light on the themes and methods of Remembrance of Things Past. Books available for sale and signing thanks to the Brown Bookstore. Our generous sponsor is Vintage Pens, vintagepens.com.

Fri 11/18, 5-7pm, SALON: Proustfest Part Two - Boston Globe classical music critic Jeremy Eichler on “Proust’s Melody.” Proust not only wrote highly musical prose but was a wonderfully insightful writer about music. Eichler discusses the role of music in Proust’s novel and in his life, and explores what Proust has to teach us about the art of listening. With musical examples. Our generous sponsor is Studio Hop, 810 Hope Street, 621-2262.

Fri 11/25, 5-7pm: SALON: Curating the City, part 1: “The Future is a City,” with architectural historian Nathaniel Walker and James Hall, Executive Director of the Providence Preservation Society. Walker curated the David Winton Bell Gallery exhibit Building Expectation: Past and Present Visions of the Architectural Future, an exploration of the way theorists use architecture to embody and promote their agendas. Providence is once again promoting a new city, in the lands formerly occupied by Route 195. Walker and Hall will discuss our 21st century expectations of what a city, and urban living, could and should be. Building Expectation: Past and Present Visions of the Architectural Future is on view at Bell Gallery 9/3 through 11/6, more info: brown.edu.

Curating the City is a 3-part series in which guest salonnier James Hall invites speakers to address strategies for evaluating, sustaining, and enhancing cities in the 21st century. By re-positioning urban “preservation” as an effort to “curate” the city, we can stimulate productive discussions on what we can expect from cities in such areas as architecture (new and old), experience, inclusive planning, and quality of life; parts 2 and 3 coming in Spring 2012. Our generous sponsor for the entire Curating the City series is KITE Architects, kitearchitects.com.

 

October 2011

Sat 10/1, noon - 1:30pm: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, part 8: “Melville’s New Bedford,” a walking tour specially created for the series by Peter Hacunda, National Park Service volunteer. “I duly arrived in New Bedford... It was very dubious-looking... cold and cheerless... Such dreary streets!” So Melville introduces the would-be whaler Ishmael’s New Bedford, which Melville knew well: he departed its harbor on a whaleship at age 21. Walk the streets he wrote into Ishmael’s itinerary – in the town that was then the whaling capital of the world. Walk is free but RESERVA-TIONS ARE REQUIRED; call 421-6970 by Wed 9/28. Space is limited! Directions provided upon registration. Our generous sponsor is The Peck Building, LLC.

Mon 10/3, 6-8:30pm: Living Literature presents: Taking Literature from Page to Stage: a Literacy Workshop for Educators. Participants read aloud, interact together, and recreate a work of non-dramatic writing via performance. Artistic Director Barry Press provides a supportive process for exploring the written word in voice and body. Call 437-2297 to reserve and mail nonrefundable $5 check to: Living Literature, 120 Riverside Dr., Riverside, RI 02915.

Thurs 10/6, 6-7:30pm (6-6:30 reception; 6:30 program): Providence Preservation Society Executive Director James Hall on “Monumental: A Fitting Memorial for the Founding Father: The competition to design the Roger Williams Memorial,” part of “Inspired Providence: A Public Lecture Series.” When 75 years ago Providence celebrated the 300th anniversary of its founding, the 1933 approach to commemoration differed significantly from today’s efforts. Hall examines the architectural competition that led to the creation of the Roger Williams Memorial in Prospect Park on Congdon Street.

“Inspired Providence,” a 7-part free series by Roger Williams National Memorial and community partners, explores events, individuals, and beliefs that have inspired Providence from Roger Williams and the “lively experiment” in 1636 to the rise of a “creative capital.” Major funding is from the RI Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, with support from Roger Williams National Memorial, and presented with Celebrate Providence 375 Years.

Fri 10/7, 5-7pm, SALON: RI Historical Society Executive Director Dr. Morgan Grefe on “The American Industrial Revolution: the Prequel,” part 1 of the “Making Through the Ages: the Past, Present, and Future of Innovation in RI” series. Samuel Slater may have put Pawtucket on the map as a point of origin for the American Industrial Revolution, but there was already plenty of innovation underway when he got here – which helped pave the way for his arrival. Grefe discusses the ways in which Rhode Islanders were inventing, innovating and investing – and the very human ramifications that resulted from these efforts.

“Making Through the Ages” is a 3-part series created by guest salonnier Kipp Bradford, technology consultant and entrepreneur, to foster conversations on the innovation revolution in RI, from past to future, looking inwardly at work and culture in the state, and outwardly at the DIY and Maker movements: parts 2 and 3 coming in Spring 2012. Our generous sponsors for the entire series are Michael, Anne, and Amelia Spalter.

Fri 10/14, 5-7pm, SALON: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, part 9: Artist Magaly Ponce, marine biologist Carol Carson, visual anthropologist Marzan Shirzad, sculptor and cultural producer Natercia Caneira, curator Sarah Parks and moderator Martina Windels on Ponce’s work, InSight-s: A Multimedia Installation in Three Continents and their roles in its creation and exhibition. Ponce, who teaches art at Bridgewater State University, spent two years observing whales off Plymouth, MA, to assist the Humpback Whale Ethogram Project, conducted by her Bridgewater colleague, Carson. Inspired by the experience, Ponce began to incorporate whales into her artwork, using sculpture, digital photo-collage and video to celebrate their beauty and humor, reflect on their likely extinction, and consider the industries that have developed around them. Because whaling once sustained the economies and enriched the cultural life of Portugal and the New England colonies, she coordinated travel of the works to whaling locations from RI to Cape Verde to Lisbon and the Azores, Portugal. Our generous sponsor is Jillian Siqueland of Residential Properties, 401-274-6740. Salon participation by visiting arts and cultural representatives made possible in part by generous support from Dr. Joseph A. Chazan.

Sat 10/15, 2:30pm: “50 Years on the Burning Deck,” a conversation with poets/publishers Keith and Rosemarie Waldrop. Founded by the Waldrops in 1961, Burning Deck Press has published experimental poetry and prose in RI for 50 years, first in magazine and then book format, by writers from different styles and schools. They initially published on their own letterpress to keep costs down, but as technology advanced they switched to offset printing, reserving letterpress for chapbooks. Event is hosted by the John Russell Bartlett Society, with the Providence Athenaeum and the Rhode Island Center for the Book. “Poetry on the Page,” an exhibit on view in the Athenaeum’s Philbrick Rare Book Room from 10/1 to 11/13 includes publications from Burning Deck.

Sun 10/16, 3pm: The Athenaeum’s First Annual Financial Meeting, including RI College Political Science Professor Francis Leazes on “A Rhode Islander’s Road to the Alamo.” Join us for refreshments, a brief presentation on our Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2010-11, and Dr. Leazes’s talk.

Fri 10/21, 5-7pm, SALON: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, part 10: Nathaniel Philbrick on his new book Why Read Moby-Dick? Moby-Dick’s length and esoteric subject matter too often keep readers at bay, but award-winning maritime historian Philbrick wants to give it the broad contemporary audience it deserves. If you’re at part 10 of this series and still wondering what all the fuss is about, join us for an inspirational introduction to the inimitable Moby-Dick! Books available for sale and signing. Our generous sponsor is Sally Strachan.

Fri 10/28, 5-7pm, SALON: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, part 11: Artist Jonathan Perry on the whale in coastal Native culture and art, including his own work. Melville’s harpooneer Tashtego was a Wampanoag, a tribe famed for its whaling skills. Perry, a 21st century Wampanoag artist influenced by centuries of tradition, will look into the history of that skill and the culture that produced it. Now a member of the Tribal Council, he researched tribal history, culture, and artwork during 13 years as an interpreter, artist, historian, and manager in the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation. He says, “For thousands of years we depended on the whale migrations as part of a way to sustain our communities, and respected whales as powerful, important members of Creation. The ocean played a heavy role in our traditional artwork, which continues to influence my pieces.” Salon will include an exhibit of Perry’s original artwork, which uses whale imagery and incorporates whale bone, teeth, and baleen. Our generous sponsor is Elad, Inc.

Fri, 10/28, noon-1pm: Poet Brett Rutherford’s Annual Hallowe’en Lunchtime Reading! Bring a bag lunch and thrill to Brett’s seasonal readings, including the premiere of his new book of poetry, Anniversarius: The Book of Autumn, and excerpts from his annotated edition of “Monk” Lewis’s Tales of Wonder, the landmark 1801 anthology of supernatural poems.

 

September 2011

Fri 9/23, 5-7pm: Celebrate Dangerous Books! Co-sponsored with American Civil

Liberties Union of Rhode Island. Imagine Slaughterhouse-Five kept off bookshelves,

or To Kill a Mockingbird or The Call of the Wild. To celebrate the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain such beloved and influential titles, we will kick off national Banned Books Week with RI authors Indigo Bethea, Tina Cane, Michael S. Harper, Jane Lancaster, and Max Winter.

Fri 9/30, 5-7pm, SALON: “Hark! The White Whale!” series, part 7: Writer Andrew Delbanco on his award-winning biography, Melville: His World and Work. So, who was Herman Melville, the man behind Moby-Dick? The grandson of Revolutionary War heroes, he was born into a family of declining wealth and status. Half New Yorker, half New Englander, he went to sea as a young man and returned to chronicle the deepest crises of his era, from the debates over slavery through the bloodbath of the Civil War to the intellectual and spiritual revolution wrought by Darwin. Delbanco charts Melville’s growth from the bawdy storytelling of Typee through the spiritual preoccupations building up to Moby-Dick and later works, creating a vivid narrative of his tragic family life, intense friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne, bouts of feverish writing, relentless financial pressure, declining critical and popular esteem, and a final, demoralizing customs job. Delbanco uncovers autobiographical traces throughout Melville’s work, illuminating the stunning achievements of a career that, despite being consigned to obscurity long before its author’s death, ultimately shaped American literature. Andrew Delbanco’s talk is made possible by a generous gift from The Susan Jaffe Tane Foundation. Our generous sponsor is Yankee Travel, yankeetravel.com. Special thanks to Allen Kurzweil and Françoise Dussart.