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CSULB’s 46th annual comparative literature conference to explore ‘Comic Spirit in the Modern Age’

admin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:46:03 +0000

Continuing its longest-running event, Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) will host the 46th annual Comparative Literature Conference on Wednesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 14, in the campus’s Karl Anatol Center. This year’s theme is “The Comic Spirit in the Modern Age.”
Presented by CSULB’s Department of Comparative World Literature and Classics, the conference will feature comedian Judy Carter, author of The Comedy Bible, as its 2pm Wednesday plenary speaker. The Thursday plenary speaker at 2pm is retired CSULB Comparative Literature Lecturer Ray Lacoste, who often taught the department’s class on the comic spirit.
“The Comic Spirit in the Modern Age seeks to examine the relationship between present-day conventions of humor and comedy and the preceding traditions by which they were inspired,” said Nhora Serrano, an assistant professor of comparative literature and a conference organizer.
“The history of the evolution of comic forms is variegated and complex,” Serrano explained. “Yet, it is a history that continues to inform the various manifestations and applications of humor within contemporary social discourses. Whether it is delivered in the form of stand-up, on the screen, or in the genre of theater, prose or poetry, the conventions by which modern day comedic practice is established are the result of the refinement, re-negotiation and re-configuration of traditions harking back to Classical, Renaissance and even early 20th century sensibilities.”
Topics under discussion will include: how humor and/or comedy function within political, social, and economic forces; what cultural work comedy performs; how we theorize the study and practice of comedy; what laughter is; how the comic is represented in literature, art and film; what the peculiarities of comedy audiences are; and what it means to be funny.
“This conference theme is organized coming from the idea of one of our more popular courses,” said Serrano. “Not only did we think it was an interesting theme but our students have a personal attachment to it.”
This year’s conference features active involvement by the Associated Students of Comparative Literature, including students Omar Zahzah and Mary Sotnick, both of whom will receive their bachelor’s degrees in comparative world literature and classics in May.
Zahzah believes what is interesting about this conference in particular is that it will feature performances in addition to scholarly presentations. “Visitors can expect the usual papers on topics like Aristophanes and Davis Sedaris, but they also can expect stand-up comedy and improvisation,” he said. “It will run the gamut of presentations.”
Sotnick commented on the conference’s tie to the department’s long-running class on the comic spirit. “Even students outside the department take (the comic spirit course). It is one of the classes by which other students recognize us,” she said. “I’m hoping, especially with this topic, that we’ll get a lot of people to come and see. When most people hear the words ‘literature conference,’ they don’t think about comedy.”
Zahzah concurred, noting: “There’s a stereotype about academics that they spend all their time reading scrolls and parchments. It is events like this that show that isn’t true.”
Serrano believes this year’s conference speakers make a good balance. “There is a performing aspect as well as scholarly and pedagogical aspects,” she said. “Both speakers are knowledgeable about the comic spirit but both approach the topic from different angles. It appeals to everyone.”
She also encourages the campus and community to attend the conference. “Year in and year out, these conferences offer the campus and the community an opportunity for dialogue, intellectual conversation and a time to see the camaraderie of this department and the college,” she said. “It’s a time to come together for a special few days, and people should come out. It will be funny.”

More Information
nserrano@csulb.edu
marysotnick@gmail.com

LB Reads One Book program selects ‘The Soloist’

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:23:17 +0000

Artwork designed by Karlos Karrillo for the new literacy project Sending a Book on a Journey, which provides gently used books for mentally ill and homeless residents of Long Beach

The Long Beach Public Library Foundation has announced that the selection for the 9th Annual Long Beach Reads One Book is The Soloist– A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez. Long Beach Reads One Book is a community-focused cultural initiative designed to bring people together and raise standards of literacy by encouraging everyone in Long Beach to read the same book at the same time. A variety of events, for all ages, is scheduled throughout the city from Wednesday, March 3 through Sunday, March 14.
Added this year is Sending a Book on a Journey, a literary project that asks the community to donate new or gently-read books for the homeless and mentally ill people of Long Beach. Books may be dropped off at various Long Beach Reads One Book events, the Bixby Knolls Farmers Market on Sundays at Longfellow Elementary School, the main branch of the library, as well as all 11 branches from Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 13. Friends of the Library sell bargain-priced/second-hand books at Main and all branch libraries. Donated books will be placed in Mental Health America (MHA) Village and Wellness Center. An inserted “book note” will encourage homeless and mentally ill readers to share the joy of reading by passing their books on to others…thus Sending a Book on a Journey.
Karlos Karrillo, a local freelance artist, designed the poster celebrating Sending a Book on a Journey. His art murals grace the entrance wall of the MHA Village drop-in center and the accompanying Deli 456.
Karrillo is served and inspired by the Village. “The Village is my champion,” Karrillo says. “They have provided the support in helping me overcome hearing impairment, past homelessness and unemployment.” Karrillo agreed to donate his award-winning talent to create the Sending a Book on a Journey project poster for Long Beach Reads One Book 2010.
Betty Buffington, chair of Sending a Book on a Journey, first met Karrillo when she toured the MHA Village facility with a team of local mental-health professionals. She was there to learn first-hand about Long Beach mental health resources and to encourage these agencies to participate in the Public Library Foundation’s Long Beach Reads One Book community events and city-wide discussions. “It is a rare opportunity to bring mental-health awareness and outreach to the community,” Buffington says. “We are able to do that because Steve Lopez’s bestseller book The Soloist, a true story evolving in a world of mental illness and homelessness, was chosen for Long Beach Reads One Book for 2010. “
Karrillo believes his inspiration and artistic ability are gifts from God. He was born hearing impaired, but it was not diagnosed. His parents knew something was wrong, but thought their baby might be retarded. At age four, he still did not talk. He communicated with his parents and brothers by drawing exact pictures of what he wanted…a slice of bread, a glass of water. After his impaired hearing was recognized at about age five, he began attending special-education and mainstream grammar, middle and high schools, often as a “straight-A” student in art. Years of enrollment in art classes at El Camino College taught him to love art in all media: life drawing, water color, oil, silk screen and sculpture. “Someday Karlos hopes to learn all about art history,” Buffington says. “But for now, his challenge is to make a success of his own fledgling art design business, where he is focusing his art on unique skateboard-deck design.”

Karrillo may be found at local art shows, where he accepts art commissions, and may be reached at email zkuljaka@yahoo.com.

Mental health bookmarks will be available at all libraries and Long Beach Reads One Book events. These free MHA bookmarks provide mental health/homeless information, tips on caring for one’s mental health, resource phone numbers and how to get involved with local organizations.

More Information
(562) 285-1330, ext. 225

First Fridays injects another dose of culture into Bixby Knolls

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:29:23 +0000

Bixby Knolls ushers in spring on First Fridays, April 3. Historical home movies, bronze men, drum circles, art students, photography, live music and urban ambiance are some of the things being offered along Atlantic Avenue.

· Historical Society of Long Beach, 4260 Atlantic Avenue, will be showing home movies from 1925 of local aviator Earl Daugherty flying over Long Beach. The film runs 38 minutes and will be shown at 6:30pm, 7:30pm and 8:30pm. Admission is free.

· Nino’s Italian Restaurant, 3853 Atlantic. Cal State Long Beach art students will be showcasing their work ranging from sculptures to photography and painting. Also local artist Doug Orr and the photography of David Rodriguez. DJ Neon Hunter in the “College Pub” room.

· Long Beach Arts, 4332 Atlantic, will continue to feature its exhibit Urban Ambiance.

· FreeSpirit Yoga, 3910 Atlantic, will feature the photography of Phil Harvey.

· Jammin’ Music, 3972 Atlantic. Latin/Afro-Caribbean feel for this month’s drum circle. Everyone is welcome, no experience necessary. Bring drums or use one provided.

· Councilwoman Rae Gabelich’s Field Office, 3837 Atlantic, showcases the talents of 8th District Council staffers Linda Ivers and Veronica Servin.

· The Richard Goad Theatre, 4250 Atlantic, home of The Long Beach Shakespeare Company, will have actors in front. The players will be playing music, showing films and keeping Atlantic Avenue alive and festive.

· Elise’s Tea Room, 3924 Atlantic, will be featuring Michele Fraichard’s recent works on canvas layer metals, minerals, and geometry into natural forms.

· It’s A Grind, 4245 Atlantic, will feature live music from the indie rock sounds of Robert Jon.

· Melinda McCoy’s Flowers, 611 E. Carson Street, will showcase the work of Wim Griffith, an internationally recognized, multidisciplinary artist, with sculpting, painting, and murals, as well as work as a scenic artist for television and film.

· Vangie Ogg Photography and Pixie Toys, 3930 Atlantic, are hosting a Girls’ Night Out featuring local artisans Silpada (jewelry), Scentsy (wickless candle products), Snappy Apples (fresh and delicious homemade gourmet candied apples)

· Averyboo Arts, 3908 Atlantic, is a new creativity center for children ages 1 to 8 years old. Featured artist: Mr. “Averyboo” himself, will exhibit his photography. Enjoy $2 off per child and spend time in the “Open Studio” where kids can freely paint, sculpt, craft, collage, build, dress up, make believe, and use indoor “chalk walk.”

· Eat. Play. Grow.,4228 Atlantic, opens its doors to the community as one of the newest places for families to gather. Music and refreshments provided.

· Salon Medusa, 4232 Atlantic, will host, music and refreshments inside the salon.

Some venues open at 6:30pm. Big Red Bus arrives at 7pm. Venues can be found on Atlantic Avenue between Bixby Road and San Antonio Drive. For complete information regarding the different venues, visit www.firstfridayslongbeach.com

Schipske launches historical book and postcard packet

admin — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:12:25 +0000

Long Beach native and author Gerrie Schipske will present and sign her book Rosie the Riveter in Long Beach on Sunday, June 8 at 2 p.m. at Grounds Bakery and Café, 6277 E. Spring Street in Long Beach.
During World War II, many women in Long Beach were put to work at the Douglas Aircraft Plant to help produce important war aircraft. Although many of the women lost their jobs after the war, their stories and legacies live on.
While researching information to rename a park as “Rosie the Riveter Park,” local author Gerrie Schipske came across a number of photographs and stories that she knew needed to be published. She has put together this book and postcard packet to honor those women in Long Beach who contributed to the war’s homefront efforts.
Schipske hopes both products “will inspire women to tell their stories.”
Highlights of Rosie the Riveter include rare vintage photographs of women working during World War II from public and private collections, images of many of the women as they worked 8- and 10- hour shifts doing man-sized jobs, and information on the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) who were stationed at the Long Beach Army Airfield.
Schipske has taught in the Women’s Studies Department of California State University, Long Beach. She was elected to the Long Beach City Council and represents the 5th District, which encompasses the Long Beach Airport and the site of the Douglas Aircraft Plant.
Copies of the book will be available at the book signing and at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers: www.lbrosie.com or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadia publishing.com.
A portion of proceeds from the book will be donated to The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Foundation to develop Rosie the Riveter Park and education programs.

CSULB English faculty member named recipient of 2008 Green Rose Prize in Poetry for Hilarity

admin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:55:59 +0000

Patty Seyburn, an assistant professor of English at California State University, Long Beach, has been named the winner of the 2008 Green Rose Prize in Poetry by the editors of New Issues Poetry and Prose for her third book Hilarity.
The Green Rose Prize is awarded to an author who has previously published at least one full-length book of poems. Seyburn, who joined the CSULB faculty in 2006, won a $2,000 award along with her prize and will see the publication of her manuscript by New Issues Press, a literary press associated with Western Michigan University, in spring 2009.
“I feel thrilled to win the Green Rose Poetry Prize,” Seyburn said. “It’s a wonderful prize and the New Issues Press is a wonderful press with strong poets at its head.”
Seyburn has published two books of poems, Mechanical Cluster from Ohio State University Press in 2002 and Diasporadic from Helicon Nine Editions in 1998, which won the 1997 Marianne Moore Poetry Prize and the American Library Association’s Notable Book Award for 2000.
The title of her third book comes from the phrase “the emergence of hilarity,” meant to describe the appearance of a sense of humor in infants. Hilarity deals with such themes as generational change and children, including a group of verses she thinks of as dream poems with titles representing times of darkness such as “1:21 a.m.” or “4:55 a.m.”
“I had insomnia when I was pregnant with my daughter. I thought at first, ‘I don’t have sleep problems,’ but I was still awake. On the other hand, it was my first child so I could afford to be awake. I didn’t have to be angry with myself for being awake and I could use the time,” Seyburn recalled.
“‘The Emergence of Hilarity’ is the concluding poem in the book,” she said. It is a long narrative piece that describes from my perspective the emergence of laughter from the Pleistocene Era to the present that ties in children, prayer and the fortunate missteps that redirect our lives.
She believes one reason New Issues Press crowned her work with the Green Rose Poetry Prize was the recognition in her work of a voice that is both accessible and layered.
“My poetry offers provocation without trying to alienate,” she explained. “I try to convey to the reader a poet who reaches out to the reader but to whom the reader must come partway as well. I’m pleased with that. A lot of the poetry I don’t like is so opaque; it seems dismissive of the readers’ efforts, time and concerns.”
She thinks Hilarity is an imaginative book. “The language is very musical and engaging. Like all poets, I’m concerned with love, time and death but there is still room to write poetry about how our families and lives manifest themselves in interesting ways,” she said.
Seyburn has a B.S. and M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University, an MFA in poetry from UC Irvine and a Ph.D. in poetry and literature in 2003 from the University of Houston. She is co-editor of POOL: A Journal of Poetry, based in Los Angeles.