Arts & Culture

Poet Carl Phillips, professor of English and of African and African American Studies, both in Arts & Sciences, at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected — for the third time — as a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award in poetry. Phillips was nominated for his 10th collection of poetry, “Speak Low,” published in April by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Poet Claudia Rankine, the Visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in The Writing Program in Arts & Sciences, will lead a talk on the craft of poetry at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. In addition, Rankine will read from her work at 8 p.m. Oct. 29. Both events — presented as part of The […]

Soprano Jennifer Jakob and pianist Maria Sumareva will perform an intimate Liederabend for the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, in Graham Chapel.

The Black Rep and the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences together present the Tony Award-winning musical “Ragtime” as the fall Mainstage production beginning Oct. 16.

Soprano Jennifer Jakob and pianist Maria Sumareva will perform an intimate Liederabend for the Washington University Department of Music in Arts & Sciences at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, in Graham Chapel. Literally translated as “evening of song,” Liederabend is a German term referring to a recital given by a singer and pianist, particularly of works by 19th-century Austrian or German composers. The program will include examples by Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg and Robert Schumann.

Celebrated artist Roger Shimomura, whose paintings and performances wittily explore issues of culture, discrimination and ethnic stereotypes, will discuss his work for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ fall Public Lecture Series at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.

Poet Claudia Rankine, the Visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in The Writing Program in Arts & Science, will lead a talk on the craft of poetry at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. In addition, she will read from her work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. Rankine is the author of four poetry collections, including Nothing in Nature is Private (1995), The End of the Alphabet (1998), PLOT (2001) and the experimental Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric (2004), which combines poetry, essays, images and travelogue. Her most recent project is a play, The Provenance of Beauty, A South Bronx Travelogue, for the Foundry Theatre in New York

Pianist Martin Kennedy, assistant professor of composition and theory in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences, will present a free faculty recital at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in the 560 Music Center’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall. The program will include five original works by Kennedy, performed by Kennedy and guest musicians from Washington University, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Maryville University and the University of Missouri—St. Louis.

Marcel Duchamp was among the most influential artists of the 20th century. He was also a dedicated chess player who saw strong correlations between his art and the game. On Oct. 14 the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will present “Playing with Chance: Duchamp, Chess and Roulette,” a gallery talk and exhibition match combining the ultimate game of strategy with the ultimate game of chance.

John CageSince the early 20th century avant-garde writers, artists and composers have championed the creative possibilities of the arbitrary and the accidental. Next week the Department of Music and the Dance Program in the Performing Arts Department, both in Arts & Sciences, along with the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will host a concert exploring the use of chance in modern and contemporary music. The performance — held in conjunction with the exhibition Chance Aesthetics, now on view at the Kemper Art Museum — is free and open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the 560 Music Center’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.