Arts & Culture

Courtesy photoArthur SzeAcclaimed poet Arthur Sze, the visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in Washington University’s Writing Program in Arts & Sciences, will read from his work at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 10. In addition, Sze will speak on the craft of poetry at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17.

Courtesy photoClea GalhanoRenowned recorder soloist Clea Galhano will join Washington University’s Kingsbury Ensemble for a concert of “Virtuoso Recorder Music of the Baroque” at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. The recorder – a wind instrument similar to the flute – was frequently included in ensembles of the Baroque era. Galhano, a Brazilian player now living in the United States, has performed widely with early music ensembles.

The darkly comic portrait of a highly idiosyncratic family by Canadian playwright George Walker is directed by Senior Lecturer William Whitaker.

Each spring, four student plays — two full-length works and two shorts — are selected by blind jury and work-shopped the following fall.

Theatrical pioneer Anne Bogart will bring the first American stage production of this early German Renaissance classic to WUSTL Nov. 11-12.

The illustrated lecture stems from her recent book, 100 Best Books for Children, an in-depth survey of children’s literature.

Remembering Einstein’s “miracle year.”The United Nations has declared 2005 the International Year of Physics — and there’s a very good reason why this particular year was chosen to raise worldwide public awareness of physics. It is also the 100th anniversary of physicist Albert Einstein’s miraculous year in which he wrote five — or three depending on whom you ask — of his most famous scientific papers. Also known as the World Year of Physics, 2005 will feature worldwide events of interest not only to physicists, but also to the general public. Two physicists from Washington University in St. Louis who are both known for their ability to speak and write clearly about physics to the layperson will be giving talks throughout 2005 about Einstein’s ideas and their impact on science and society 100 years later.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services*Escape from Happiness*Drugs and alcohol, anger and insanity, police corruption and (semi-) organized crime. Welcome to Escape from Happiness, a darkly comic portrait of a highly idiosyncratic family by Canadian playwright George F. Walker. In November, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present six performances in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre.

The event will feature Dixieland music by St. Louis’ Bourbon Street Band and a talk by Gerald Early on “The Death of Jazz and the Birth of New Orleans.”

Courtesy photo*Death and the Ploughman*The year is 1401. A bereaved ploughman, maddened by the loss of his young wife in childbirth, demands answers from Death itself. So begins Death and the Ploughman, a powerful meditation on grief, mortality and the meaning of life. In November, New York’s acclaimed SITI Company, led by theatrical pioneer Anne Bogart, will bring the first American stage production of this early German Renaissance classic to Washington University’s Edison Theatre.