| Just ask Garfield: Monday night is always a bit of a drag. It’s the dark day for theatre, there’s a void of poetry readings and everyone has that telltale pallor that says, yes, another workweek has begun. What better way to shake those Monday blues than with a shot of the Bard himself, William Shakespeare?
Since February 2006, Dr. James Black has presented Monday Night Shakespeare, a weekly lecture series at the university sponsored by the Faculty of Fine Arts. "It started when former a student of mine remembered things that he liked about a Shakespeare class and approached the Faculty of Fine Arts," says Black. "They in turn approached me, and we talked about doing, say, 10 to 12 lectures. Then we started chatting about a possibility – why not do the canon?" There are 36 plays in the Shakespeare canon (37 if you count Two Noble Kinsmen, but of course you don’t). It’s a three-year project, with 12 lectures a year. Black just tackled Troilus and Cressida in week 15, and he’s got lectures planned right through to March 2008.
Black has enjoyed a long love affair with the Bard. He has over 40 years’ experience as a scholar and Shakespearean expert, having studied at the Shakespeare Institute at England’s University of Birmingham, and he’s since taught countless courses on Shakespearean literature. "The motivation behind all of this is joy," says Black. "I’m supposed to be retired, but the material keeps running in my head. I really appreciate being given the venue to talk about literature."
The lectures have a regular following of 60 to 70 appreciators who are there week-after-week, but there’s always room for more. "It’s all about the material," says Black. "I have a great addiction to it – and literature, learning, has to be an addiction, doesn’t it? It’s free, it’s safe and it’s legal."
The next installment of Monday Night Shakespeare is "Hamlet 1: Forced Cause" on Monday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m., in the Boris Roubakine Recital Hall (Craigie Hall C105 at the University of Calgary). For the full lecture lineup, visit www.ucalgary.ca/news/ucevents.
This week, the Writer’s Guild of Alberta presents "Am I Original? Legal Ramifications for Writers," an event presented by Wayne Logan and David de Vlieger, taking a look at the legality of literature. Logan will chat about where the line is drawn, in creative work, for ownership, registration, etc. Join them on Wednesday, January 31 at 7:00 p.m., at the Rose and Crown Pub. It’s free for WGA members and $5 for non-members.
Change the World for Ten Bucks: 50 Ways to Make a Difference had its debut in the U.K., compiled by a social action organization called We Are What We Do. Paul Edney was so inspired, reading it, that he immediately followed up on Action #35: write to someone who inspires you. His correspondence ended up in the hands of the organization’s directors and started the domino effect that lead to Edney coordinating its Canadian chapter and appearing at McNally Robinson on Saturday, January 27 at noon for a signing of the book.
Phil Minnaar also hits McNally Robinson this week with The Positive Dictionary, a dictionary that focuses entirely on positive words, conveying positive actions. To get a signed copy of this feel-good manual, you can meet Minnaar on Tuesday, January 30 at noon.
Don’t forget that on February 1, the flywheel and Calgary Ink reading series team up for an exciting night of fiction at McNally Robinson. The evening will feature Christopher Blais, Alyson Fortowsky, Rebekah Jarvis, Paul Kennett and Crystal Mimura – don’t miss out! |
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