Big Names
Russell Baker, the humorist and author who retired in December after more than 40 years at the New York Times, entertained a Kresge Auditorium crowd with a January 20 talk on news media. "The talking head is here to stay," he lamented. Edgar Bronfman Sr., the chairman of Seagram Co., encouraged an audience who gathered on December 7 at the Business School to plan ahead for both the financial and emotional needs of retirement. "The trick is to stay busy, but a little less busy" than during your working years, he said.
Changing the World
Six Latin American mayors gave a Kresge audience on January 11 a glimpse of the violence that often accompanies a transition to democracy. Gloria Cuartas, the former mayor of Apartado, Colombia, said the armed groups who controlled different sections of her city "saw they could not discourage me or make me abandon the job, so they cut the throat of a child in front of me." Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson urged his Kresge audience on January 14 to honor the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. by continuing his fight: "Outrageous conduct demands an outrageous response. Anything less emboldens those who would deny us the fruits of our labor."
Art and Artists
Fredric Jameson, an internationally recognized cultural theorist, lectured on modernity January 25 to an overflow crowd at the Law School. Poet Li-Young Lee read from his work at an appearance on January 21 at Campbell Recital Hall. That same day, sculptor Charles Ray described his art -- including anatomically correct self-portraits -- for a group at Annenberg Auditorium. And Julie Dash, the first black woman to have a feature-length film (Daughters of the Dust) released nationally, dropped by the history building on January 29.
