News
- BARRY LOPEZ LECTURE WILL BE PRESENTED TONIGHT! CARNEGIE MUSIC HALL WILL BE OPEN AND PARKING WILL BE AVAILABLE!
- Weather Alert Sharon Flake Rescheduled!
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February 2010
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From the Director, February Notes
A Chinese Fortune Cookie 
Recently, I was sharing lunch at The Noodle Bowl here on South Craig Street with two Chinese friends who have come to Pittsburgh for graduate study. They are both working diligently on their English language skills and are understanding a bit more of each of The Drue Heinz Lectures that they attend. They took to heart Junot Diaz’s advice to new immigrants, which he gave at his November lecture: Read, read, read! And, he said, Be shameless in using your new language. (So hard to do, especially when the person you’re talking to is not so patient about understanding what you are trying to say.)
I’ve been thinking how difficult it must be to learn a second language well enough to actually do your graduate study in it. So far, after three months, my friends have helped me master a total of three Chinese phrases. Trying to learn a bit of their language has given me a new perspective on how hard all immigrants to Pittsburgh are working to try to fit into the life of our city.
During our lunch, I opened a cookie with this fortune. A book should be a ball of light in one’s hand. How true, especially in the remaining dark days of a Pittsburgh winter! If you are looking for that “ball of light”, I’d like to suggest Barry Lopez’s book of essays, Crossing New Ground, and particularly one essay, “A Presentation of Whales.” This is Lopez at his best, a detailed and poignant description of the breaching of forty-one whales on the central Oregon coast in 1979. Once you read these thirty pages, you will know that Barry Lopez is not to be missed at the Lectures, Monday, February 8th.
Another “ball of light” is Elizabeth Alexander’s poem, Praise Song for the Day, written for the Obama inauguration last January. Elizabeth will join us at the Lectures on Monday, February 22, to read and talk about her poetry, and how her life experiences have influenced her writing. Because her father was a civil rights advisor to President Johnson, Elizabeth spent her young years in Washington, DC, and was a witness to Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. Her work has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. This is her first Pittsburgh appearance. Her friend and fellow poet, Toi Derricotte, currently teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, will provide an insightful introduction. Come hear a poem and a poet who made history!
Our special limited subscription offer for the last four Monday Nights at the Lectures, “Four for $60,” is still open. We’re talking premium seats if you buy the package! Just scroll down to get the details of speakers and dates. We’ll even pro-rate the final three lectures to give you the same great deal on our last three programs. Just mention that you saw this offer on our website and ask for it when you call.
I can promise that if you come to any of our lectures, you will be inspired by great writing that will be a ball of light. I welcome your comments about any of our programs at info@pittburghlectures.org. And, I’ll see you on Monday night at the Lectures!
Jayne Adair
Executive Director, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures
February 1, 2010
