The reception at the University of Texas at Dallas far exceeded expectations. The audience numbered near 50, with many professors in house. Pictures may be posted at a later date (requiring some website revisions, no doubt) so that the cake, honoring the 20th anniversary of the publication of Sojourn can be properly appreciated by all on the web. The location, in a beautiful formal room of the Library, complete with large skylight letting in the long rays of the setting Texas sun, was spectacular. Other presenters were a nonfiction writer who spoke tragically of turtles, two poets (with particular commendation going to Brenton Cross, whose Jamaican patois performances of several poems including one recent verse about Hurricane Dean’s heartbreaking effect on his mother’s house, caused stunned and appreciative silence followed by thunderous applause) and ultimately, the event culminated in a stunning multimedia lecture by sculptor Eric McGehearty, whose sculptures address the impossibility of language, its inaccessibility, unreadable books, and other truly exhiliarating subjects. Check out his website if you wish to be floored: www.ericmcgehearty.com

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 8:37 pm and is filed under Book Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.