Our Midday Arts Series debuted in fall 2016 as a collaboration with the Intellectual Heritage department in order to celebrate the Temple creative writing community and connect directly with coursework in the College of Liberal Arts. Over the years, the series has welcomed Temple faculty, alumni, and friends, including Liz Moore, Andrea Clearfield, Tom McAllister, Ryan Eckes, Meg Lemieur, David Jackson Ambrose, Pattie McCarthy, Darla Himeles, Kai Davis, Herman Beavers, and more!

This fall, we welcomed two guests as part of the series.  

In September, Elaine Goldstein Terranova, CLA ‘61, read from her memoir The Diamond Cutter’s Daughter. Following the reading, Terranova was interviewed by Rebecca Alpert, professor emerita of religion at Temple University. The two discussed what it was like growing up in a Jewish family in Philadelphia. The reading and discussion was recorded and can be viewed on library.temple.edu/watchpastprograms. 

Terranova donated her papers to the Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center. They document her career as a poet, writer, editor, and teacher. To accompany the reading, we featured Terranova’s papers in a special pop-up exhibit during the month of October in the Albert M. Greenfield Special Collections Research Center Reading Room and held a book club discussion of the memoir. 

In October, Patrick Lawler presented Poemformances (poetry as performance) focused on a number of urgent issues: the environment, homelessness, gender issues, violence, race, and identity. 

After his reading, Caroline Burkholder, sustainability manager, interviewed Patrick on his writing process, using humor to present series issues, and his inspiration. Catch the readings and conversation, now available on library.temple.edu/watchpastprograms. 

This series would not be possible without the support of the Intellectual Heritage department, and the collaboration of Professor Jeffrey Lee. We’re excited to see who will participate in the series over the coming semesters. Stay tuned!