On Wednesday, October 18, Temple alumnus and Philadelphia poet Ryan Eckes will participate in the Libraries’ Beyond the Page public programming series as the first featured artist in our Midday Arts Series. Join us at 1:00 PM in the Paley Library Lecture Hall (1210 Polett Walk, Ground Floor) to hear Ryan read from his latest manuscript, General Motors. All programs are free and open to all.

Ryan Eckes

I was lucky to catch up with Ryan ahead of his reading, to ask him about his work and life at Temple and in Philadelphia.

Beckie: Can you share with us the story of your journey from Temple grad student to published poet?

Ryan: I started in Temple’s MA poetry program in 2005 when I was 26. I wanted a break from waged work and more time to write poetry, and that’s what I got: two years of immersion in reading and writing—and teaching. A teaching assistantship paid for me to be there (which led to my work as an adjunct). Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Jena Osman were great teachers, as were a few classmates who remain friends today. The experience did not lead immediately or directly to any “success,” but I learned the importance of being in conversation with other writers. I overcame my shyness a bit and started going to more poetry readings to continue my education, which I regard as endless. Being part of a community of writers helps to sustain you over time, especially in a larger culture that does not value poetry or history.

B: In that time, you’ve also published two books and are working on your latest poetry manuscript, General Motors. This collection centers around labor and the influence of public and private transportation on city life. What made you interested in exploring these themes?

R: The book grew from my interest in the GM conspiracy to dismantle public transit in the 20th century, my family’s long history of working for SEPTA/PTC, and my own experience as a union activist and organizer. We live in an automobile society that has shaped just about every aspect of our lives, including the way we see one another, communicate with one another and dispose of one another. I’m interested in how the privatization of public goods and services impacts our relationships and our abilities to survive. In my writing I like to point at the injustices we live inside of and ask questions that make people aware of themselves. And I try to imagine better worlds—that’s the hardest part.

B: How would you describe being a working poet in the city of Philadelphia?

R: Fumbling with language in your head as you walk and ride through the city while also trying to get outside of your head. Fumbling with language in your head as you work your job while also trying to quit your job. Fumbling with language in your head as you talk to people while also trying to love those people. Fumbling with language in your head as you read and read and finally scribble the breath onto paper. Finally reading the poem out loud somewhere and feeling completely alive.

B: That’s such a fascinating insight into how ever-present language is in your daily life. I wonder about the Pew Fellowship you were awarded last year—congratulations by the way! What did that award enable you to do?

R: Thank you. The Pew has given me some very precious time to think and read and write. I’ve been able to finish writing a book that I would otherwise probably still be working on. The grant has allowed me to travel a bit, too. I visited Chile last year for the first time and got to hang out with my friend Carlos Soto-Román who introduced me to other poets there. That never would have happened on adjunct pay!

B: Yes, finding the time and space to work is so important! What other advice do you have for other aspiring poets?

R: My advice is to not think of yourself as an “aspiring” poet. I never did. After I fell in love with poetry, I just started writing and never stopped. I didn’t know where it was going to lead (still don’t). My advice is read widely and keep writing and don’t listen to people who say what you’re doing has no value—remember that capitalist culture is absurd. Stay in touch with the thing inside you that compels you to make something, and trust that thing. And don’t get an MFA unless the university pays for it.

Join us this fall for the Libraries’ free public programming series, Beyond the Page. This season features programs that explore the role of communities in our lives. How are we shaped by the language we use, the institutions we take part in, the places we’ve lived, and the people around us? The Beyond the Page series also consists of a variety of other programs, exhibitions, concerts, and events developed around timely topics and in collaboration with our on-and-off campus partners.

On Wednesday, September 20, check out our first themed program of the fall semester: Creating a Welcoming Campus Community in 2017. This program will ask us to consider: What does a welcoming campus look like? How can we build a campus community that is truly welcoming? Meet us at 12:00 PM in the Paley Library Lecture Hall (1210 Polett Walk, Ground Floor) for a conversation with Temple faculty, staff, students, and community leaders about the extent to which Temple is a welcoming place for international students, immigrants, and students and staff of all backgrounds.

This program takes place during the Welcoming America organization’s Welcoming Week. This annual series of events brings together immigrants, refugees, and native-born residents to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone.

All programs are free and open to all, and make sure to check out our program schedule for updates and new programs as we move into fall.

From left to right: Andrew Bertolazzi, Hasan Zaidi, Lauren Ruhnke, Jason Fontana, Monsurat Otolorin, David Spatichia, Rhiannon Bell; photo courtesy Brae Howard

Temple University Libraries congratulate the winners of the 2016-2017 Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards, which honor the best in undergraduate research across a wide spectrum of disciplines and research methods. The Awards are named for generous donor John H. Livingstone, SBM ‘49, who has supported undergraduate research for more than a decade.

The initiative, formerly known as the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research, began thirteen years ago and was expanded, reshaped, and renamed last year, to recognize a greater cross-section of the outstanding scholarly and creative work of our undergraduate students.

We celebrated the winners at an awards ceremony on April 25. Read on for the list of winners, along with their project titles and sponsoring professors. You can also watch the ceremony here.

Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in the Humanities
Lauren Ruhnke
“Constructing Native Homosexuality in British India”
Faculty advisor: Mark Pollack

Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in the Social Sciences
Jason Fontana
“The Immigrant Parent Disadvantage: Parent Linguistic Capital and Student School Performance”
Faculty advisor: Shanyang Zhao

Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical (STEM) Disciplines
Hasan Zaidi
“Using Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Mechanisms to Improve Eye Moisture Over Extended Periods of Contact Lens Wear”
Faculty advisor: Joseph Danowsky

Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Creative Works and Media Production
Rhiannon Bell
“Retrospective Falsification – Run Away to Sweden”
Faculty advisor: Leah Modigliani

Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award for General Education Courses
Monsurat Otolorin and David Spatichia
“K-pop Subculture International Impact”
Faculty advisor: Rupananda Misra

Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Sustainability and the Environment
Andrew Bertolazzi
“Decentralized Methods of Water Treatment for Reuse of Residential Gray Water”
Faculty advisor: Joseph Danowsky

Photo courtesy Brae Howard

The Livingstone Undergraduate Research Awards are generously sponsored by John H. Livingstone, SBM ‘49.

The Award in Sustainability and the Environment is generously sponsored by Gale, a Cengage Company.

Join us this semester for our Beyond the Page public programming series, as we continue to explore Seeing Stories: Visualizing Sustainable Citizenship. This series is co-curated by Temple Contemporary, Temple University’s Office of Sustainability, and Temple University Libraries, along with faculty and graduate students from the Tyler School of Art, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Center for the Cinematic and Performing Arts, and engages tangible, aesthetic, design, and activist practices that impact our environment.

Screenshot from Weedeater documentary, photo courtesy Eden Batki.

Our first program in the series is a documentary screening of Weedeater, followed by a Q&A with director Eden Batki and the film’s subject, Nance Klehm. This program will take place Thursday, January 26 at 2:30 PM in the Paley Library Lecture Hall.

Other upcoming Seeing Stories programs include a discussion and workshop with the Land Art Generator Initiative (February 3-4); a panel discussion about sustaining creative energy with writer Hrag Vartanian, artist Sharon Louden, and curator Deana Haggag (March 3); and a conversation with landscape architect Kate Kennen (March 23). Visit our Beyond the Page website for the most up-to-date information.

María Mercedes Coroy (c), María Telón (l) in Ixcanul

We’re also continuing to collaborate with academic, community, and artistic partners to bring you a variety of other lectures, panels, exhibitions, concerts, and events to inspire and engage you. On Wednesday, February 1, we are partnering with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Geography and Urban Studies Graduate Student Association to present Ixcanul, a Guatemalan film by Jayro Bustamante (2015). Please join us at 5:00 PM in the Paley Library Lecture Hall for this free screening.

All programs are free and open to all. Check out the program schedule as it becomes available and make sure to check back for updates and new programs as we move into spring.

On Wednesday, November 30, Boyer College of Music and Dance students will present The Music of the Great Migration: A Student Performance. The program, produced as well as performed by students, is the result of their semester-long research of the culture, music, and history of this time period. This performance marks the culmination of their hard work, creativity, and talent and will begin at 12:00 PM in the Ground Floor Lecture Hall at Paley Library.

The Music of the Great Migration: A Student Performance features musical performances by: Noah Hockner-trumpet, Silas Irvine-piano, Josh Lee-Bari sax, Chris Lewis-tenor sax, Chris Oatts-alto sax, Nathan Pence-bass, and Donavan Pope-drums.

This performance is the final event in Temple University Libraries’ programming series The Music of the Great Migration, marking the 100th anniversary of the historic and culturally important movement of 6 million African Americans to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West. This series featured musical performances, exhibitions, and film screenings, and encouraged students, faculty, and community members to enjoy the music of the Great Migration and participate in dialogues about the notable figures and history behind the music.

Here’s a look back at our semester of programming:

Coltrane Festival at the Bell Tower, photo courtesy of Ryan S. Brandenberg

The Music of the Great Migration kicked off during Homecoming with the Coltrane Festival at the Bell Tower. Crowds gathered to enjoy the warm weather and the music of Philadelphia Jazz great John Coltrane as performed by the Chris Lewis Group, Bootsie Barnes Group, Tim Warfield Group, and Ben Schachter Group.

Coltrane Festival at the Bell Tower, photo courtesy of Ryan S. Brandenberg

What Coltrane Means to Me panel discussion, photo courtesy Brae Howard

What Coltrane Means to Me: Musicians Discuss the Influence and Impact of the Jazz Great provided another opportunity to learn about John Coltrane and his continuing presence in Jazz music. Jazz musicians and critics shared their personal experiences with Coltrane’s innovative music and the impact it has had on their own work. The discussion was preceded by a Meet and Greet at the Blockson Collection.

What Coltrane Means to Me meet and greet at the Blockson Collection, photo courtesy Brae Howard

While The Music of the Great Migration: A Student Performance is the final event in the programming series, there are still opportunities for you to explore the legacy of John Coltrane and the Great Migration. The Blockson Collection is currently exhibiting A Love Supreme, a collection of album covers, photographs, posters, and other heirlooms related to John Coltrane which will be on display through December. Also at the Blockson Collection is Lord I’m Moving On: Celebrating the Great Migration. This exhibition runs through January and tells the story of the Great Migration, with a special emphasis on Philadelphia. We encourage you to stop by the Blockson Collection to check out these exhibitions before the student performance.

The Music of the Great Migration is presented in collaboration with: the Philadelphia Jazz Project, Ars Nova Workshop, Boyer College of Music and Dance, and Scribe Video Center, with a special thanks to Terell Stafford, director of jazz studies and chair of instrumental studies at Boyer.

Join us as we continue our Beyond the Page public programming series this fall. We look forward to presenting two upcoming programs that center around essential questions related to food, social justice, and activism. These programs explore food through social and cultural perspectives, including race and sexual politics. We hope to see you at the Paley Library Lecture Hall (1210 Polett Walk, Ground Floor) for:

• The Color of Food: Discussing Food Justice, Food Activism, and Farmers of Color with Dara Cooper, Kirtrina Baxter and Chris Bolden Newsome
  October 25
  On Tuesday, October 25 at 2:30 PM, community organizers Kirtrina M. Baxter, Dara Cooper, and Chris Bolden Newsome will be at the Libraries to discuss racial disparities in the food movement, strengthening community work through food, and advocating for food sovereignty in communities of color.

• Carol J. Adams on the Sexual Politics of Meat
  November 3
  The following week, Carol J. Adams, feminist, activist, and writer, comes to the Libraries on Thursday, November 3 at 2:30 PM. She will present a slideshow in which she analyzes images in popular culture through an ecofeminist approach, demonstrating the interconnected oppressions of sexism, racism, and speciesism.

Both of these programs are part of Seeing Stories: Visualizing Sustainable Citizenship, a series co-curated by Temple Contemporary and Temple University’s Office of Sustainability, along with faculty and graduate students from the Tyler School of Art, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Center for the Cinematic and Performing Arts.

Check out our full schedule of lectures, concerts, exhibits, panels, and more. As always, programs are free and open to all.

Starting this fall, Temple University Libraries will bring you two curated, collaborative series, in addition to the varied lectures, panels, performances, and concerts that serve as Beyond the Page public programming staples. Read on for a preview of our exciting lineup of programming for the upcoming academic year.

Visualizing Sustainability is our series co-curated by Temple Contemporary and Temple University’s Office of Sustainability, as well as faculty and graduate students from the College of Liberal Arts and Tyler School of Art. This series will engage tangible, aesthetic, design, and activist practices that impact our environment. Look forward to discussions of food justice and activism, public art, bird migrations, and so much more.

The Libraries will also bring you a series around Migrations, with a particular focus on the music of the Great Migration. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of this historic and culturally important movement of African Americans to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West. We are partnering with the Philadelphia Jazz Project, Ars Nova, and the Boyer College of Music and Dance to bring you programs and exhibitions on John Coltrane, as well as public performances of John Coltrane’s music and other compositions of the time period.

All programs are free and open to all. Check out the program schedule as it becomes available and make sure to check back for updates and new programs as we move into fall.