Few people on our campus or anywhere in the city are aware of a unique event offered each spring at OLLU. For years, our administration has brought nationally recognized writers to give readings and meet with students during an annual literary festival. No other institution in this area offers such a fabulous opportunity. Our next festival is scheduled for April 14-20, which means almost a week of readings, panel discussions, dramatic performances, music, and class visits by rock-star artists, such as Sandra Cisneros, Oscar Hijuelos, and Alicia Ostriker. This year, the festival is called "La Vida Consciente/The Conscious Life," and its aim is to provoke conversation and thought about the theme of spirituality in literature and film. It was chosen with the belief that institutions of higher learning must create platforms for dialogue about spirituality in art and the global significance of those artistic choices.
The festival's first event on April 14 is "Soccer Nightmares, Soccer Dreams," a series of monologues by Boston spoken word artist, Michael Anderson. He is a First Amendment lawyer and the starting goalkeeper for the 2006 champions of New England's Over-40 Soccer League. On Monday, April 16, high school students from across the city will spend the day attending two panel discussions and then listening to Sandra Cisneros read in Thiry. You, of course, are also invited. That night, Alicia Ostriker, an internationally recognized, award-winning poet, will give a presentation on the midrash retelling of Biblical stories. On April 17, we're having a publication party for our literary journal, The Thing Itself; come see whose work is included and which lucky winners receive cash prizes. That night Alicia Ostriker gives a reading with Abraham Verghese, the director of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center; his memoir about treating patients with AIDS was made into a movie. On April 18, the Mujeres writer's group from the Center for Women in Church and Society will share stories about religious traditions that have sustained them. That night, Oscar Hijuelos gives a reading in Thiry. Oscar is the only Hispanic to have ever won the Pulitzer Prize, and his novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, was made into a film starring Antonio Banderas (which you can rent at Blockbuster!). On April 19, Sigma Tau Delta will hold its annual Favorite Poem Project; this year, special guests will be writers Lori Carlson and Douglas Brode. That evening, a cast of professional actors will perform a dramatic reader's theater production of stories and poems by OLLU faculty; you won't want to miss that. The final event on April 20 is "Words and Music: The Recital," a student performance of original poems set to original music.
Hundreds of high school students are expected to attend the April 16 events, and a graduate class from UT Austin is coming to hear Oscar Hijuelos. People from across San Antonio will excitedly drive to our campus to hear these fabulous speakers, news which delights the festival planners. But the festival was created for you. Please watch for more details as they appear on the OLLU website and in E-Currents. You don't have to pay for anything or drive anywhere to hear rock-star artists read, sing, talk, and provoke conversation about spirituality. I hope I'll see you there.
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