Speaker to discuss Holocaust in literature Sept. 13 at Saint Mary’s

WINONA, Minn. — A public presentation titled, “The Holocaust and the ‘Subject’ of Fiction,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at Saint Mary’s University.

The guest speaker is Dr. Emily Budick, Ann and Joseph Edelman Chair in American Literature and Chair of the Program of American Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, and Phyllis Greenberg Heideman and Richard D. Heideman Fellow with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Budick is researching the role of Holocaust fictions in grappling with the events of World War II. The lecture will deal with the ways in which Holocaust fictions frame the problem of subject position, forcing the reader to confront the ways in which even horrific historical events can become subjects of fantasy and projection.

The event will be held in the President’s Room, located in the Toner Student Center.

Dr. Budick will also speak to Saint Mary’s “Seminar in Holocaust Literature” students Thursday afternoon.

The presentation is made possible by the Campus Outreach Lecture Program of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, supported by the generosity of the Jerome A. Yavitz Charitable Foundation, Inc. and Arlyn S. and Stephen H. Cypen.

Poet Laureate hosts poetry reading March 11

WINONA, Minn. — Winona’s Poet Laureate Ken McCullough will be hosting a poetry reading at Saint Mary’s University on Thursday, March 11. This reading — free and open to the public — is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the President’s Room, located in the Toner Student Center.

McCullough will be reading some of his recent poems, along with some of his favorites. Refreshments will be provided. Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, is sponsoring this event.

Ken McCullough’s most recent books of poetry are Obsidian Point, and Walking Backwards, as well as a book of stories, Left Hand. He has received numerous awards for his poetry including the Academy of American Poets Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Pablo Neruda Award, a Galway Kinnell Poetry Prize, the New Millennium Poetry Award, the Blue Light Book Award and the Capricorn Book Award. He was also awarded an Iowa Individual Artist’s grant and two Jerome Fellowships. McCullough has collaborated with Cambodian writer U Sam Oeur on a bi-lingual edition of his poetry, Sacred Vows, and a memoir, Crossing Three Wildernesses. McCullough lives in Winona with his wife, playwright Lynn Nankivil, and son Orion, and works at Saint Mary’s University.

For more information, contact Dr. Carolyn Ayers at (507) 457-1523 or cayers@smumn.edu.