Feature: Celebrity Lecture Series Enjoys Major Success
A group supporting MSU's College of Arts and Letters has succeeded in bringing major literary icons to campus. Norman Mailer. Maya Angelou. Arthur Miller. Edward Albee. Joyce Carol Oates. If you want a first row seat to observe the literary landscape of America, you need go no further than the MSU campus.
Many of this country's top literary icons have, over the past seven years, found their way to East Lansing to provide insights about their work, perhaps even read it, and share a good story or two. They are part of the Celebrity Lecture Series, one of the most innovative cultural thrusts made by any university in recent years. 'When great thinkers and writers come to the campus,' says John W. Eadie, dean of arts and letters, 'it's like a fresh breeze, bringing us new and provocative ideas, ventilating the minds of those who hear them.'
Now entering it's eighth season, the Celebrity Lecture Series was conceived in 1988 by Dean Eadie and Alan P. Suits, who, at the time, was president of the Dean's Community Council--a group of alumni and interested citizens seeking to strengthen ties between the community and the College of Arts and letters. 'It seemed to us,' explains Suits, 'that the entire area would benefit from the chance to hear from really outstanding authors and leaders in the creative arts.'
The first guest speaker, in the winter of 1989, was distinguished novelist Tom Wolfe, whose Bonfire of the Vanities dissected the world of Wall Street, and painted an unforgettable picture of two sides of New york. He observed that 'the stuff of daily news outruns the imagination of fiction writers.' Next to appear was Susan Sontag, just beginning her personal crusade to increase awareness of the AIDs epidemic and its costs to society. The season concluded with the appearance of playwright Arthur Miller, who read from a still unpublished new work, and discussed his own student days in Michigan. More than 6,000 people attended the three events, vindicating the belief that such a series would be welcomed by faculty, staff, students and the entire community.
These were the first of more than a score of exciting, provocative evenings in Wharton Center's Great Hall. Maya Angelou's poetry, songs and anecdotes highlighted the second season. In 1991 Joyce Carol Oates discussed the motives that lie behind the act of writing: playfulness, rebellion, homesickness and the search for completeness. Three very different novelists discussed their work in 1992. Tony Hillerman described how bits and pieces of information seem to be 'in search of a plot' and finally distill into a book. Joseph Heller startled the audience with the observation that 'each president, since Eisenhower has been worse than the last.' Kurt Vonnegut suggested that when one is 'surrounded by corruption and venality, be a Saint, anyhow.'
The Celebrity Lecture Series just concluded its most successful season in 1995. Edward Albee traced the path that led him to playwriting, Isabel Allende suggested a Women's Political Party, and John Updike delighted the audience with poetic recollections of cities he has visited and a short story about a midwestern couple in New York.
Almost every one of the guest lecturers has allowed ample time for the fascinating question and answer sessions that follow prepared remarks. Sometimes the audience's curiosity elicits unexpected answers and interesting sidelights. In addition to appearing in the Great Hall, the celebrities attend a reception immediately after the lectures and usually hold on-campus colloquiums with students and faculty the following day.
A LITERARY PANTHEON
Here's a year-by-year list of guest lecturers at MSU:
1989
Tom Wolfe,
Susan Sontag
Arthur Miller
1990
E.L. Doctorow
Norman Mailer
Maya Angelou
1991
Jaques D'Amboise
Carlos Fuentes
Pat Conroy
Joyce Carol Oates
1992
Tony Hillerman
Joseph Heller
Kurt Vonnegut
Rosamond Bernier
1993
Judith Jamison
Philip Roth
William Kennedy
1994
Derek Walcott
Terry McMillan
Daniel J. Boorstin
Margaret Atwood
1995
Edward Albee
Isabel Allende
John Updike
COMING IN 1996
Feb. 6: Jane Smiley Her latest novel, Moo U., has been on best-seller lists throughout the country. The story of life at a land grant university, it is remarkable for its authenticity and its portrayal of life both on campus and in town.
March 19: Gary Wills An outstanding historian, and powerful writer, his Lincoln at Gettysburg paints a moving picture of a president beset by problems who could yet craft a masterpiece of English language.
March 25: John Irving In The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and his other novels, Irving creates unforgettable characters, outlandish situations and unflagging interest on the part of the reader.
All lectures begin at 8 p.m. at the Wharton Center's Great Hall. For ticket information contact the Wharton Center box office at 517-336-2000. --Editor.