News from the Division of Languages and Literature

Beloved satirical writer David Sedaris is best experienced in person: "his tone and delivery at once dry, understated, gently caustic and bemused by the world’s absurdities."

Bard writer in residence Francine Prose reviews The Loser, David Lang’s "beautiful and startlingly original opera."

On Monday, September 26, Andrew Ervin reads from his celebrated first novel, Burning Down George Orwell’s House. Ervin will be introduced by novelist and Bard literature professor Bradford Morrow. The reading, presented as part of Morrow’s Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series, takes place at 2:30 p.m. in Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center, and will be followed by a Q&A. The event is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.

Book objects from the collection of Mindell Dubansky are on view at the Stevenson Library through Sunday, October 30, with an opening reception on Monday, September 12. All over the world, for hundreds of years, people have been making, collecting and presenting book-objects that reflect their devotion and respect for books and each other. There are countless examples; they include cameras, radios, banks, toys, memorials, desk accessories, musical instruments, magic tricks, furniture and jewelry.