UMSL Announces Spring 2012 Monday Noon Series Events

Jan. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri–St. Louis and its Center for the Humanities announces the Spring 2012 lineup for the Monday Noon Series. These free, open to the public, cultural lectures and performances focus on art, dance, history, literature, politics and many other exciting subjects. The interdisciplinary events are every Monday from 12:15–1:15 p.m. and take place in the J.C. Penney Conference Center on UMSL’s campus unless otherwise noted.

The series begins January 30 with Masterful Storyteller Richard Burgin reading from his latest book “Shadow Traffic,” which was named by “The Huffington Post” as one of the most anticipated books of fall 2011. Burgin, a five-time Pushcart Prize winner, is founder and editor of the literary journal “Boulevard” and professor of communication and English at Saint Louis University.

Events continue with another reading on February 6. Author Joseph M. Schuster reads and discusses his novel “The Might Have Been.” Schuster, chair of the Department of Communications and Journalism at Webster University, has published a variety of short fiction in literary journals.

February 13 presents “A Collage of Pecha Kucha: Working Globally to Eliminate Extreme Poverty.” Daniel Oerther, the Mathes Chair of Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, shares vignettes of his global work in eliminating extreme poverty, ensuring universal access to water and sanitation, and combating the obesity epidemic.

Guests will enjoy listening to symphony sounds on February 20, when Bjorn Ranheim, a Saint Louis Symphony cellist, performs sections from the Bach 3rd Suite for Unaccompanied Cello. Ranheim also describes his upbringing in a musical family from Minnesota and his career that has him traveling far and wide.

February events close with “The Irish Song Tradition.” Julie Henigan, an expert on traditional Irish music and culture, performs a selection of items from the Irish song tradition, some unaccompanied and others accompanied on guitar and fiddle. Henigan is a prize-winning singer and a fluent Irish speaker who performs in English and Irish-Gaelic.

Events continue throughout March and April and include poetry, art, dance and design, among others. All events are free, open to the public and no registration is required. Light refreshments will be served. The Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission of Saint Louis and Gallery 210 have provided financial assistance for this season.



For more information and the complete Spring 2011 schedule, please visit the Monday Noon Series website at http://umslce.org/index.php/monday-noon-series or call (314) 516-5699.

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About UMSL CE:
The UMSL Division of Continuing Education provides programs that fulfill degree completion, professional development and personal enrichment goals for the lifelong learner. For more information, please visit http://umslce.org.