Oxnard College has announced the schedule for its Literature, Arts & Lecture Series beginning Sept. 28.
Sponsored by Oxnard College, all events are held on Wednesdays from 1 to 2 p.m. in the new Oxnard College Performing Arts Building (OCPA), 4000 So. Rose Ave., Oxnard.
The Oct. 19 event is co-sponsored by Poets & Writers Inc. through a grant received from the James Irvine Foundation.
The events are free for students, faculty, staff, and the community. Parking is $2. For more information or directions, contact Shelley Savren at ssavren@vcccd.edu or 805.986.5800, ext. 1951.
Oxnard College Literature, Arts & Lecture Series events:
Deaf of the Deaf. On Sept. 28, American Sign Language professor Kristine Hall will tell her story of growing up deaf in a deaf family, her struggles to communicate with the outside world and get an advanced education, and her journey to becoming a full-time ASL professor.
Drug Wars–from Columbia to California. On Oct.5, Witness for Peace staff Tanya Cole and Candice Camargo will be joined by community organizer Jani Silva to discuss the internal conflict in her native town of Putumayo, Colombia, and the U.S. failed drug war policy affecting the two countries.
Mystical Music of the Middle East. On Oct. 12, Academy Award winning composer Yuval Ron and his ensemble will perform music from sacred traditions, featuring songs of Andalusi-Gypsy and Sufi origins from Spain, Turkey and Bosnia, and Jewish prayers from Morocco, Yemen and Israel.
Music for the Black Room: A Poetry Reading. On Oct. 19, Tampa Review Poetry Prize winner Sarah Maclay will read poems from her three collections: Music for the Black Room, The White Bride and Whore and will talk about her writing and publishing processes, followed by a book signing.
Perilous Journeys: The Side of Adventure People Never See. On Oct. 26, author/filmmaker/photographer Karin Muller will tell harrowing stories, dodging bullets and diseases, living among natives in east Africa, Vietnam, Sudan, Cuba, the Andes and Japan, and documenting their lifestyles for PBS and National Geographic.
Piazzolla Trio: Tango, Classical and Jazz Music. On Nov.2, a chamber quintet featuring accordionist Alexander Lavruk, violinist Mira Khomik and cellist Feliks Volozhanin will perform The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, Grand Tango, Oblivion, and Libertango, extraordinary compositions by Astor Piazzolla.
The Purepecha: Poorest of the Poor. On Nov. 9, award-winning writer/director/producer Cheryl Quintana Leader will show her short documentary, unveiling the plight and social injustice among migrant farm workers and their families in the Coachella Valley of California, followed by a question and answer period.
Don’t Be Prepared: An Improvisational Performance. On Nov. 16, players from Ventura Improv Company, the county’s longest-running script-free theatre group, will create comical skits out of nothing but audience suggestions and the odd strike of inspiration and will compete in teams, using the audience as judges.
Tattoos on the Heart. On Nov.23, Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, which provides job training for at-risk youth, will speak about his book, Tattoos on the Heart, chronicling his experiences working with gang members in L.A.
Theatre of the Battle. On Nov. 30, writer/performer Zoe Sheli Sameth will perform a one-woman show, powerfully and sometimes humorously, portraying civilian life in the war zone of Sri Lanka, the last stronghold of peaceful Buddhism before a civil war broke out in 1983.
Pink Smoke Over the Vatican: Women Challenging the Church. On Dec. 7, Bishop Olivia Doko and Roman Catholic women priests will form a panel for a Q&A, following the screening of an award-winning documentary, which chronicles the controversial journey of women ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic church.
Oedipus: Purification, Devastation and Burden of Leadership. On Dec. 14,
professor Anthony Rodriguez and students of Sigma Kappa Delta, English Honor Society for two-year colleges, will investigate psycho-literary aspects of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, examining how a search for the authentic self can yield suffering.
Click here to download a PDF of the schedule