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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1998)
uirsday •Apr,] The Battalion hursday • April 9, 1998 ■Mm ■MU le/icaffy SpeaLny ^ Literature reading at Sweet Eugene’s, writers’ organizations fill the creative arts void at Texas A&M Chief 'ater, Opinion Edi gers, Photo Editi ffines, Radio Prtx jldston, Radio Pr: oer, Web Editor eier, Night News mike fuentk ss of '92 takes p: lyton WilliamsAltf By Leah Templeton C|||| ; H Staff writer B Flowers are in bloom, birds are chirping and students are wearing shorts to class. This could only mean that spring has arrived. Everything seems to start moving at a slower pace and the lazy days of summer are near. Since times like these are usually spent outside relaxing or lost in thought, it seems only fitting that April is national poetry month. ■ To celebrate poetry month, a poetry reading is taking place at Sweet Eugene’s tonight at 8:30 p.m. Dr. Chuck Taylor, an Eng lish professor at Texas A&M, said the reading is a good oppor tunity for students who have an interest in poetry. J “To be a poet you have to get practice reading aloud. This is a chance for students to overcome shyness and get some e Bauer ja r; audience reaction.” I Poetiy readings have become quite popular all over the coun- - Brandon Mi try and Taylor believes tonight's reading will be entertaining. I “I hope it will be open and fluid; we’re going to try to keep it lively with audience response,” he said. I Taylor also said anyone is welcome to participate, and those involved with the reading should bring two poems, one work of their own and one poem by another poet. ■ Taylor teaches English 236 which is a beginning poetry dass and said his students are taking part in the reading. I “There should be a wide variety of poetry to be read. Some students are planning on some comic poetry, some people |wi ite all mythical poetry and a lot of science majors are very idealistic and want some artistic expression.” I Taylor said there is also relationship poetry about break ing up or being in love. I Taylor added that poets can sometimes become stereo- McReynolds. Cory es Francis & Jake! imes Palmer, Chad P. Beato. Ed Goodwin, John iriel Ruenes, Victor : Stebbms tha Gidne- Fain w Ba Jody Rae S Trevino. g & Jeremy Brow typed as lonely geniuses who are isolated from society, therefore the purpose of the reading is “to cele brate the community of poets.” Taylor describes poetry as “a primal art or people’s art that is very simple with a very intimate communication.” Tigger Schweighofer, a senior environmental design major who works at Sweet Eugene’s, says poet ry readings usually go well at the coffee shop. “We’ve had them here a couple of times before and quite a few people attend. It’s usually a good crowd.” Schweighofer also said the mood at the readings is relaxed and open. “Everyone just goes up one at a time, and some start open conversa tions about the poetry. It’s good orig inal stuff and pretty enlightening.” For those students who are fo cused on liberal arts studies and wish to get involved, there are vari ous writing groups on campus that will help get the creativity flowing. Leslie Spiekes, a junior English major and president of the Inkshed Press, thinks writing groups are long overdue on campus. “I think the fact that A&M is so conservative and left-brained makes it perfect to have an organization like Inkshed. People need a release.” The Inkshed Press is an under graduate creative writing organization that supports fiction and poetry. Spiekes said there is a definite desire for poetry at A&M. “We have our greatest emphasis on poetry because that’s what is popular on campus,” she said. Spiekes said the Inkshed is participating in the poetry reading tonight at Sweet Eugene’s, but they also hold their own readings. The Inkshed also holds workshops on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. in the MSC. The workshops are intended to help students with their poetry and critique their work. Spiekes said the Inkshed includes a variety of majors in the or ganization. This diversity is necessary for individuals to be able to identify with certain types of poetry they enjoy. “There are all sorts of poetry, and that allows people to identi fy with all sorts of problems.” The Inkshed is now working with the English department, and although they had a lack of funds last semester and could not publish their work, this semester they have a publication coming out on April 24. Sigma Tau Delta is an honor’s club that invites professors and different speakers to talk about research and English. Jennifer Eichhorn-Robinson, a senior English major and president of Sigma Tau Delta, said anyone is welcome to join the meetings. “The rpeetings are open to everybody, and it’s only the official members that must make the grade point requirements.” Discussions follow the Sigma Tau Delta meetings, which are every other Monday at 8:30 p.m. There are also other writing groups on campus, including the English Language and Literature Society, that allow for more cre ativity on campus. Liberal arts at A&M is slowly beginning to grow, thanks to the support and desire of the students who want to get involved with the various writing groups. Perhaps the trend will continue and it-will grow even more. n the ethnic edge of music flC-NfflQfiy helps bring cultural diversity to students through the sound of Indian tonalions Special to The Battalion with Chris Martin and Marium Mohiuddin I vet get the feeling that all modern rock songs are actually just the same song rehashed over and lover? Modern western pop music is often just the te old song and dance—hook, verse, chorus, verse, |orus, bridge, solo, chorus and chorus. I Those looking for a little something different to tickle their cochlea should look no further than room 201 in the Memorial Student Center on Fri day. At 7:30 p.m., SPIC-MACAY (Society for Promo tion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youth) will host a concert featuring Sri S. P. Ramh, an accomplished classical Indian vocalist in the Carnatic style. Indian classical music has two main styles, the north-Indian Hindustani and the south-Indian Car natic style. A typical concert features a soloist accom panied by a violinist and percussionist. Dr. Mysore Mohan, faculty advisor for SPIC- MACAY, said that while the north Indian music is sec ular and romantic, the southern Carnatic style is more devotional and praises God. “[Carnatic] is used in ceremonies such as mar riage,” Mohan said. “The south Indian music is more structured and the grammar is highly evolved.” In addition to being an exceptional vocalist, Rahm is also an accomplished instrumentalist who studied under Maestro Shri. Lalgudi Jayaraman. Ramh will be joined by Shri. Vittal Ramamurthy, a leading violinist, and top mridangam percussionist Palghat Shri. R. Raghu. All artists have performed throughout India and the world. SPIC-MACAY, a campus student organization, has been bringing leading artists from India to per form on campus since it was founded in 1989. The organization’s aim is to promote awareness about the rich Indian culture amongst youth, both in In dia and abroad. H DIES &I9itfjs “Bridal and Tuxedo” Bridals • Formats • Veils 25 - 50% off AT THE TEXAS AVE. ENTRANCE TO A&M Open Weeknights until 7 p.m. ase Need a little free time? Try The week of April 12- April 16 Acct 229 Test Reviews Cassidy Sun April 9pm-12am Deere Joiner Mon Aprl3 6pm-9pm . Acct 229 Shomnker l‘art l Tue Apr 14 6pm-9pm Part H Wed Apr 15 6pni-9pm Part 111 Thu Apr 16 6pm-8pm Acct 230 Test Review Mon Apr!3 3pm-6pm Loi Test Review Mon AprI3 ] 9pm-12am Biol 113 Part 1 Sun Apr 12 6pnt"9pm Part II Mon Apr 13 dpm-9pm Part HI 'Hie Apr 14 6pm>8pm Math 141 Part I Mon Apr 12 6pm~9pm Part 11 Tue Apr 14 6pm-9pm Part III Wed Apr 15 6pm-9pm Math 142 Part 1 Mon Apr t3 9pm-12pm Part It Tue Apr 14 9pin-l2pm , Part III Wed Apr IS 9pm-12pm . t:. Fine 341 Part I Sun Apr 12 7pm-10pm Part 11 Mon Apr 13 7pra-l0pm Part Ul Tue Apr 14 7pm-9pm Question: Who invented the toilet? (First 5 to call with answer get free review!) Answer appears Thursday Last week's answer: Walter Cronkite was never able to succeed until after he dropped out of t.u. 696-TUTOR (8886) 4.0 & GO " (xMCLJttfM. RiL*A -S2LC TtaJikiuatJ.- TAM1I Tickets go on sale Sunday 5:30 p.m. 4.0 & Go is located om the comer of SW Pkwy and Tx Ave, behind KFC next to Lack's Look for our ads in the Baft on Mondays Thursdays