MCLA’s ‘Politics of the Visual’ lecture series continues with ‘What Lies at the Intersection of Land Ownership and Documentary Poetics’ with Anaïs Duplan
North Adams— On Thursday, November 7th at 5:30 p.m., Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ “Politics of the Visual” lecture series continues with “What Lies at the Intersection of Land Ownership and Documentary Poetics” with Anaïs Duplan.
This dynamic series explores critical questions about the political dimensions of visuality, the power structures behind perception, and the phenomena of spectacle in contemporary culture. Anaïs Duplan, a trans* poet and artist, will present on the connections between land ownership and documentary poetics. Duplan is the author of “Blackspace: On the Poetics of an Afrofuture” and is a professor at Bennington College.
The lecture is on Thursday, November 7th at 5:30 p.m. at the MOSAIC Events Space, located at 49 Main Street in North Adams. It is free and open to the public. More information can be found online.
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Yiddish Book Center presents ‘Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook’ with Ilan Stavans
Amherst— On Sunday, November 10th at 2 p.m., the Yiddish Book Center presents a conversation with local author, translator, lexicographer, and cultural commentator Ilan Stavans about his latest book, “Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook,” coauthored with Margaret E. Boyle.
Through 100 delicious recipes, “Sabor Judío” tells the complex story of Jewish life in Mexico, from 1492 to the present. The dishes, personal narratives, and accompanying commentary illuminate how flavors and dishes evolved in Mexican and Jewish kitchens and how they fused into a distinct cuisine, mainly thanks to the labor of Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and converso women.
Ilan Stavans is the publisher of Restless Books and the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His books include “On Borrowed Words,” “Spanglish,” “Dictionary Days,” “The Disappearance,” and “A Critic’s Journey.” He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Chile’s Presidential Medal, the International Latino Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award. Stavans’s work, translated into twenty languages, has been adapted to the stage and screen., and he is the host of the NPR podcast “In Contrast.”
The event is on Sunday, November 10th at 2 p.m. at the Yiddish Book Center, located at 1021 West Street in Amherst. There will be a Q&A and book signing. More information can be found online.
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Berkshire Bach Society presents choreographer Peter Sparling at their next ‘Portals’ event
Pittsfield/Lenox— On November 8th and 9th at 7 p.m., the Berkshire Bach Society announces the next event in its quarterly “Portals” series, “Chaconne—An Exploration of Movement with distinguished choreographer Peter Sparling” at Berkshire Community College and at the Lenox Town Hall.
The program uses the medium of dance to explore the power of dynamic expression in the work of J.S. Bach and examines the intimate relationship between music and movement. The event includes an overview of 100 years of choreography to Bach and highlights Mr. Sparling’s film “Chaconne” that features his dance performance to Bach’s great “Chaconne” from the “Partita No. 2 in D minor for Solo Violin.” As an introduction to the film, violinist and Artistic Director Eugene Drucker plays the first four movements from the “Partita” live and will host a discussion and Q&A with Mr. Sparling after the screening.
Peter Sparling is the Rudolf Arnheim Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Dance and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Dance at the University of Michigan. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School, he was a member of the José Limón Dance Company and principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company. As Graham’s assistant, he collaborated with her on new works and coached many important dancers, including Rudolf Nureyev. He has performed and staged Graham’s works throughout the world and has appeared with the company on PBS Dance in America.
The event is on Friday, November 8th at 7 p.m. at Berkshire Community College, located at 1350 West Street in Pittsfield, and on Saturday, November 9th at 7 p.m. at Lenox Town Hall, located at 6 Walker Street in Lenox. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Taconic Music’s presents its third annual ‘Jazz in the Barn’ series, hosted by the Inn at Manchester
Manchester Center, Vt.— On Wednesday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m., Taconic Music presents its third annual “Jazz in the Barn” series, hosted by the Inn at Manchester.
Back by popular demand, pianist Willis Delony returns to the Inn’s Celebration Barn. He will be joined by Michael Craner on bass, Matt Niedbalsk on drums, and special guest trombonist John Wheeler for an evening of jazz standards in a casual, nightclub-like setting.
Delony is the Boyd Professor of Piano and Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University and has won acclaim as one of the nation’s leading classical/jazz crossover artists. His innovative concert explorations of the two musical worlds are showcased in a series of solo piano recordings on the Centaur label.
The concert is on Wednesday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. at the Inn at Manchester, located at 3967 Main Street in Manchester Center, Vt. The bar opens at 6:30 p.m. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Fairview Hospital presents a series of Community Care Sessions with Sunder Ashni at Berkshire South
Great Barrington— On November 7th and December 4th from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with the intention to cultivate care and belonging, Fairview Hospital presents a series of Community Care Sessions with Sunder Ashni at Berkshire South.
The sessions will include a Conversation and Circle led by Sunder Ashni, a Sound Bath with Resos De Sonidos, a trio who creates sonic ceremonies for grounding, journeying, and healing.
Ashni is a land steward, community organizer, and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner with a private practice at MinkaBrooklyn. She facilitates one-on-one and group sessions, ceremonies, meditations, and experiences permeated with love that cultivate radical awareness, appreciation of self, and overall ecstatic wellness within participants and their community with the intention of re-cultivating a deep connection with our Earth mother.
Resos De Sonidos members Damarys Romano, Vicky Ehrich, and Tim Lee between them have decades of experience in the healing arts and the use of music and sound to generate positive change.
The sessions are on November 7th and December 4th from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Berkshire South, located at 15 Crissey Road in Great Barrington. There will be space for integration and refreshments. All sessions are free and open to the public.
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Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to present draft Safety Action Plan
Pittsfield— The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) federal funding program is bringing resources to Berkshire County to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on our roads, with the goal of reaching zero.
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) has been developing the STEPS Initiative: the Safe Travel and Equity Plan for our Streets. Earlier this year, BRPC, along with their consultation partners at BETA Group Inc., began the development process of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan with public meetings, an online survey, municipal stakeholder interviews, and a comprehensive review of regional crash data. The draft report of safety recommendations based on these findings will be available for public review and comment beginning on November 4th. An executive summary is now available online.
On Wednesday, November 6th at 6 p.m., an input session presenting the draft plan and inviting comments will be held at the Berkshire Innovation Center, located at 45 Woodlawn Avenue in Pittsfield. The meeting will be in a hybrid format. Zoom registration and more information can be found online.