What’s shakin’, scholars? This week is jam-packed with news and articles on Gilgamesh, St. Augustine, Walt Whitman, and more. Read on:
- A cylinder clay seal hailing from the Akkadian period (2000 BC) of Mesopotamia and depicting a scene from the Epic of Gilgamesh, along with 40 other antiquities from Iraq, will find its way to the 57th Venice Biennale this May to November.
- Suzanne M. Wolfe concocts a tale based on the love life of St. Augustine in her novel The Confessions of X. Meanwhile, we are extremely concerned that the image in the corresponding article features St. Monica, Augustine’s mother.
- Soprano Julia Bullock appears as the soloist in the New York premiere of “Rime Sparse” (Scattered Rhymes), a soprano, violin, cello, and piano piece by Jonathan Berger in a program called “Love Sonnets”. A “mysterious and hazy 22-minute work,” “Rime Sparse” is composed of seven poems by Petrarch.
Soprano Julia Bullock with pianist Wu Han. (Credit: Emon Hassan for The New York Times)
- Recently, The New Yorker has been publishing articles on Walt Whitman, which includes articles on the poet’s men’s-health column, his lost novel, a recitation of “Song of Myself” at a drug-court session, and the theme of the sea in Whitman’s poetry.
- Chekhov two ways: Three Sisters and Aaron Posner’s addendum-play No Sisters at Studio Theatre… in tandem. As in, you can sneak a peak of a live performance of Three Sisters on video monitors on the set of No Sisters. DC Theatre Scene recommends viewing the original play first before diving into No Sisters.
Biko Eisen-Martin in No Sisters, video monitor visible in the background. (Credit: Teresa Wood)
Well, that should tide you overfor one week. Come back soon!
