Imprint series bring literary giants to Houston

Tucked away right here in Houston is one of the top literary showcases in the United States. Now in its twenty-sixth season, the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series—presented in association with the UH Creative Writing Program, the Alley Theatre, and Brazos Bookstore—brings in some of the world’s greatest writers, including winners of thirty-eight Pulitzer Prizes, thirty-nine National Book Awards, and four Nobel Prizes. Big names of contemporary literature—think Irving and Updike—came to the Bayou City and read to full houses in honor of the series’ silver anniversary season last year.

Poet earns coveted Hardison Prize

He says it was the combined use of clown regalia and turkey gobbling in the classroom that got him the coveted 2005 O.B. Hardison Jr. Prize. But Tony Hoagland knows it was his essay writing about poetry that sealed the deal. The Creative Writing associate professor’s poems and critical essays have appeared widely in journals and anthologies such as American Poetry Review and Harvard Review. The prize, awarded by the Folger Shakespeare Library, is the only national prize to recognize a poet’s teaching as well as his art. Hoagland also received the 2005 Mark Twain Award, given by the Poetry Foundation in recognition of a poet’s contribution to humor in American poetry.

Faculty comprise one-third of Hunting Art Prize finalist

Nine finalists competed for one of North America’s most prestigious and generous art competitions—three were UH professors. The Hunting Art Prize awards $50,000 to recognize a single submission that demonstrates excellence in the arts. The three UH finalists were: Aaron Parazette, associate professor of painting; Al Souza, professor of painting; and Gael Stack, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Art. The Hunting Art Prize—sponsored by the international oil services company Hunting PLC— made its home in the United Kingdom for more than twenty-five years, but the prize was moved to Houston because of the city’s diversity, international standing, dedication to fine arts, and position as the center of the worldwide energy industry.

Artistic fusion,

UH & new center... arts powerhouse

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts is breaking down the walls—literally and figuratively—between artistic disciplines.

Cynthia Woods Mitchell’s love for the arts is the inspiration behind George P. Mitchell’s generous $20 million gift to promote collaboration and innovation in the arts. The center presents and commissions new works of art; sponsors visiting artist residencies; and offers courses, scholarships, lectures, and symposia, all in a creative alliance among five arts units within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences—the School of Art; the Creative Writing Program; the Moores School of Music; the School of Theatre and Dance; and Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston.

The Mitchell Center’s first full season in its newly christened building—a $4.5 million renovation and expansion project—began last spring. Each of the season’s four events attracted audiences of 300 to 500, representing a mix of students and members of the Houston community. Visiting artists included London composer Stephen Montague, whose Horn Concerto was featured on CNN; the Chicago theatre troupe “The Neo-Futurists”; and “Signal Operators,” a festival of multimedia artists from around the world.

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts positions UH as an international force for innovation in the arts. Visiting artists travel from around the globe to teach and work collaboratively on campus—training UH artists of tomorrow to pioneer new forms of creativity.

The competition was fierce—448 applicants vying for 177 prime grants.

Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, is one of the three Texas museums awarded a Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The $147,234 grant—part of the nation’s largest federal funding program for museums—will support Art Focus, an educational initiative to encourage lifelong learning through a rich array of interlocking projects, programs, learning opportunities, and cross-generational mentoring.

Communication school brings movie magic to local kids

The movie magic of Tinsel Town came to Houston-area high school students this summer. A collaborative effort between UH’s School of Communication and WonderWorks, a nonprofit organization offering pre-college learning experiences in the fine arts, presented Moving Pictures. The summer film workshop, now in its second year, gave students the opportunity to produce their own films as well as view and discuss movie classics. “Films help students communicate in a new way,” says Keith Houk, clinical assistant professor of communication and workshop instructor. “They can express their ideas on film, and by working in groups, they’ll develop strong interpersonal communication skills."

Biology prof heads to the silver screen

Alien life … reality or fantasy? George Fox thinks it’s a viable reality. The professor of biology and biochemistry collaborated with the Houston Museum of Natural Science on a film project that explored the possibilities of life on other planets. The joint production Fantasy Worlds: Exploring the Limits of Life was featured at the museum’s Burke Baker Planetarium. Show audiences got a rare glimpse of “extremophiles” as they exist on Earth—under conditions once thought too extreme to sustain life—and fantasy worlds where such unusual conditions might be the norm. Fox also received funding for a second show tentatively titled The Search for Life.

Percussion Ensemble releases major recording

The Moores School of Music’s (MSM) award-winning Percussion Ensemble, directed by Associate Professor Blake Wilkins, released its debut recording on Albany Records. The compact disc, Surge, features the internationally recognized group of twelve undergraduate and graduate percussion majors. Recorded in the Moores Opera House, the album premieres works from MSM’s Percussion Ensemble Commissioning Project including Surge by Associate Professor Rob Smith along with a major new work by Wilkins. The group is set to perform a Showcase Concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention this fall.