New River Valley Bureau staff writer Tonia Moxley brings us this account of last night’s tribute to novelist and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison at Virginia Tech’s Burruss Hall. If you went, what did you think? Tell us in the comments.

Virginia Tech pays tribute to author Toni Morrison
The event included big names such as Maya Angelou and India.Arie.
By Tonia Moxley

BLACKSBURG — The two-hour tribute Tuesday night to American Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison may have left the author, as she said, speechless for the first time.

But the dozens of famous guests and the near-capacity Burruss Hall audience was Virginia Tech saying loud and clear something like: “We may be known for engineering and Hokie football, but now we are the $94 million Center for the Arts.”

“We hope to become a home to the arts,” tribute organizer and Tech poetry professor Nikki Giovanni told a gathering earlier in the day with Morrison and co-honoree Maya Angelou, beloved author, poet and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

No matter if that home is still under construction. No matter that it’s slated to open almost exactly a year from now. “We have reached out to the arts, and the arts have said yes,” Giovanni told the gathering.

In fact, dozens of poets, performers and scholars — among them activist Angela Davis, former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove and singer-songwriter India.Arie — said yes.

They said yes to cheering up a friend, a mentor, an inspiration. Giovanni has said that she and Angelou decided to do something nice for Morrison, whose 45-year-old son, Slade, died close to Christmas in 2010.

Out of that impulse grew a massive effort. Arie told Morrison that serenading her Tuesday was the fulfillment of a wish she made when she was 19 years old and a college student who had just read “The Bluest Eye,” Morrison’s first novel.

Then the Grammy-winning artist sang a song called “Not Afraid of the Dark” that she said was inspired by Morrison’s novel.

Even first lady Michelle Obama sent a letter read at the event to thank Morrison for her inspiring life and work.

And others came, from Kansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Amelia Thorpe came with her book group, the Literate Ladies of Durham, N.C.

“The first time I read ‘The Bluest Eye,’ that really spoke to me, and I still feel it,” Thorpe said.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

 

From my Inbox to you:

The Virginia Rail Heritage Region announces that two of its artifacts win
top honors in the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Competition
sponsored by the Virginia Association of Museums
and the Virginia Collections Institute

• Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 1923 Pullman Lake Pearl Deluxe Sleeper Car and the Alleghany Historical Society’s Chesapeake & Ohio #701 Locomotive were chosen by a panel of curators and experts due to their historical significance to Virginia and the nation.

• The Chesapeake & Ohio #701 Locomotive also earned a People’s Choice award in the public voting portion of the competition.

The Virginia Rail Heritage Region, a coalition of historical rail sites throughout Virginia, announces that two of its artifacts won top honors in the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Competition sponsored by the Virginia Association of Museums and the Virginia Collections Institute.

Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 1923 Pullman Lake Pearl Deluxe Sleeper Car was chosen for its allure, beauty and historical significance. The Pullman car was a deluxe sleeper from the golden age of passenger rail travel. It was designed for multi-day travel across the country and offered luxury, comfort and status to passengers.

The Alleghany Historical Society’s Chesapeake & Ohio # 701 Locomotive, nicknamed “The Merry Widow,” was chosen for its historical significance to the region. The Merry Widow was also chosen as a “People’s Choice” in the public voting portion of the competition.

“We are thrilled that we were chosen as a Top 10 Endangered Artifact,” said Byron Faidley, Depot Attendant of the Alleghany Historical Society in Covington, Virginia. “This locomotive is the only surviving locomotive of the Hocking Valley Railway, and an important piece of Virginia history as well. It’s good to see the Merry Widow on the top of a list rather than the bottom.” Read more »

Two events in one from the artist collective Star City Creators Society, swiped from Facebook (alert the creators to your participation by visiting the event page.)

From my Inbox to you:

 

BLACKSBURG  – Two out of 10 finalists in the ninth annual People’s Choice Awards, sponsored by the Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov), are co-authored by members of the Virginia Tech community. The winners will be chosen by votes from the public, and readers are encouraged to vote either at their local library or online  (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/vote) for their favorite books among the five fiction and five nonfiction finalists.

One of the finalists from Virginia Tech is “Lost Communities of Virginia” by Terri Fisher, outreach and programs coordinator for the Community Design Assistance Center  (http://cdac.arch.vt.edu/), and Kirsten Sparenborg, who also received an architecture degree from Virginia Tech in 2000. The other is “Virginia at War, 1865” by James I. “Bud” Robertson, Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, and William C. Davis, director of programs for the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies (http://www.civilwar.vt.edu/). Read more »

UPDATE 6/8/12: Read my interview with U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey and her father, Hollins University English professor Eric Trethewey.

Natasha Trethewey, the 2012 Hollins University writer-in-residence, daughter of English professor Eric Trethewey and a 1991 graduate of the Hollins Master’s in Creative Writing program, has been named the U.S. Poet Laureate. This past February the Hollins Theater Department performed an original play, “Bellocq’s Ophelia,” adapted from her poetry collection of the same name.

Here’s more from the Associate Press:

WASHINGTON — A Pulitzer Prize winner is the nation’s first poet laureate to hail from the South since the initial one — Robert Penn Warren — was named by the Library of Congress in 1986.

Natasha Trethewey, 46, an English and creative writing professor at Emory University in Atlanta and Hollins University’s Louis D. Rubin Writer-in-Residence for 2012, will be named the 19th poet laureate today. She is also Mississippi’s top poet and will be the first person to serve simultaneously as a state and U.S. laureate.

Trethewey won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for her poetry book, “Native Guard.” They focused partly on history that was erased because it was never recorded. She wrote of the Louisiana Native Guard, a black Civil War regiment assigned to guard white Confederate soldiers held on Ship Island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.

The Confederate prisoners were later memorialized on the island, but not the black Union soldiers.

A stanza reads:
“Some names shall deck the page of history
“as it is written on stone. Some will not.”

Librarian of Congress James Billington, who chose Trethewey after hearing her read at the National Book Festival in Washington, said her work explores forgotten history and the many human tragedies of the Civil War.

“She’s taking us into history that was never written,” he told The Associated Press. “She takes the greatest human tragedy in American history – the Civil War, 650,000 people killed, the most destructive war of human life for a century – and she takes us inside without preaching.”

Click here to read the rest of the story.

In addition to the awards announcement, staff writer Matt Chittum wrote a story Sunday following up on the controversy caused by the Taubman Museum of Art’s decision to get rid of the fences. It looks like the show itself was a success regardless.

Good weather and some cash in your pocket can do a lot to brighten your mood.

The mood around the annual Sidewalk Art Show this weekend in Roanoke had set up to be a little sour after some changes to the show by the Taubman Museum of Art, which the show benefits.

For 35 years, all or part of the show was hung on sections of chain-link fence. This year, Taubman officials did away with the fences, which were popular among beginning artists because they were a cheaper option than setting up a tent.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

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2012 SIDEWALK ART SHOW OFFERS OUTSTANDING SELECTION OF FINE ART BY REGIONAL AND NATIONAL ARTISTS

 The Taubman Museum of Art today announced the prize and award winners of the 54^th Annual Sidewalk Art Show, presented by Bank of America. The judge for this year’s show was Todd Smith, Associate Professor at Liberty University, Chairman of the Studio and Digital Arts Department and Director of the LU Gallery. Smith received his B.S. in Art and Master of Fine Arts from Radford University, pursued doctoral studies at Virginia Tech, and has presented lectures at Cambridge University as well as University of Oxford, where he recently dedicated one of his own sculptures at Oxford’s St. Hugh’s College. [Blogger's note 6/6/12: I've corrected this paragraph from the Taubman press release to accurately reflect Smith's resume per his request.]

Grand Home Furnishings Best in Show – ZL Feng “Ford Man”

Mickie Kagey Watercolor Award – John Oboleweiz – Body of Work

Second Prize – Courtney Tomchik “Petal Lidded Jar”

Third Prize – Gena Van Dyke “Sea Foam Series”

 

Awards:

Anstey Hodge Advertising Group Award for Excellence in Design – ZL Feng

Blair Wiley Fishwick Memorial Award – Donna Tuten

Paul Ostaseski Memorial Award  – Chris Bruno

Allen Ingles Palmer Memorial Watercolor Award – Nancy Stark Read more »

Judy Light Ayyildiz’ novel Forty Thorns (click read a profile of the Roanoke County author and her book) has won a 2012 International Book Award in the literary fiction category and also placed as a finalist in the historical fiction category. The complete list can be found on the award website.

Congratulations, Judy!

From my Inbox to you:

Rescue Mission Holds Permanent Art Collection Reception to Announce Winners

The Rescue Mission will hold the Awards Reception for their 6^th Annual Permanent Art Collection Competition (PAC)  in the Men’s Shelter at the Rescue Mission  on Sunday, May 6 at 2pm at the Rescue Mission, located at 402 4^th Street SE Roanoke, 24013.

All entries will be on display throughout the men’s shelter beginning Sunday, May 6 through Thursday, May 31.  Winners will be announced on May 6^th, including a special category called The People’s Choice, which will be selected by overnight guests of the shelter.

The reception will offer the chance to meet the artists, tour the Rescue Mission, and enjoy refreshments and live music.

The Rescue Mission’s Permanent Art Collection Competition, sponsored by the League of Roanoke Artists and the Blacksburg Regional Art Association, provides a unique opportunity for regional artists’ work to be enjoyed and appreciated by families with almost no access to original art.

All entries to the Permanent Art Collection Competition 2012 were submitted anonymously to be independently judged by Amy Morefield, Co-Director and Chief Curator of the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University.  27 pieces from 15 artists have been selected as Finalists and are eligible to be chosen as 2012 Winners.  Read more »

Roanoke artist Tif Robinette is the 1st place winner in the Winter 2012 juried competition, titled “WOMANifesto,” held by ArtsSceneToday.com, a website founded by New York artist Michelle S. Aragon to help give exposure to new artists.

Robinette’s installation sculpture “The Mean Girls: She Ra” (shown at left) was selected as the winner by Australian artist and curator Victoria Bennett.

Robinette’s win means that she’s the featured artist on the site (click here to read her artist statement and interview) and her work will appear on the cover of the printed exhibition catalog.

Congratulations, Tif!

From my Inbox to you, courtesy of Arts Council of the Blue Ridge. Of special note: artist and teacher Sandi D’Alessandro will receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award.

ANNOUNCING RECIPIENTS OF THE 2012

 Perry F. Kendig Award for Outstanding Support of the Arts

Roanoke, VA:  The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Perry F. Kendig Award for Outstanding Support of the Arts.

The 2012 Perry F. Kendig recipients will be:

• Forrest Landon as Outstanding Individual
• Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University as Outstanding Arts & Cultural Organization
•  ITT for Outstanding Business,
• Roanoke Valley Reads for Outstanding Arts Education Program
• Nathan Harper as Outstanding Young Professional
• Exclamations will receive the award for Outstanding Emerging Arts Organization

Artist awards will be presented to:

• David Lipps, Outstanding Performing Artist
• Ann Glover, Outstanding Visual Artist
•  Richard Dillard, Outstanding Literary Artists.

A Lifetime Achievement award will be presented posthumously to local artist Sandi D’Alessandro. Sandi, a local art teacher for 36 years, impacted our community with her work as an artist and through her dedication to her students. Read more »