Wonder and the Jurassic: A Presentation by Noted Author Lawrence Weshler

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Noted author Lawrence Weschler will present "Wonder and the Jurassic" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in Willard J. Walker Hall Auditorium.

The talk is based on his best-selling book Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder, an evolution of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in West Los Angeles. The museum, created by David Wilson, is an emporium devoted to the celebration of things that can't be known for sure.

Weschler revisits the 16th-century "wonder cabinets" that were the first museums and examines the imaginative origins of both art and science.

"His work touches many areas, and his visit embodies the interdisciplinary spirit of Fulbright College and the honors programs," event organizer and chair of mathematical sciences Chaim Goodman-Strauss said.

In addition to his talk, the author will visit students in the Honors Humanities seminar (HUMN 2124), Writing Workshop: Fiction (ENGL 5023), Contemporary Art (ARHS 4933) and the Masters of Fine Arts programs.

Weshler was a staff writer at The New Yorker for over 20 years where his work shuttled between political tragedies and cultural comedies.  He is a two-time winner of the George Polk Award – for Cultural Reporting in 1988 and Magazine Reporting in 1992 – and was also a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award (1998). He is fellow and director emeritus of the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University, artistic director emeritus of the Chicago Humanities Festival and curator for New York Live Ideas.

His talk is sponsored by the Honors College, the Fulbright College Honors Program, programs in Creative Writing & Translation and the departments of art, English, history and mathematical sciences.

For more information, contact Chaim Goodman-Strauss at strauss@uark.edu.