Lunch Talk: Writing from the Podium

So much of the writing we hold in high esteem, especially in the Anglophone world, is more or less directly descended from public speech—developed out loud and for the purpose of persuading (and, just as importantly, entertaining) an audience. From the essay to the pamphlet, the op-ed to the “feature” and the critical review, our nonfiction tradition has drawn from the techniques and attitudes of oratory, tending to be coaxing and argumentative, urgent and (often irritatingly) insistent. The implications of this heritage can be found in the sentences, styles, and voices of writers and journalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Toni Morrison, and Zadie Smith. Vinson Cunningham (Journalism) will be in conversation with Professor Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (African American Studies), to discuss the relationship between oratory and nonfiction prose, and to share some techniques for making this correspondence pay dividends on the page.

The Humanities Council’s Program in Journalism invites faculty, graduate students and staff to participate in its spring lunchtime talk series, where distinguished visiting journalists and writers discuss their work and pressing issues of the day with University faculty from a variety of disciplines.

These events—typically informal discussions of recent writing —offer intimate looks inside the work of colleagues and an opportunity for dialog across disciplines. Lunch will be provided.