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THE TUFTS DAILY
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Friday, October 25, 2013
VOLUME LXVI, NUMBER 34
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
Renowned poet blends anthropology, art by
Adam Kaminski
Contributing Writer
The Center for the Humanities at Tufts (CHAT) and the Department of Anthropology yesterday hosted internationally renowned poet, translator and performance artist Jerome Rothenberg at Fung House for an event dedicated to the celebration of his most recent work, “Eye of Witness: A Jerome Rothenberg Reader.” Rothenberg has published over 80 books and 12 works of traditional, translated and avant-garde poetry. “Eye of Witness,” published this past September, is a culmination of Rothenberg’s long career, surveying his past works and offering new insights into old poetry, according to Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology David Guss. “It represents a retelling of his whole poetic output over the last 50 years,” Guss said. “It’s an exploration of the various themes and meanings that he’s been involved in in his own development.” Such themes in Rothenberg’s poems, Guss explained, include ideas about collaboration and community. “He sees poetry as a communion, a collective process in which people are always working together,” Guss said. “[Rothenberg’s] trying to place the poet right inside of society and inside a community. He’s a community builder, which is important.” Rothenberg started the presentation by reading a translated Seneca Indian poem from his book “Songs for the
Society of Mystic Animals.” “A song to welcome the animals, the participants, into the ceremony,” Rothenberg said. “On the page it looks like a piece of concrete poetry, but it can also be re-sung, with the translated words and the untranslatable words of the original.” The poem, which included a chant, a melody and a shaker, revealed the wide range of Rothenberg’s influences, as well as the scope of his creativity, Guss said. “He’s somebody who is very performative. He’s somebody who has created a lot of new ways of presenting his poetry, bringing in influences from other cultures,” Guss said. In 1972, Rothenberg moved to the Allegany Indian Reservation in western New York, where he collaborated with the Seneca Native Americans. His poetry draws from these experiences as well as from myriad other cultures. According to Guss, Rothenberg’s texts reflect a method of recording text called ethnopoetics, a modern advancement in poetry for which Rothenberg has been a major contributor. “There are probably few American poets who don’t feel touched by Rothenberg in some way, but it’s not just poets,” Guss said. “We’re talking about musicians, painters, writers and anthropologists. That influence across disciplines is rare.” Rothenberg’s style, which connects countries and performers, was part of the Department of Anthropology’s motive for bringing him to Tufts, according to Guss. see ROTHENBERG, page 2
Virginia Bledsoe / The Tufts Daily Archives
Coordinators for Leonard Carmichael Society’s (LCS) annual blood drive hope to attract a total of 200 student donators before the event closes today.
Annual fall blood drive sees high turnout by
Hannah Robinson
Contributing Writer
More than 175 students this week have participated in the Leonard Carmichael Society’s (LCS) annual blood drive for the American Red Cross. Today marks the final day of the weeklong event held in the main lounge of Carmichael Hall. According to the blood drive’s Administrative Coordinator Susannah Daggett, LCS expects to collect a total of 200 pints of blood — approximately one pint per person, processing about 80
appointments each day. According to Michael Schaeffer, account executive at the branch of the American Red Cross that coordinates with Tufts, the level of turnout at the on-campus blood drive has been encouraging. Reports indicate that 175 people turned out to donate blood at Tufts over the course of the first three days of donations, including 40 first-time donors. In total, the Red Cross collected 123 of its planned 126 productive units of blood, for 98 percent operational efficiency during the first half of the week. see LCS, page 2
Halloween festivities to spook, entertain students on, off the Hill by
Charlotte Gilliland Daily Editorial Board
As Halloween draws closer, Tufts and the city of Boston are in full swing with preparations. Whether it’s volunteering with the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS), getting spooked at an a cappella show, enjoying a cupcake decorating class or exploring Boston on a pub crawl — anything goes this week.
On campus On Saturday, the Global Health Network and the Pre-Med Society will host SpookAppella — a concert and performance benefitting the Sharewood Project. “[The project] is a free health clinic run weekly by undergraduates and the medical students at Tufts Medical School to provide medical services of all sorts, like general checkups,” sophomore Aparna Dasaraju, fundraiser coordinator for the Sharewood Project, said. “[It covers] Malden, Mass., which has a large number of people who don’t have access to healthcare.” The event will feature a cappella groups S-Factor, Anchord and Essence, as well as the dance group Spirit of Color, all performing in the spirit of Halloween. The event will also feature a debut performance from Enchanted, a brand new all-Disney a cappella group on campus. Like the new a cappella group, it is Sharewood’s first time participating, according to junior Carrie Zimmerman,
Courtesy Joy Chee
With fall in full swing on campus, activities for Halloween will start up tonight. public health coordinator of the Sharewood Project. “It’s our first year doing Spook-Appella, and we think it’s going to be a great way to raise money for the clinic and to make campus more aware of Sharewood,” Zimmerman
Inside this issue
said. “The $5 that someone spends on a ticket will go a long way in improving the infrastructure of the clinic, as well as buying new medical equipment for the clinic.” Anywhere from four to six Tufts students attend the clinic each week to volunteer, but
the Sharewood Project has between 150 and 200 trained undergraduate volunteers and serves an e-list of at least 400 students. Dasaraju pointed out that attending the event will help those involved in Sharewood to continue gaining experience in the medical field. “Students get exposure with working with patients themselves. We take vitals, help patients feel comfortable and keep the process going,” she said. The coordinators hope that the evening of Halloween-themed performances will bring fun for all in support of a common cause. “We hope that people will learn more about the Sharewood Project and get involved with our committees or the Sharewood Project,” Dasaruju said. “Costumes are encouraged.” The event will be held in the Alumnae Lounge with catering from Dave’s Fresh Pasta and other local restaurants. Tickets can be purchased at the Mayer Campus Center and on Tufts Tickets. For students who would like to incorporate community service into this upcoming holiday, LCS will be hosting one of their annual events on Saturday, too: Halloween on the Hill. The event is centered on celebrating Halloween with children from Medford and Somerville schools with games, costumes, trick-or-treating and other activities. “In the past it’s been about 100 to 150 kids,” junior Shoshana Oppenheim, cosee HALLOWEEN, page 2
Today’s sections
Modern take on ‘Carrie’ brings nothing new to the horror classic.
Lucius proves themselves masters of indiepop with ‘Wildewoman.’
see ARTS, page 3
see ARTS, page 3
News | Features Arts & Living Comics
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Sports Classifieds
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