Professors read from own works at forum

Highlighting the personalities behind professors' images, the English Undergraduate Advisory Board hosted an informal reading of professors' works Tuesday night at Chats. The reading, entitled "Out of the Tower," provided an opportunity for students to get to "know the person behind the personalities," College senior and event Co-Chairperson Tali Aronsky said. Aronsky, an English UAB member, added that she hopes the event -- which was this year's main annual event hosted by the UAB -- had an informal feel. The first professor to read his work, Biblical Studies and Jewish Studies Professor Jeffrey Tigay, read two stories which he pieced together from news reports in Lexis/Nexis. Tigay's first story highlighted the importance of the Bible in the American experience, describing three stolen Bibles which were recently recovered. One Bible was a gift to former President John Quincy Adams from a group of Africans, whom Adams was trying to free from jail. The Africans, who had been captured by slave traders, learned religion and English from Yale University students while imprisoned in New Haven, Conn. In 1841, when Adams freed the Africans, they were so grateful that they presented him with a Bible, Tigay said. Tigay's other story featured a Passover Haggadah, the Jewish book used to celebrate the Passover Seder. This Haggadah, which was commissioned in Spain in 1350, has 34 mini-paintings lined with copper and gold leafing. The Haggadah, which is currently kept in Sarajevo, Bosnia -- narrowly escaping destruction due to the war -- was hidden from Adolf Hitler and is considered a symbol of survival within the city. In concluding his reading, Tigay noted, "Jewish law says Passover lasts eight days -- in Sarajevo it lasts more than 1,000." After Tigay concluded, Sociology Professor Paul Wolpe read one of his poems, entitled "Remaking Myself," which he wrote in response to a Hard Copy story. The poem describes remaking his body parts. Wolpe also read several poems -- including one entitled "Before" -- by his favorite poet, Israeli author Yehuda Amichai. He concluded with a short story he wrote 20 years ago when he was an undergraduate at the University and enrolled in a creative writing class. The story, entitled "Miranda's Secret," is about a 12-year-old girl. Wolpe noted that Miranda is afraid of divulging an unknown secret as she tries to shield her dolls from witnessing a yet-undisclosed horror. As the story concludes, Miranda discovers that her new bear, Mr. Dumples, has seen the secret occurring. The secret -- that her father sexually molests her -- is revealed in a climactic ending. Although students expressed disappointment that several faculty members scheduled to speak -- including Sociology Professor Ivar Berg and English and Afro-American Studies Professor Herman Beavers -- did not show up, many said they still enjoyed the event. "It was good," College sophomore Thursday Cohen said. "I was surprised that there weren't more professors here." And College sophomore Stephanie Sy said, "I thought that it was a good change of pace to see professors read their own work."