Alesha Jackson

Though it is impossible to replicate the comfort of a living room in a large auditorium, last night's interview with Chinua Achebe came close. With a 500-person audience filling the room to capacity, the setting created by the Free Library of Philadelphia managed to transform Achebe's dialogue into something more like an insightful fireside chat.

"Humor," said bell hooks to the crowd of 500 gathered in Houston Hall last night, "is very important when dealing with difference." hooks, a distinguished professor in residence at Berea College and the author of more than 40 books, encouraged students to scrutinize the boundaries of intellect through honest examinations of their own voices.

Neither the change of venue nor long lines could deter the approximately 600 spectators who gathered to hear the famed Angela Davis at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at College Hall. The culminating event for the fifth annual Women's Week at Penn, Davis' address, "Social Change in the 21st Century," attracted people from both the Penn community and the greater Philadelphia area.

A haven for wordsmiths, the Kelly Writers House last night shared its spotlight with music lovers as well. A crowd of 40 gathered in Penn's Kelly Writers House last night to hear a presentation by Ben Ratliff, a New York Times jazz critic. Ratliff signed copies of his new book, Coltrane: The Story of a Sound.

As the rain fell outside, a thoughtful crowd of 200 gathered in the transformed multipurpose room of the W.E.B. DuBois College House last Friday evening. Dimly lit and decorated in the red, black and green of the African American flag, the space invited guests to groove to notes of mellow jazz.