CAL STATE L.A. TO CELEBRATE LANGUAGE SPECTRUM THROUGH POETRY, PATCHWORKS, CULTURE, KARATE
Events to highlight Spanish, French, English,
Japanese, Korean, Chinese
Los Angeles, CA – To celebrate the culture and literature of a few of the more than 100 languages spoken in Southern California, Cal State L.A. will present a series of free public events in April, beginning with “Poems as Pictures, Poems as Song: An Evening of French and Spanish Poetry in Translation” on Thursday, April 2.
Beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Salazar Hall, room C88-89, the two-hour event will feature Joseph Chrzanowski, a Cal State L.A. emeritus professor of Spanish, presenting “A Picture is Worth 1000 Words, but Which Words?” and Leon Schwartz, a Cal State L.A. emeritus professor of French, presenting “French Poems That Sing in English.” Both speakers will read in English from published translations.
Other events in the series include the following:
Chinese Straw Patchwork
Wednesday, April 8, 4-6 p.m., Music Building, room 208
Ms. Limin Liu, a renowned Chinese straw patchwork artist, will offer a demonstration of this rare artistic technique. Liu has received a national patent and garnered international awards for her unique skill.
Nestor Diaz de Villegas, A Bilingual (English and Spanish) Talk on Poetry
Tuesday, April 14, 6-8 p.m., University-Student Union (U-SU), room 308A
Cuban author Nestor Diaz de Villegas has published in numerous newspapers and literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad. He is the winner of the Latino Book Award for best book of the year in 2004 (co-sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and the Asociación de Estudiantes de Español).
Korean Culture Day
Wednesday, April 15, noon-4 p.m., U-SU Montebello Room and Plaza
The Korean Language Program at Cal State L.A., with the sponsorships of the Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles and the University’s Center for Korean-American and Korean Studies, will host an afternoon of Korean martial arts, music, film, games and art.
The Way of Japanese Karate
Thursday, April 23, 6:30-8 p.m., Music Hall
Ms. Suzuko Okamura Hamasaki, a former World Karate Champion, will present a special demonstration and workshop on the martial art of Karate-do. Hamasaki has practiced Karate-do continuously for nearly half a century, both in the U.S. and Japan. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Academy of Karate-do in Japan.
Etre et Avoir (film)
Wednesday, April 29, 4:20 p.m., Salazar Hall, room C88-89
This fun documentary about the French primary-school system explores how we learn to live with others and their wishes. Director Nicolas Philibert focuses on a village schoolhouse in Auvergne, where George Lopez teaches 13 children, ages 4 through 12 (French with English subtitles). The film will be introduced by Christophe Lagier.
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu