JAMES LILLIN
Special to The Leader
Today, two events featuring Joel Cohen, the co-founder of Ragged Edge Press who is known for his artistic collaborations with Kurt Vonnegut, will take place on campus.
The first event, a screening of “Kurt Vonnegut’s 1978 Fredonia Commencement Speech: Tralfamadorian Beads of Amber,” will take place from 12 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. in room S204 of the Williams Center. It will be followed by an interactive presentation with Cohen titled “Mail Art, Ragged Edge Press, and Social Change” in Fenton 127 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.. Both events are free and open to the public.
Fredonia’s connection to Kurt Vonnegut has always been strong — with his famed Fredonia commencement speech being prominently featured in his 1981 book “Palm Sunday” — but this has been visually strengthened this past year.
English professor and noted Vonnegut scholar Dr. Christina Jarvis, the organizer of both events, explains that “the special connection really stems from the major authors seminar on Vonnegut that I taught last fall,” which eventually “led to the convocation event, ‘What are people for?: Vonnegut, Technology, and Humanism.’”
Sophomore English major and Spanish minor Rachel Wentworth took the course with Jarvis, saying that it was “really enjoyable and inspiring.” She added that it helped her grow a great appreciation for Kurt Vonnegut’s love of the natural world and its human inhabitants.
“Because students respond so passionately to Vonnegut’s writings, I wanted to create opportunities to discuss his work outside of the classroom and for students to share that enthusiasm with the larger campus community,” said Jarvis.
That passion is paying off this semester with Vonnegut’s famed commencement speech being screened in its newly remastered digital form for the first time, as a part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Brown Bag Lecture Series. The screening will be preceded by a brief contextualization of the speech by Jarvis, as well as Professor Emeritus and “Fredonia Reminiscer-in-Chief” Mac Nelson, a former professor in the English Department. He attended the speech and will provide a first-hand account of the excitement it generated.
Cohen’s interactive presentation, “Mail Art, Ragged Edge Press, and Social Change,” will offer students an intimate look at his experience working with artists like Vonnegut, folk singer Pete Seeger and award-winning editorial illustrator, Thomas Kerr.
“Students will get to frame a lot of the conversation through their questions,” said Jarvis. “Instead of a formal lecture [Cohen will share] some of his mail art projects, tell stories, perform and, of course, distribute lots of his signature stickers.”
Both events promise to offer a memorable and important insight into the life of Vonnegut, as well as his connection to Fredonia.
“[Attendees will] get to hear Cohen’s personal stories about his interactions with the author [and] learn about some understudied aspects of Vonnegut’s work — his environmental interests, activism, and artistic projects,” said Jarvis.
In the end, Vonnegut’s own words from his commencement speech speak volumes about why students looking for fantastic insight and humor should make a point of attending both events:
“What other advice can I give you? Eat lots of bran to provide necessary bulk in your diet.
“The only advice my father ever gave me was this: ‘Never stick anything in your ear.’ The tiniest bones in your body are inside your ears, you know — and your sense of balance, too. If you mess around with your ears, you could not only become deaf, but you could also start falling down all the time. So just leave your ears completely alone. They’re fine, just the way they are.
“Don’t murder anybody — even though New York State does not use the death penalty.
“That’s about it.”