Robert Remini, The House in Conflict. (402), 10-11 a.m. Nov. 4, The Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St. The retired history professor from the University of Illinois at Chicago brings America’s past to vivid life in his books. “The House in Conflict” is about that sometimes wacky, always contentious place known as the U.S. House of Representatives.
— Julia Keller
Stanley Lombardo, An Iliad for Today. (423), 1:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. Great art isn’t static. It’s constantly in the process of being rediscovered and reinterpreted across time and across geography. Going back to the oral roots of Homer’s epic war poem, Lombardo has developed it as a performance piece, opting for a reading that is conversational rather than high-falutin’.
— Patrick T. Reardon
Derek Collins, The Iliad as Performance. (431), 3:30-4:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. — Collins, an associate professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan, says the first poetry slams took place in ancient Greece where poets, competing for prizes, had to perform their works with zest and drama.
— P.T.R.
Jonathan Schell, Rebecca Solnit: Hope in the Dark. (514), 1:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. Eloquent essayists and trenchant observers, Schell and Solnit both find reason for hope in the future. Schell, author of “The Unconquerable World,” sees non-violent civil disobedience as a growing — and more effective — alternative to war, and Solnit’s recent book, “Hope in the Dark,” details the successes of activists in the face of nuclear testing, multinational corporations and ecological pirates.
— P.T.R.
Joyce Carol Oates. (500), 10 a.m. Nov. 5, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Quite simply, this is an event not to be missed. Winner of the Chicago Tribune Literary Prize, Oates is the most compelling and prolific voice in contemporary fiction, a restless and eloquent chronicler of contemporary life. Her gentle presence belies a fierce intelligence and searing imagination.
— P.T.R.
Gary Snyder: Poet of Peace (509), 12:30-1:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave.
To call Gary Snyder one of the 20th Century’s most honored poets is too limiting; he’s received the Pulitzer Prize for his six decades of verse, but he’s also an widely read nature writer, environmental advocate and Buddhist practitioner and scholar. As part of the Silk Road Chicago project, Snyder talks about the Asian texts and natural vistas that inspire his rugged, deeply felt work.
— Maureen Ryan
Grace Paley, Enormous Changes. (801), 10-11 a.m. Nov. 12, The Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St. The grande dame of literati activists, Paley, a noted poet, short-story writer and novelist, has proudly worn the mantle of troublemaker in a lifetime of protesting against racism, nuclear weapons and war. Borrowing from the title of one of her works, she suggests that, when it comes to war, the world is more than ready for “enormous changes at the last minute.”
— P.T.R.
Patricia Nelson Limerick (710), noon-1 p.m. Nov. 11, The Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St. How does violence become entertainment? How do stories of bloody feuds end up as funny stories? Those are questions that Limerick, a noted Western historian and MacArthur Award winner, will grapple with in her lecture.
— P.T.R.
Sid Jacobson. (705), 11 a.m. Nov. 11, Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. Co-author of the graphic novel “The 9/11 Report,” Jacobson is a legendary name in comic-book circles. He invented Richie Rich and oversaw the development of superheroes. But this project — a deft and accessible retelling of the 9/11 Commission’s findings — is the epitome of the graphic storyteller’s art.
— J.K.
SOCIETY
Paul Krugman. (307), 6 p.m. Nov. 2, Northwestern University Law School’s Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave. This Princeton prof’s economics columns on the New York Times op-ed page are a constant thorn in the Bush administration’s side. Love him or loathe him, the passionate, intense Krugman is never boring.
— Julia Keller
Richard Posner, Geoffrey Stone, Rights During Wartime. (417), 12:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. Personal liberties are often truncated in wartime. Posner, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, and Stone, author of “Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime,” debate how far the government can and should go in balancing freedom and security.
— Patrick T. Reardon
Nicholas Lemann: The Last Battle of the Civil War. (429), 2:30-3:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. Writer Ronne Hartfield interviews fellow scribe Lemann (The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly) about his new book “Redemption,” which follows the civil rights battles fought by African-Americans after Appomattox.
— P.T.R.
Andrew Carroll, Operation Homecoming. (525), 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St. What’s it like to be far from home in a dangerous place? Carroll’s books, which collect the letters of soldiers from wars across the years, are heartbreaking and illuminating. At this event, Chicago-area veterans will read aloud from actual letters to loved ones, provided by soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— J.K.
Chicagoans in Conflict. (815), 2–3:30 p.m. Nov. 12, Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. Chicago’s history is filled with ugly and often bloody clashes, from the Haymarket Massacre to the 1919 race riots to Council Wars during the administration of Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor. Chicago History Museum president Gary Johnson moderates a panel of experts on those battles.
— P.T.R.
JAZZ
ASCAP Cabaret: . . . And the Songs Live On — Remembering Songwriters Who Departed Too Soon. (607), 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 8, Northwestern University School of Law, Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave. One of the most popular yearly events of the Chicago Humanities Festival, the ASCAP Cabaret this time around features Karen Mason, Alix Korey and others in music of composers who died young. Though the list of songwriters hasn’t been announced, likely candidates include George Gershwin and Brian Lasser.
— Howard Reich
MUSIC
Joan Baez in Performance. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive. These are troubled times, and Joan Baez’s timeless voice is more necessary than ever. Rarely has a performer working in the pop-folk arena of the last half-century combined such a beautiful instrument (Baez’s voice is still one of a kind) with such wrenching, socially conscious material. Sadly, many of the protest songs she popularized in the ’60s are just as relevant today.
— Greg Kot
New Budapest Orpheum Society: Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano. (729), 4-5:30 p.m. Nov. 11, Chicago Sinai Congregation, 15 W. Delaware Pl. Performing music from their CD of the same name, the New Budapest Orpheum Society will explore Jewish cabaret music from the first half of the 20th Century. Some of this repertoire, such as songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, is celebrated around the world. Other songs, by lesser-known figures such as Friedrich Hollander and Hanns Eisler, have attained some recognition in the United States because of the work of the great Ute Lemper. Chicago cantors Deborah Bard and Stewart Figa will be among the performers.
— Howard Reich
VISUAL ARTS
Steve McCurry: The Silk Road to Peace. (403), 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 4, Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave. The celebrated National Geographic photographer, whose images of contemporary people along the ancient Silk Road have become so universal that they now are used for covers of recordings of the cantatas of J.S. Bach, talks about his experiences and presents selections from two recent books.
— Alan G. Artner
Bill Morrison: Decasia. (418), 12:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St. The Chicago-born director presents his 2002 film that sets 70 minutes of distressed and decomposed film stock to a concert by Michael Gordon to give a singularly apocalyptic vision.
— A.G.A.
Silk Road Theatre Project: Caravaggio. (528), 4-7:30 p.m. Nov. 5, First United Methodist Church, Pierce Hall, 77 W. Washington St. The world premiere of Richard Vetere’s play on the turbulent life of the 16th Century artist-murderer Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio followed by a discussion with the playwright and art historian Larry Feinberg.
— A.G.A.
David Lubin: Art for War’s Sake. (701), 10-11 a.m. Nov. 11, Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St. The American art historian examines how paintings, photographs and popular illustrations were used to urge or oppose the United States entering World War I.
— A.G.A.
Juliet Wilson-Bareau: Goya’s Disasters of War. (703), 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 11, Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave. The London-based scholar-curator speaks on the series of 80 harrowing etchings created in 1863 by Spanish artist Francisco Goya, in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition of selections from the series.
— A.G.A.
Richard Whelan: Robert Capa, Close Enough. (718), 2-3 p.m. Nov. 11, Alliance Francaise de Chicago, 54 W. Chicago Ave. The work of one of the 20th Century’s greatest photographers of war is discussed by his chief biographer.
— A.G.A.
Joel Meyerowitz: Darkness and the Light. (803), 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 12, Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave. One of the pioneers of color photography in the 1970s talks about his art, including more than 8,000 photographs taken at the site of the World Trade Center in 2001 and 2002.
— A.G.A.
Robert Edsel, Is Art Worth a Life? (810), noon-1 p.m. Nov. 12, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 618 S. Michigan Ave. “Rescuing Da Vinci,” Edsel’s recently published book, is the first comprehensive photographic account of the theft of great European art by Hitler and the Nazis, and the rescue of many of the works by the Allies. But those rescue attempts were tempered by the need to protect the lives of Allied soldiers.
— Patrick T. Reardon
ARCHITECTURE
Moshe Safdie: An Architecture of Peace. (516), 1:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 618 S. Michigan Ave. The Canadian-American architect, who first came to public attention with his Habitat housing complex at the 1967 exposition in Montreal, discusses his architectural and urban visions and how such contemporary designs as the planned U.S. Institute of Peace Headquarters in Washington, D.C., are meant to connect to their historic settings.
— Blair Kamin
FILM
Can a War Film Oppose War? (419), 12:30-2 p.m. Nov. 4, Northwestern University School of Law, Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave. In many films, the horrors of combat wage war against the cinematic, visceral thrills of righteous wrath. The question posed by this timely panel discussion leads to a related question: When America finds itself in a war where the images of carnage and suffering have been so few, thanks in part to a self-censoring mass media, how can we trust our own eyes? “Apocalypse Now” film editor Walter Murch, Notre Dame professor Jill Godmilow and Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum fight the good fight in a panel moderated by Facets founder Milos Stehlik.
— Michael Phillips
The Iconography of Abu Ghraib. (731), 4:30- 6 p.m. Nov. 11, Northwestern University School of Law, Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave. The photographs of hooded detainees subjected to a variety of American-led torture and humiliation in Iraq’s most notorious prison were, for a time, the key images of what’s turning into a very long engagement. Humanities Festival artistic director Lawrence Weschler leads an inquiry into the impact of those images. The panel features filmmaker Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”), Iraqi activist Kanan Makiya and University of Chicago cultural theorist W.J.T. Mitchell.
— M.P.
CLASSICAL MUSIC AND OPERA
Philip Gossett: War and Peace in the Operas of Giuseppe Verdi. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Nov. 11, University of Chicago, Gleacher Center, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive. The distinguished University of Chicago music professor and Verdi scholar examines how the composer gave the real-life struggles of Italy’s Risorgimento period musico-dramatic form in his stage works. Assisting will be members of the Ryan Opera Center for American Artists along with the University of Chicago Motet Choir.
— John von Rhein
Silk Road Ensemble: Silk Road Sounds. (501), 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 5, Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave. In a family-friendly program, musicians from cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s multicultural enterprise lead a musical journey along the ancient Silk Road trade route.
— J.v.R.
Innovation and Tradition: Meet the Silk Road Ensemble. (519), 3-4 p.m. Nov. 5, Art Institute, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave. Artistic coordinator Andy Russ hosts an informal discussion in which ensemble members perform and share their varied musical and interpersonal experiences. Self-guided gallery tours follow each presentation.
— J.v.R.
Chicago Sinfonietta: Peace Paix Paz. (606), 7:30-10 p.m. Nov. 7, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. The festival theme is explored in a varied program of 20th Century works, including the local premiere of Chicago composer James “Kimo” Williams’ “Buffalo Soldiers,” to a text by Colin Powell about the all-black U.S. cavalry regiments of the Civil War era. The program also holds Prokofiev’s cantata “Alexander Nevsky,” drawn from his score to the Sergei Eisenstein film. Paul Freeman conducts the orchestra and Elmhurst College Choir and Northern Illinois University Choir.
— J.v.R.
Ars Antigua, Madrigals Warlike and Amorous. (722), 2-3 p.m. Nov. 11, Quigley Memorial Chapel, 831 N. Rush St. Chicago’s premier period instrument chamber ensemble presents selections from Claudio Monteverdi’s eighth book of madrigals (1638), songs of love and battle that reveal the Italian composer’s astonishing musical originality.
— J.v.R.
CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. (813), 1-2 p.m. Nov. 12, Roosevelt University, Ganz Hall, 430 S. Michigan Ave. One of Chicago’s leading new music groups performs a program of works reflecting the festival theme, including music of Charles Ives, Ilya Levinson and co-directors Patricia Morehead and Janice Misurell-Mitchell.
— J.v.R.
Chicago Chamber Musicians, Quartets for the End of Conflict. (821), 2:30-4 p.m.Nov. 12, Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Auditorium, 111 S. Michigan Ave. The city’s flagship chamber music collective presents two 20th Century masterpieces: Dmitri Shostakovich’s searing String Quartet No. 8 and Olivier Messiaen’s visionary “Quartet for the End of Time,” written and first performed in 1941 in a Nazi prisoner of war camp.
— J.v.R.
CHILDREN
Metro Theater Company, Beowulf (524), 3:30-4:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. The Old English epic poem was the bane of many a literature major, but that may be all the more reason to want to see its 3,182 lines boiled down to a family theater piece, recommended for ages 10 and older.
— Steve Johnson
ETC.
Philip Gourevitch: The Art of the Interview (425), 2-3 p.m. Nov. 4, Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, 77 E. Randolph St. Along with the long-form interviews published in Playboy magazine, The Paris Review’s in-depth author interviews have become the industry standard. In this session, new editor Gourevitch will talk about engaging authors to create engaging interviews.
— Robert K. Elder
Cyberconflict-Representations of War in New Media and Electronic Games (414), noon-1 p.m.Nov. 4, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. When we train soldiers with battlefield video games and much of our war news comes from blogging soldiers, the war on terror has gone multimedia. Columbia College professors Annette Barbier and Brendan Riley discuss the impact of this trend with video game producer Kevin Scott Mills.
— RK.E.
War through the Lens (522), 3:30-4:30 p.m., Nov. 5, Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater, 77 E. Randolph St.
Chicago Tribune photographer Nancy Stone moderates a discussion among experienced documentary photographers Steve McCurry, Sara Terry and Ashley Gilbertson about the difficulties of capturing images of conflict and crisis.
— Maureen Ryan
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Ordering festival tickets
Online: www.chfestival.org
View comprehensive program listings and order tickets 24 hours a day. To order tickets online, visit the listing page for each program you wish to attend. Click on “order tickets” and you will be taken to your own order page that records the programs you select, “shopping-cart” style. You can always go directly to your order page by clicking “view order.” All orders will be processed in the order received within one business day.
By phone: 312-494-9509, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
By fax: 312-494-9610
Ticket information:
Prices: $5 in advance, unless otherwise noted. A $1 surcharge per ticket may apply to purchases at the door.
Payment: Visa, MasterCard and American Express; cash; or check. A $5 processing fee will be added to all online, phone and fax orders.
Special offers: Free tickets are available to students (with valid ID), teachers (with valid ID), and 2006 registered festival volunteers. All free ticket orders must be reserved by phone.
Refunds/exchanges: All ticket sales are final. Tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable, except in the event of program cancellation. If you are unable to attend an event for which you have purchased a ticket, please call the CHF Ticket Office to donate your ticket.
Admission policy: Ticket holders and Red Badge members are only guaranteed admission 10 minutes prior to program start time. Unclaimed seats may be reassigned at that time.
Waiting lines: CHF limits its advance reservations and ticket sales to the legal capacity of its various sites. However, because of audience attrition, seats are often available even at “sold out” programs. If available, tickets will be sold at the door, first-come-first-served, beginning 10 minutes prior to start time of each program.
Customer service: 312-494-9509.
Programs, dates, venues and presenters are subject to change without notice. For up-to-date program information, visit www.chfestival.org.
Where to find it
– Alliance Francaise de Chicago
54 W. Chicago Ave.
– The Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Ave.
– Chase Auditorium
10 S. Dearborn St.
– Chicago Children’s Museum
700 E. Grand Ave. at Navy Pier
– Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater
77 E. Randolph St.
– Chicago History Museum
1601 N. Clark St.
– Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. State St.
– Chicago Sinai Congregation
15 W. Delaware Pl.
– Columbia College Chicago, Ferguson Lecture Hall
600 S. Michigan Ave.
– Facets Cinematheque
1517 W. Fullerton Ave.
– Field Museum, Simpson Theater
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
– First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
77 W. Washington St.
– Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N. State St.
– Goodman Theatre, Owen Theatre
170 N. Dearborn St.
– Harold Washington College, Washington Hall
30 E. Lake St.
– Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 E. Randolph Drive
– Loyola University, Rubloff Auditorium
25 E. Pearson St.
– Merit School of Music
38 S. Peoria St.
– Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum
1852 W. 19th St.
– Museum of Contemporary Art
220 E. Chicago Ave.
– The Nettlehorst School
3252 N. Broadway Ave.
– The Newberry Library
60 W. Walton St.
– Northwestern University School of Law, Thorne Auditorium
375 E. Chicago Ave.
– The Peace Museum, Garfield Park
100 N. Central Park Ave.
– The Quigley Memorial Chapel
North Rush Street and East Pearson Street
– Roosevelt University, Ganz Hall
430 S. Michigan Ave.
– Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
618 S. Michigan Ave.
– Symphony Center
220 S. Michigan Ave.
– University of Chicago, Gleacher Center
450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive
– Victory Gardens Theater at the Biograph
2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
– Wilbur Wright College, Events Building — Theater
4300 N. Narragansett Ave.
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More humanities
For Children’s Humanities Festival information, see Friday’s On the Town section. For Festival cinema events, see Friday’s Movies section. Coming Nov. 29 to the Sunday Magazine, Julia Keller on Joyce Carol Oates.
