Event
Harvard Club Luncheon with Professor Bill Ferris
PROFESSOR BILL FERRIS, FOLKLORIST AND AUTHOR OF GROUNDBREAKING BOOK ON THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA BLUES, WILL SPEAK TO THE CLUB
Thursday, February 25, Noon to 2:00 PM
The Harvard Club of the Research Triangle is honored to have Professor William (Bill) Ferris, internationally renowned folklorist and author, be our guest luncheon speaker at the Radisson Hotel in RTP on Thursday 25th, 2010. Also, William (Bill) Friday, President Emeritus of the UNC System--in recognition of his lifetime of service to the citizens of North Carolina--will be present to receive the clubs newly created annual Roland Giduz Harvard Club of the Research Triangle Community Service Award.
Bill Ferris is no stranger to our club, having previously entertained us with his humorous stories and songs he collected over the years growing up in Mississippi. But on the 25th, Bill will deliver a fascinating talk about his new book, Give My Poor Heart Ease, which documents the stories and blues music of African-American musicians and their families from the Mississippi worlds in which Bill grew up. After Bills presentation, he will be available to autograph copies of the book which will be available for purchase.
The BookGive My Poor Heart Ease. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, folklorist William Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the authentic roots of the blues. Now, Give My Poor Heart Ease puts front and center a searing selection of the artistically and emotionally rich voices from this invaluable documentary record. Illustrated with Ferriss photographs of the musicians and their communities and including a CD of original music and a DVD of original film, the book features more than twenty interviews relating frank, dramatic, and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South.
Here are the stories of artists who have long memories and speak eloquently about their lives, blues musicians who represent a wide range of musical traditionsfrom one-strand instruments, bottle blowing- and banjo to spirituals, hymns, and prison work chants. Celebrities such as B. B. King and Willie Dixon, along with performers known best in their neighborhoods, express the full range of human and artistic experiencejoyful and gritty, raw and painful.
In an autobiographical introduction, Ferris reflects on how he fell in love with the vibrant musical culture that was all around him but considered off-limits to a white Mississippian during the troubled era of the 60s and 70s. This magnificent volume illustrates blues music, the broader African American experience, and indeed the history and culture of America itself. For more on the book, please go to http://www.GiveMyPoorHeartEase.com.
William Ferris is the Joel Williamson Eminent Professor of History and senior associate director of the Center for the study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ferris co-edited the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and is the author of Blues from the Delta. Rolling Stone magazine has named him among the top ten professors in the United States. For more on Ferris, please go to http://history.unc.edu/faculty/ferris.html, or view a brief interview with him at http://www.youtube.com/uncchapelhill#p/u/6/DHNkldOVG8g.
Schedule:
12:00 noon 1:00 PM Networking and Lunch
1:00 2:00 PM Professor Ferris will speak and take questions
Registration: The cost for the luncheon and speaker program is $28 (plus a small convenience charge) for each attendee. All members of the public are invited, but you must have a reservation. Please provide your name and contact information (phone and/or email) and the names of your guests as well as any dietary restrictions that should be noted. The deadline for online reservations is noon, Tuesday, February 23.
Questions? Contact bob@bobwhyte.com
Location: Radisson Hotel, 150 Park Drive, RTP.
Directions:
Heading East on I-40, take exit 280 (Davis Drive) and at top of exit ramp, go straight across Davis Drive onto Park Drive. Follow Park Drive a short distance until you come to a stop sign and then veer to the right up a hill. The hotel will be on your right.
Heading West on I-40, take Exit 280, but take a left at the top of the ramp onto Davis Drive, then take first right onto Park Drive.
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LocationRadisson Hotel
150 Park Drive
RTP, NC 27709
United States
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| Kid Friendly: No |
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