Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen Returns to Peru State College

Twyla Hansen Reads at PSC

 Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen 

On Wednesday evening,  February 12, at 6:30 pm, recently inaugurated Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen visited Peru State College.  

This appearance marked Twyla's first reading as The Nebraska State Poet, and I am thrilled that this special appearance took placed at PSC, where Twyla has previously read.

Before her presentation, we gathered for a dinner at the President Hanson's house where four of our students enjoyed the opportunity to talk with  Twyla about her poetry.


And after the reading, we all gathered in the hall outside of the Fine Arts Recital Hall for some conversation and refreshments.  Special thanks to President Hanson, Linda Moody, Al Dickhute and Dining Services for their help with this special event. 

I posted photograph from Twyla Hansen's visit for your enjoyment.  In addition, if you missed the event or just want to enjoy more of Twyla's poetry, I posted two sets of video in High Definition on You Tube.

The first of the two videos features Twyla's reading "Late Winter Survival" and "Palimpsest":

 
In the second video, Twyla reads from the award-winning "Dirt Songs:  A Plains Duet," a collection that includes fifty poems by Twyla and fifty by Linda M. Hasselstrom.  Twyla reads Hasselstrom's "Hawk in My Hand" and her own "Feeding the Hawk"; and Twyla reads her own humorous and ironic "Swiss Cheese":

To enjoy more of the Twyla Hansen's poems, just scroll down past the photographs and enjoy.

I am thrilled that  Twyla Hansen visited Peru State College again, as she did in 2005 and in 2010.
  
Enjoy the following videos of Twyla reading from her work from a few years ago.

Twyla reads "Nine-Mile Prairie" and "Corn."

Twyla reads "Eddy" and "Hail Storm":

Each of these prize-winning collections costs $17.00

Oak Bowl Update, January 30, 2014

 

At the conclusion of this posting, you will find

links to all the blog pages devoted to the Oak Bowl renovation, from the oldest to the most recent.

Thursday afternoon, January 30, I made my first trip to the Oak Bowl since before Christmas.  Owing to the continued cold, work has slowed a bit.

The major structures, the heavy lifting, nears completion.  As the

images from my visit indicate, interior work continues and a substantial amount of concrete will pour as soon as the temperatures warm up a bit.

As an indicator of construction progress, the headquarters trailer left the scene.  I hope that I run into the team in the near future.

I was unable to walk into the Press Box rooms but will do so in the near future, just as soon as the workers return to the site.  I look forward to seeing the area from which I will spot at the games, something I have enjoyed for twenty-one years. 

More updates soon.

Blog history of the Oak Bowl Construction, from the oldest posting to the most recent:

Oak Bowl Renovation 

Oak Bowl Renovation Part Two  

Oak Bowl Round Three 

October 15, 16, and 19 Oak Bowl 

Oak Bowl Continues 

Oak Bowl Update, January 30, 2014

 

Andreas Xenopoulos Recital

 

Tuesday Evening, January 21, in the Fine Arts Recital Hall, Greek pianist Andreas Xenopoulos  played beautifully for a full house.

Andreas continues work on his doctorate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she studies with Dr. Paul Barnes, an American virtuoso.   Andreas also is an Instructor of Music at Peru State College.

In addition to posting photographs from Andreas Xenopoulos' energizing performance,  I also published on You Tube two videos so that you can either watch again or take advantage of the opportunity to experience what you missed.

The first video (six minutes) features a section from Andreas' playing Franz Schubert's 12 Valses Nobles:

The major part of the program was devoted to Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, you can watch twelve minutes of the talented Andreas Xenopoulos' stirring performance. 

Enjoy the photographs and the video.

 

Hal Daub Visits Peru State College

 

On Tuesday, January 21, former Congressman and two-time Mayor of Omaha Hal Daub paid a visit to Peru State College.

At eleven in the morning Mr. Daub engaged with students for an hour in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.  And I upload some photographs from the event that generated a good-sized crowd. 

After Hal Daub completed his presentation, the audience asked plenty of questions, including what he considers his greatest successes and disappointments.  And he lingered afterwards to talk with the students in the audience.

I recorded a couple parts of his address for your enjoyment.

In part one (six minutes), Daub talks about the value of a college education and in particular the need for a strong background in the Liberal Arts.

 

Daub addresses  in the second video (six minutes) what he considers the importance of both his education and experience in providing him with leadership skills that led to his continuing success.