November – 2015 – St. Thomas Libraries Blog
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November 2015

Libraries, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

noonartsound: Gypsy Jazz in the Library – Dec 1 at Noon

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All are invited to the Tuesday, December 1 noonartsound: Gypsy Jazz with Kreitzer and Harrington

“Hot club” or “Gypsy jazz” is a style of music made popular by guitarist Django Reinhardt in the 1930’s.  It is characterized by a swinging rhythm beat, and very fast chromatic lead, both played on hollow bodied guitars.

 

About our musicians:

Mark Kreitzer has been playing music in the region for years, as part of rock, country, bluegrass, folk, traditional jazz and Gypsy jazz bands.  Mark is an expert player of a number of instruments, including guitar, mandolin and fiddle.  He currently plays with the Mark Kreitzer Band, the ’53 Swingbillies, Patty and the Buttons, and the Clearwater Hot Club, and performs regularly at Dulono’s, The Aster Café, Vieux Carre and other local and regional venues.

Dean Harrington has been performing and teaching guitar in the Twin Cities for over twenty years.  His career began in classical music with a degree in classical guitar performance from the University of Minnesota.  He is currently performing with the Dean Harrington Trio and the Mill City Hot Club.

In the words of our art historian and presenter, Shelly Nordtorp-Madson,
“From Romanticized paintings of gypsy life, to screeds about their “disreputable” lifestyles, to “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding,”  the Roma, or Travelers, or whatever often pejorative name given them, gypsies are a prime example of  “The Other” —  a society that lives within the majority culture, but keeps a distance as well.   We will explore the visual manifestations of gypsies, generally by non-Roma, and explore the mystique of the gypsy lifestyle.”

We look forward to seeing you!    If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call Julie Kimlinger at 651-962-5014.

 

 

 

 

Libraries, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

Guitar Ensemble to Perform in the Library’s “Harry Potter Room” this Friday at 1:45 pm!

guitarThe UST Guitar Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Joan Griffith, will present a casual concert in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library’s Great Hall on Friday, November 20th, from 1:45-2:30 pm.   The 2nd floor Great Hall is often affectionately called the “Harry Potter Room”.

All are welcome to relax or study to the sounds of classical, jazz, and Latin music, and enjoy hot chocolate and cookies. The informal setting will allow listeners to come and go as their schedules permit.

Come enjoy the music in this beautiful space!

If you’d like to know more about the UST Guitar Ensembles please read on.

Libraries, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, Special Collections and Archives

Treasures from the Rare Books Collection – G. K. Chesterton and WWI

The Chesterton-Belloc Collection housed the Department of Special Collections features over 1200 works by the English author G. K. Chesterton (1874 – 1936).  Chesterton’s writings feature wide variety of styles – prose, poetry, drama, journalism – and topics from current events to theology.   Among the materials in this collection, you will find a number of items documenting the prose and poetry written by him during World War I.

At the beginning of the First World War, Chesterton was among several leading British writers whom Charles Masterman, the head of Britain’s War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), recruited to help shape public opinion.  Chesterton wrote and published several pamphlets and numerous articles in Britain’s newspapers promoting the government’s views on the war. The best known of these works is the pamphlet The Barbarism of Berlin.

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During the First World War, charitable organizations such as the British Red Cross, The Daily Telegraph Belgium Fund and the Prince of Wale’s National Relief Fund raised over 70 million pounds for the war effort.  Chesterton was among many contemporary writers (including John Galsworthy and Rudyard Kipling) who contributed prose and poetry to works published and sold by charities.  Proceeds of these publications were used to aid war refugees and wounded military personnel.

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For more information on the UST Libraries rare books and manuscripts collections see : http://www.stthomas.edu/libraries/special/rare/ .

 

News & Events

Race for the White House: 2016

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Republicans presidential candidates face off again tonight in a two part public debate, while the Democratic candidates are set to debate on Saturday. Find out more about the candidates and where you can watch using our guide to the 2016 General Election.

Here you will find links to all sorts of useful information including:

  • Video and transcripts for all past public debates
  • Fact checking sites that show who is being honest and who is bending the truth
  • A news aggregator showing the top political headlines from sources all around the web

Visit it today and throughout 2016 to make sure you are in the know this campaign season.