Nine male convicts squeeze into state-issued chairs and encounter great works of literature. One female English professor steers an erratic discussion, befriending a ragtag band of prisoners. This is the “Maximum Security Book Club.” In her new novel, Mikita Brottman assesses her time at Maryland’s Jessup Correctional Institution book by book, recalling the conversations and observations accompanying each piece. Her...
Culture
Tacke puts music theory into practice
Daniel Tacke has been told he began playing piano at age 3, but he doesn’t remember his first lesson. “This goes back further than my memory does,” Tacke said. Tacke, a native of Seattle, joined the Hillsdale music staff this year as a Visiting Associate Professor of Music, focusing on teaching basic and complex theory along with composition. He also...
Five artists represent Hillsdale in art competition
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Statues pose on street corners, photographs frame restaurant walls, and canvases cover brick-walled storefronts. Grand Rapids, Michigan, has welcomed 1,453 artists to showcase their work within 3 square miles of town for 19 days in one of the most open and diverse international art competitions on the planet: ArtPrize. While the whopping total of $500,000 awarded...
Aquila Theatre brings professional classics to the local stage
For Aquila Theatre, less is more. Three actors will perform William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” on Tuesday and Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Nile” on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Markel Auditorium, bringing international talent to the Hillsdale community and the knowledge of experienced professionals to Hillsdale College students. “There’s not a lot of professional theater in Hillsdale County,”...
