MORAVIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
KEMERER MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS WELCOMES MARCHÉ MAISON VINTAGE MARKET
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites announced that Marche Maison, its French cottage inspired design and decor shop, has relocated from the Goundie House to the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts.
The Kemerer Museum reflects the passionate expression of its founder, local collector Annie S. Kemerer, and her love of beautiful objects. Born in 1865 just south of Bethlehem, Annie and her family enjoyed surrounding themselves with stunning furniture, paintings and decorative art. This museum speaks to the changes in style and design over three centuries.
In addition to regular Kemerer Museum operating hours, Marche Maison will have dedicated shop hours Wednesday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed on Tuesday.
Moravian University is hosting its 10th annual Writers’ Conference March 21-23, 2024. The “Write to Explore” conference is free and open to all (no writing experience necessary).
Programming will focus on the value of writing in our society today, how writing can be used as a tool to promote social justice and peace, what professions draw on storytelling skills and how we use story-sharing to make connections to our own histories and each other. The conference will feature a series of readings, talks, workshops and guided discussions.
The first two days of the conference will be held on the Main Campus at 1200 Main St., while Saturday events will take place on the South Priscilla Payne Hurd Campus at 370 Main St.
Conference highlights on March 22 include Professor Emeritus and conference founder, Joyce Hinnefeld moderating a discussion with currently incarcerated individuals who will participate virtually. No River Twice group offers an improvised poetry reading where the audience and poets interact, poem by poem, to co-create a reading that is never the same. Professor and conference co-director Liz Gray (Chang) will be appearing as a member of this group. A brief Q&A with the poets will follow.
On Saturday, March
23, Javier Ávila will host a craft talk on “page poetry” versus “performance poetry,” discussing the process of writing poetry that is meant to be performed as part of a one-man show and the journey of putting together a performance that blends poetry and storytelling for large audiences.
Ávila will give a performance titled “The Trouble With My Name.”
This performance blends comedy and poetry to shed light on the American Latino experience, delivering a unifying message about the value of education, history and allyship. This performance will be followed by a brief Q&A.
Full list of events and registration are available at moravian.edu/writersconference/schedule.