CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University’s Great Books Series will examine a creative conversation between a pair of 20th century art icons at its November meeting.
Dr. Rebecca Weir, assistant professor of English, will lead the discussion of Gertrude Stein’s poetic portraits of Pablo Picasso and his famous portrait—on canvas, not the page—of her at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 via Zoom.
The discussion series — sponsored by the Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities —is open to those who either have or haven’t read the stories, said Dr. Daniel Bloom, Great Books organizer and associate professor of philosophy.
“Stein’s poems ‘Portrait of Picasso’ from 1912 and ‘If I Told Him, A Complete Portrait of Picasso’ from 1923 offer a compelling window into the expatriate artistic communities who thrived in early 20th century Paris, and our discussion will place Stein’ portraits of Picasso in conversation with his famous portrait of her,” Weir said. “Picasso and Stein’s rich and generative friendship lasted for decades, and both painter and poet continually challenged and inspired one another.”
WT professors and guest lecturers lead the monthly Great Books discussions.
The series began in 2011 and is traditionally held on the second Tuesday of the month.
To register for the October discussion, email Bloom at [email protected].
The series is one way in which WT serves the region by offering engagement with a variety of literary and philosophical texts. Being a learner-centered university is a key principle of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.
