Temple University Libraries - Podcast

Stone Reader Interview

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:05:33 -0500

Mark Moskowitz sat down for an interview with librarian Fred Rowland after discussing books and filmmaking in an appearance at the Paley Lecture Hall on March 24, 2009. Moskowitz is the producer and director of the non-fiction narrative film The Stone Reader, in which he tracks down the elusive author of The Stones of Summer, Dow Mossman, a young writer who slipped into obscurity after publishing his first novel.

The Stone Reader won awards at both the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival and the 2003 Philadelphia Film Festival. In this interview, Moskowitz talks about the book, his film, its reception, and his current projects.

Interview (mp3, 26:47)

Vampire Huntress Interview

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:19:19 -0500

Leslie Banks appeared at the Temple Book Club on March 4, 2009 to talk about her new book, The Thirteenth, and her new projects including a forthcoming graphic novel. In an engaging presentation with many fans in the audience, she discussed the final book of her Vampire Huntress series, as well as her journey to becoming a writer, the publishing industry, and the challenge of writing as a career. Afterward, she kindly agreed to an interview with librarian Fred Rowland, who engaged her on many of these same issues. Take some time to listen to this interesting interview.

Interview (mp3, 13:59)

Interviews: Library Prize Winners 2009

Thu, 28 May 2009 11:27:59 -0500

The interviews with the winners of the 2009 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research are now available for download. Take some time and listen to these engaging young scholars.

Interview (mp3, 13:06): Danielle Country and Faculty Sponsor Laura Samponaro

Interview (mp3, 21:36): George Keddie and Faculty Sponsor Vasiliki Limberis

Interview (mp3, 15:05): Cara Shay and Faculty Sponsor Diana Woodruff-Pak

For more information on this year's winners and honorable mentions, go to the Winners page.

New Orleans Before & After: author interview

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:32:44 -0500

Author Ronald Gauthier visited the Temple Book Club on December 4 to discuss his new book Crescent City Countdown, a mystery which is situated in post-Katrina New Orleans. Gauthier discussed his colorful and nuanced characters, the twists and turns of plot, and the mystery's connection to real events in New Orleans. He also addressed the profit-driven pressures of the contemporary publishing industry and his current writing projects.

After his appearance at the Temple Book Club, he stopped by for an interview. We talked about his book as well as the odyssey that the winds of Katrina set him on, blowing him from New Orleans to Atlanta and beyond. Have a listen.

Download here (mp3, running 15 minutes)

---Fred Rowland

Exploring Race in Contemporary Judaism

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:47:33 -0500

On October 6, 2008, The Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought at Temple University held its Second Annual Symposium on Race and Judaism in the Paley Library Lecture Hall. The program was entitled Exploring Race in Contemporary Judaism: A Symposium on Jewish Diversity [click here for PDF of flyer].

Before the symposium began, Professor Lewis Gordon, director of The Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought, sat down with three of the presenters, Edith Bruder, Avishai Mekonen, and Shari Rothfarb Mekonen to discuss their work. Edith Bruder has written a book entitled The Black Jews of Africa: History, Religion, Identity and her symposium presentation was entitled "African Judaism: Ancient Myths and Modern Phenomena". Avishai Mekonen and Shari Rothfarb Mekonen screened and discussed their work-in-progress documentary, 400 Miles to Freedom, a "film [which] explores racial and ethnic diversity in Judaism through the story of Avishai Mekonen, whose disappearance in Sudan as a boy launches a quest that leads him to other African, Asian and Latino Jews in Israel and in the U.S." John L. Jackson, who also presented at the symposium ("The Bodied Politic: Ethnobiology, Anti-Religiosity and the Reckoning of Black Hebrewism") was not present for this recording (but we hope to record an interview with him at a later date).

Download the audio here (mp3, 22 MB).

Jakobsen Lecture Available on iTunes U

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:19:35 -0500

Distinguished professor of women's studies, Janet Jakobsen of Barnard College, lectured at Paley on April 7.

Dr. Jakobsen is the Director of the Center for Research on Women at Barnard. Her research interests include: feminist and queer ethics; religion, gender, and sexuality in American public life; social movements and feminist alliance politics; and global issues of economics.

Jakobsen's research truly crosses disciplinary boundaries, and her engagement with a number of issues crosses the traditional lines established between the academy and activism.

This lecture was part of a series presented by the Libraries and the General Education Program, which aims to bring interdisciplinary scholars in a variety of fields to Temple. The departments of Religion and Jewish Studies also played a significant role in sponsoring Dr. Jakobsen's visit.

Dr. Jakobsen's lecture at Paley Library can be downloaded from iTunes U.
When you see the Temple University page, click Paley Library at the bottom, then Janet Jakobsen, then click "Get" and wait for the download to complete.

After the lecture, Dr. Jakobsen was interviewed by Professor of History, David Watt, and Professor of Religion, Women's Studies, and Jewish Studies, Laura Levitt.

2008 Library Prize Winners Interviewed

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:26:45 -0500

The 2008 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research winners and their faculty sponsors kindly agreed to be interviewed on their award winning research papers by librarian Fred Rowland. Each of the three students are as articulate and intelligent as the papers they've written. Listen to them talk about their research in their own words.

Peter Leibensperger (interviewed with faculty sponsor Edward Latham)
"Musical Ambiguity as Poetic Reflection: Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, No. 1, 'Nunn will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n!'" (Music Studies)
Interview (MP3, 13 minutes)
Natalia Smirnov (interviewed with faculty sponsor Paul Swann)
"Before and After Photography: The Makeover Method to Discipline and Punish" (Film and Media Arts)
Interview (MP3, 14 minutes)
Maureen Whitsett (interviewed with faculty sponsor Elizabeth Varon)
"Fenianism In Irish Catholic Philadelphia: The American Catholic Church's Battle for Acceptance" (History)
Interview (MP3, 13 minutes)

And, returning faculty and students, start thinking about the 2009 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research!

Philadelphia's Waterfront Wobblies

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:47:46 -0500

On April 17, after visiting the Temple Book Club to discuss his new book Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive Era Philadelphia (University of Illinois Press, 2007), author Peter Cole was interviewed by librarian Fred Rowland. In the interview, he provides a fascinating look at Progressive Era Philadelphia, an industrial dynamo of American capitalism whose busy port along the Delaware River gave rise to a successful interracial multiethnic union (IWW Local 8) that was able to overcome employer resistance to control work on the docks from about 1913 to the early 1920's. While discussing Local 8 and its unique success in bringing together white Protestant, black, and immigrant Catholic and Jewish longshoremen, he talks about the radical Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and their relationship to the rest of American labor, the nature of work on the docks, local labor and race relations, the effects of World War I and Bolshevik Revolution on the port of Philadelphia and the IWW, as well as lessons to be learned from Local 8's rise and fall. If you're interested in Philadelphia history, you'll like this interview.

Listen to the Interview (MP3, 20 minutes)

For a brief overview of the Industrial Workers of the World, go here (Temple-only).

Daddy Grace and His House of Prayer

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:00:00 -0500

Daddy Grace was a flamboyant preacher of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's who created a religious organization with churches situated mainly up and down the east coast of the United States, including Philadelphia. His church was pentecostal in orientation and known for extravagant rituals, parades, and festivals. Until now, Daddy Grace and his United House of Prayer for All People has been relatively neglected in the scholarship of religious studies. Temple's Adjunct Associate Professor Marie Dallam has gone a long way in filling in the gaps in our understanding of this fascinating figure in American religious history with her new book, Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer, published by New York University Press.

On March 10, Marie Dallam stopped by Paley Library to discuss her new book with librarian Fred Rowland. Below is a link to this audio interview.

Marie Dallam Audio Interview (mp3)

Don't forget that if Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer is checked out from Paley Library, you can request it through E-ZBorrow.

---Fred Rowland

Interview with Legendary Performers "Kittye" DeChavis and Trudy Pitts

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:32:42 -0500

In celebration of Women’s History Month, legendary jazz performers Katherine “Kittye” DeChavis and Trudy Pitts spoke and performed at Paley Library on March 5th, 2008. After the performance, Ms. DeChavis and Ms. Pitts joined librarian Anne Harlow for questions and conversation recorded on this Library Podcast.

In the podcast, Katherine “Kittye” DeChavis describes her earliest musical experiences. She recalls the musical environment of Philadelphia that provided many opportunities to learn, to perform, and to listen to various kinds of music. Ms. DeChavis describes her move to Montreal, and then to New York, working at the Paradise and the Apollo Theaters. She tells the story of how she unexpectedly came to record the hits “Hucklebuck” and “Be Anything but Be Mine.” Ms. DeChavis expresses heartfelt concern for young people today, and offers advice for students who are studying to be performers.

Trudy Pitts, a native Philadelphian, performs and records extensively on jazz organ. She has degrees from the Philadelphia Music Academy, Temple University, and Juilliard, and is currently on the piano faculty of the University of the Arts. In the podcast, Trudy recalls her extensive training in classical music, and how growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia influenced her music. She talks about her transition from classical music to jazz, and how she incorporates classical elements into her performances. Trudy shares her philosophies of being a wife, mother, and professional musician, and gives warmhearted guidance for aspiring young musicians.

Special thanks to Sebastian Derry, Media Services Librarian, for serving as the sound engineer for the podcast and to Dr. Diane D. Turner, Curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, for planning today’s program and reaching out and inviting these two extraordinary women to come to the library today. And thank you to Kittye DeChavis and Trudy Pitts for sharing their experiences and insights with us.

Get the audio here

Ms. Kittye DeChavis performing at Temple University Paley Library on March 5th, 2008.

Ms. Trudy Pitts takes a bow after her performance at Temple University's Paley Library, March 5, 2008.

Curator of the Blockson Collection Dr. Diane Turner, WRTI radio announcers Harrison Ridley and Bob Perkins, and University Librarian Larry Alford with Tracy Pitts and Kittye DeChavis

Kittye DeChavis, Anne Harlow, and Trudy Pitts

--Anne Harlow