The Chronicle

Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: News
Last update: 2/4/08 at 6:28 AM EST

Media Credit: Kevin Hwang Professor Reynolds Price, who was honored for his life's work this weekend, and renowned author Toni Morrison share stories about their friendship in the Chapel Sunday.

Media Credit: Allison Gianino Professor Reynolds Price shared stories from his career and thoughts about his work during a weekend of events celebrating his time at Duke.

"A Jubilee for Reynolds Price" continued Friday and Saturday with distinguished panels, a keynote speech by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison and a dramatic reading of "Private Contentment," a television play written by Price, Trinity '55 and a James B. Duke professor of English.

Friday's program included a discussion in Reynolds Theater between Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells and former chair of the English department Stanley Fish, now Davidson-Kahn distinguished university professor of humanities and a professor of law at Florida International University.

Like Price, Fish is a renowned scholar of John Milton, and he and Wells discussed the religious elements of Price's writing.

Several hundred people returned to Reynolds Theater later in the afternoon to hear two Southern novelists-Richard Ford and Josephine Humphreys, Trinity '67-talk about Price's work, life and Southern themes.

"His writing is redemptive, at least in a secular way," said Ford, the author of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winning novel "Independence Day."

While an undergraduate at Duke, Humphreys took a freshman English course from Price. Reflecting on the experience, she spoke about his inspirational teaching.

Humphreys noted that she incorporated some of the qualities of Rosacoke Mustian-the protagonist of Price's debut novel, "A Long and Happy Life"-into the character Rhoda Strong from her 2000 book "Nowhere Else on Earth."

The performance of "Private Contentment" followed Morrison's Chapel speech Saturday afternoon. The play's cast included Hollywood actress and former Price student Annabeth Gish, Trinity '93, and attracted 150 spectators to Griffith Theater.

"The play was exhilarating," said junior Itohan Aghayere, who narrated the performance and portrayed the character Tee. "So many people came up to us beforehand and said, 'We've been looking forward to this all weekend.'"

Ian Baucom, chair of the English department, said a total of 363 people had preregistered for the three-day jubilee, a figure that does not include any students who were in attendance.

"It was more fully joyful and celebratory than I could have possibly wished," Baucom added. "The part that was richest for me was the chance to spend so much time inside of Reynolds' language, inside his poems, his novels, his memoirs and his play."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools