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  • Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita

    Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack, each month we’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion!

    This month’s novel is Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.

    Awe and exhilaration–along with heartbreak and mordant wit–abound in Lolita, Nabokov’s most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert’s obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love–love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.

    “The only convincing love story of our century.” —Vanity Fair

    When you register you will be provided the meeting link to join the conversation. 


     

  • Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier

    Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack, each month we’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion!

    This month’s novel is Ford Madox Ford’ The Good Soldier.

    One of the most important works of twentieth-century British literature, The Good Soldier addresses the lives and interrelationships between two couples: one American, one British. A tragicomic novel of manners, in which John Dowell narrates the disintegration of both his own and another marriage, the work’s depiction of passion and intrigue offers an ironic reading of Edwardian-era values.

    “One of the finest novels of our century.” –Graham Greene

    When you register you will be provided the meeting link to join the conversation. 


  • Yes, Close to the Edge

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Yes, Close to the Edge.

    This event will be held in person at The Great Hall Auditorium and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • The Kinks’ Are the Village Green Preservation Society

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature The Kinks’ Are the Village Green Preservation Society.

    This event will be held in person at The Great Hall Auditorium and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville.

    This event will be held in person at The Great Hall Auditorium and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • Sly and the Family Stone, There’s a Riot Goin’ On

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Sly and the Family Stone, There’s a Riot Goin’ On.

    This event will be held in person at The Great Hall Auditorium and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • REM’s Murmur

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature REM, Murmur.

    This event will be held in person at Woods Theatre and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • The Grateful Dead, American Beauty

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature The Grateful Dead, American Beauty.

    This event will be held in person at Pollak Theatre and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly.

    This event will be held in person at Pollak Theatre and will also be available remotely via Zoom. When you register you will be provided the ZOOM meeting link to join the conversation.

    Free and open to the public, but registration is required.

  • An Evening of Poetry, Jazz and “Harp”Beats with Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise, Robert Pinsky, Digba Ogunbiyi Quartet and Gregory Schwartz

    Join us for an evening of an evening of Poetry, Jazz and “Harp”Beats featuring – Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise’s hip-hop poetry with bluesy beats supported by the harp, New Jersey native and former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky’s “PoemJazz” with a reading and performance of poems in concert with a variety of jazz improvisations. Also featured on the evening’s bill are the Digba Ogunbiyi Quartet playing original compositions that are deeply rooted in Ogunbiyi’s Nigeria roots, yet highly informed by his years of studying Jazz; and an opening set by Gregory Schwartz, former recipient of the Poet Laureate of Asbury Park award.

    This event is part of the Monmouth University Summer Music and Arts Festival 2022.


    Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise
    Since the 2018 release of “Higher Grounds,” their first album, Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise have brought their unique blend of hip-hop, soul and classical traditions to various communities. Releasing their highly anticipated second album “Ké m yōōnədé” (2021), Kuf and Christine’s music explores themes of unity, spirituality and the infinite possibility of creating a better world. They fuse hip-hop poetry with bluesy beats supported by the harp. And, you can dance to it. They recently have been featured on NPR Music and WHYY.  Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise offer motivational creative arts workshops and performances at various settings such as hospitals, schools and community centers. Their mission is to use the power of music, personal experience and empathetic relation to help individuals grow to meet their fullest potential.

    Robert Pinsky
    New Jersey native Robert Pinsky (United States Poet Laureate 1997-2000) has devised a collaborative program which showcases his two great passions: poetry and jazz. Pinsky presents the human voice — the reading and performance of poems – in concert with a variety of jazz improvisations. In PoemJazz, Pinsky’s rich and textured voice takes on a role like that of a horn or wind instrument in conversation with melody and rhythm, creating an exchange between the sounds of poetry and of music. “In jazz, as in poetry,” says Robert Pinsky, “there is always that play between what’s regular and what’s wild. That has always appealed to me.”  Robert Pinsky has performed with Grammy-winning pianist Laurance Hobgood and other celebrated jazz musicians, including Vijay Iyer, Ben Allison, Bobby Bradford, and Stan Strickland.

    Digba Ogunbiyi Quartet
    The Digba Ogunbiyi quartet is a musical group that consists of Drummer Chris Paredes, Bassist Bill Moring, Alto saxophonist Jalin Shiver and pianist Digba Ogunbiyi. The quartet which is led by Digba Ogunbiyi started while he was a student at the New Jersey City University. As a pianist from Nigeria, he is obsessed with exploring sounds that are informed by his childhood experiences in Lagos. This is evident in his 2020 debut album “Ade’digba” which has been described as a “sound of hope for the African jazz community. ”With his quartet, Digba stretches the boundaries of genre often playing original compositions that are deeply rooted in his roots yet highly informed by his years of studying Jazz.

    Gregory Schwartz
    Gregory Schwartz, a former recipient of the Poet Laureate of Asbury Park award (2007), has been a resident poet at the MC Skate & Surf Break contest and the 2010 Bamboozle Festival. He has also been featured on the front page of the Asbury Park Press (2002, 2009, 2012), appeared in Steve Forbert’s music video “Sandy” and is a writer for Asbury Park Vibes.