The Common, a literary magazine based at Amherst, released its ninth issue this week. The Common is devoted to a “modern sense of place,” a happily broad mission that I suspect all of us can in some sense relate to. As young adults at Amherst, we’re all away from home in an environment that’s devoted to encouraging each of us to find our own sense of place both here and beyond our college years. These early adult years are no more than an eddy in a tide pool, a brief disturbance of the wider waters of life.
Amherst’s faculty held the Art Faculty Performance on April 19, showcasing the talents and professors in the Departments of Music, Film and Media Studies and Theater and Dance. Oftentimes students forget that professors too are creators so the performance was a welcome reminder that that once faculty members were students, working on their theses, projects, compositions, and today they continue to create new work. I found the faculty performances interesting, but I felt so out of my depth that I enjoyed them without knowing exactly what I was enjoying.
My favorite pieces of equipment at Val (besides the smoothie blenders) are found at the stir-fry station. This station opens up a whole window of opportunity, freedom and independence when it comes to your dinner choice. Learning how to control the temperature on the induction burners is crucial when it comes to cooking a non-burnt meal, so be weary of those little blinking lights. Here are a couple of my favorite pasta dishes that will hold you over until it’s vodka sauce night.
In Jenny Hubbard’s 2014 novel “And We Stay,” the author attempts to explore a teenager’s mind after a tragic loss: the untimely death of her high school boyfriend. After suffering from severe depression and unsure what else she can do, Emily Beam, the protagonist of the novel, ships off to an all girl’s boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Once she’s there, Emily becomes enamored with another Emily — Emily Dickinson. Inspired by the poet, Emily Beam spends her first year at boarding school writing secret poems and harboring an even bigger secret.
One-half of the Flight of the Conchords duo who brought you “Business Time” and “Foux de Fa Fa,” and the genius behind award-winning “Boy,” are back with “What We Do in the Shadows”— a feature-length film that in my opinion trumps any of the Flight of the Conchords’ most famous videos. It’s not just a documentary, not just a vampire movie — it’s a vampire mockumentary. Jermaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi (“Boy”) have created something funny and subversive, and they take themselves just seriously enough to do the trick.
Maybe I’m just a bitter person who hates any kind of romantic film, or maybe I’m just tired of the fact that the romantic movie genre has basically turned into perpetual adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels. “The Longest Ride” is the newest in the plethora of Sparks films. What makes this film different from the others? Practically nothing. In all honesty, it really is just a different cast and a slightly tweaked familiar plotline.
The 2015 Spring Arts Festival, Amherst College’s biggest arts festival yet, is currently holding a mix of musical and visual performances; art exhibits and workshops and conversations with artists. Spanning over 10 days with an event or two every day, the festival has so far hosted a few music showcases and celebrations, a film screening and an artist workshop with Jonathon Keats ’94. Still to come: an arts party at the Powerhouse, a glee club concert, an arts faculty performance and a reveal of the Jonathon Keats exhibit at The Mead, paired with a lecture by Keats himself.
