Frieze Lecture: Dr. Emily Cranford on 'Ourika'

Dr. Emily Cranford, visiting assistant professor of French, will present the first of this year's Frieze Lecture series, a 21-year partnership between the Rock Island Public Library and Augustana College to present four talks in the fall.

This year's theme is "modern lives," in conjunction with the "French Moderns" exhibit at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport.

Dr. Cranford will talk about "Ourika" by Claire, Duchess of Duras. The 1823 novel examines racial and sexual equality, and inspired the 1969 John Fowles novel "The French Lieutenant's Woman."

Lectures are from 2-3 p.m. Tuesdays at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th St., Community Room. Free coffee, cookies and conversation are offered after each lecture.

Oct. 31: Dr. Kiki Kosnick, assistant professor of French, will speak on Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), a French writer mainly of short stories. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians.

Nov. 6: Dr. Taddy Kalas, professor of French, will give a presentation on the French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. His poem "L'après-midi d'un faune" so captivated the composer Claude Debussy that he crafted a symphonic treatment, "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun."

Nov. 13: Dr. Claire Kovacs, director of the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art, will speak on "Our Moderns: Varlden ar liten Modern Swedish and American Works," an exhibit on view at the museum.