“A Banquet of Lilacs: An Essay Enacted” is the title of the essay.
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Tag Archives: Arnold Arboretum
LILACS IN WINTER
In 2015 I received the gift of two baby lilacs–Syringa x hyacinthiflora ‘Betsy Ross’ (white) and Syringa vulgaris President Lincoln (blue)–from Arnold Arboretum propagator Jack Alexander. At the moment Betsy and Abe sleep swaddled in blue light and snow in our front yard in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
RADCLIFFE ALBUM: FOLLOW THAT FRAGRANCE!
On May 3rd I presented an excerpt of my book-length lyric essay on lilacs at Arnold Arboretum with the aid of four fabulous research partners a.k.a. Team Lilac. (We are sporting iris boutonnieres—the lilac variety being unavailable.) From left to right: Teddy Delwiche, Christine Legros, Sarah Blatt-Herold, Ian Van Wye.
UPCOMING HARVARD APPEARANCES INVOLVING WHEELBARROWS AND LILACS
On April 14th MURAL SPEAKS! rolls into Harvard Square:
https://www.facebook.com/muralspeaksharvard
On May 3rd I will be shaking the branches at Arnold Arboretum:
Follow that Fragrance! Chasing Lilac History
Ben Miller, Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and Team Lilac
Location: Hunnewell Building
White lilacs and Rachmaninov are connected how? What villainous role did lilac blooms play on the old “Batman” TV show? Can you name the Walt Whitman lilac poem not addressing President Lincoln’s assassination? This year at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, fellow Ben Miller and four Harvard College research partners (Theodore Delwiche ‘17, Sarah Blatt-Herold ‘18, Christine Legros ‘17, Ian Van Wye ‘17) have been harvesting material for a book-length lyric essay about the lilac aura, and ways it has filtered through their own lives and cultures around the globe. In this lively program, “Team Lilac” will present an array of poems, songs, monologues and visual art celebrating the lavish, mysterious, and ever-enduring charisma of Syringa vulgaris.
Ben Miller, author 