THE GAINES
CENTER Meet the New Fellows Gaines Celebrates 35 Years
Alumni Spotlight: Ouita Michel
Gaines Center Returns to China
Bale Boone Symposium
featuring Tayari Jones
The beginning of the fall semester is always so exciting with possibility. Even when you have taught the same subjects or texts for years, they are new in the eyes and minds of students. One of the best parts of my job as a teacher is watching the moment a student moves from contemplation to the confidence of newly acquired knowledge. Even as we engage in the collective classroom project, it is not a simultaneous experience. The beauty of a place like the Gaines Center is that one can witness this moment over and over again—in the faces of the fellows or the faculty who attend workshops or staff who meet to solve problems. One of the pleasures of my job has been hearing former and current fellows discuss the importance of the Gaines Center. These testimonials of the power of a space committed to ideas, dialogue and the pleasure of learning new things are not limited to fellows.
L E T T E R F R O M
T H E
D I R E C T O R
Dr. Melynda Price This year we were honored to have Tayari Jones, winner of the Women’s Fiction Prize (formerly the Orange Prize), as the lecturer for the Bale Boone Symposium. We invited her for her literary acclaim, but she showed herself to be an able teacher and role model in her interactions with the Gaines Fellows and students from the Creative Writing MFA program. She is quoted as saying, "I am neither religious nor superstitious, but there is something otherworldly about the space where two roads come together.� The Gaines Center has stood at the University of Kentucky as an intellectual crossroads in this community. The Gaines Center is a place where campus and community come to take on the big questions, and sometimes the small.
A faculty person whose thinking was advanced in a workshop in the Bingham Davis house. A former staff person who relayed stories of Raymond Betts and the house that bears his name. My favorite is the former professor who met his future wife in the Commonwealth House. These stories all highlight the role of the Gaines Center in supporting humanities and the human beings who pursue humanistic studies in our community.
We recognize the responsibility of stewarding the tremendous legacy of Gaines even as we explore the possibilities of what lies ahead. We hope that you will share with your Gaines stories with us. We are busy planning for the spring term that will culminate with the Gaines Reunion in May. Reunions always bring on a certain sentimentality and reflection, but we also hope you will share your ideas of the possible, the future, and how we might work collectively toward the surely bright future of the Gaines Center.
e h t t e e M ! s w o l l e F w e N Hannah Thomas
Hendersonville High School, Hendersonville, TN Biology & Health, Society, and Populations Phi Delta Epsilon VP of Finance, ASB Site Leader, Chellgren Fellow, 1st Place in the Global Health Case Competition 2018, FUSION Site Leader, UK Children's Hospital Family Room Volunteer "I am extremely excited to become a Gaines Fellow and gain a deeper understanding of the humanities alongside a wonderful cohort. I hope to gain a well-rounded education alongside the opportunity to better our local community through the addition of humanities in a healthcare setting."
Megan Yadav Ryle High School, Florence, KY Psychology Early Assurance Program for the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Resident Advisor, Alpha Phi Omega, Lewis Honors College Ambassador, Psychology Scholar "When I received the email that I was chosen as a Gaines Fellow, I cannot describe how I felt. The honor of being able to work with 10 other peers who are diverse and passionate about their future aspirations is an extraordinary opportunity to have in college. Earning this honor makes me even more excited for what the future has in store for me."
Claire Hilbrecht Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville, KY Natural Resources and Environmental Science Singletary Scholar, SER2L Undergraduate Research Assistant, Student Sustainability Council Member, UK Office of Sustainability Pick It Up Litter-Free Initiative Volunteer Intern "I truly think that the Gaines Fellowship will be transformative to me, allowing me to push myself to better understand pressing social issues and collaborate with my peers in ways that matter."
Carson Hardee SCAPA Lafayette High School, Lexington, KY Marketing, Management, and Dance Global Scholars Program, Patterson Scholar, Student Government Association "I am so honored to be chosen as a Gaines Fellow. This program is such an incredible opportunity for personal growth, and I can't wait to experience everything that Gaines has to offer. As a Gaines Fellow, I hope to gain a community that pushes me out of my comfort zone and encourages personal growth."
Daniela Gamez Salgado Southern High School and Thomas Nelson High School, Coxs Creek, KY International Studies Latino Student Union, University of Kentucky Associate Chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc., Leading Latinas "I hope to learn as much as possible and be able to translate what I learned to better the people and communities around me! I also hope to learn how to narrow down my overall goal of bridging the dreams immigrants and refugees left behind in their home countries to the realities of the United States. If I can help others grow while I grow, I’ll be happy."
Chase Carlton Highland Park High School, Dallas, TX Public Health and Anthropology Chellgren Fellowship; Deans List Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018 "I hope to become a more knowledgeable and well-rounded person through Gaines. I hope to learn more for learning's sake and expose myself to areas I am unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. Most of all I want to use the opportunities given to me by the Gaines Fellowship to broaden my horizons and shape myself so that I can succeed in the future as a public health servant."
Nicole Blackstone Elizabethtown High School, Eastview, KY Political Science, Sociology Singletary Scholar, Lewis Honors College, Kappa Delta Sorority, Chellgren Fellow, Student Government Association Senator-at-Large, Resident Advisor, Wildcat Ambassador, UK 101 Instructor, Dean's List "Through Gaines, I hope to gain a network of friends and colleagues who come from diverse backgrounds and fields of study, and I hope to learn from them and possibly teach them something. I want to be able to look back on my undergraduate years and be able to confidently say that I put myself out there and made the effort to grow in ways that are outside my comfort zone."
Josh Ehl Henry Clay High School, Lexington, KY Natural Resources and Environmental Science Dean's List Spring 2018, Fall 2018 "There's so much I want to accomplish I can't quite keep it all straight in my head. I'm particularly excited at the prospect of producing my own research and thesis regarding a subject I find interesting. I also hope to gain a new appreciation for my local community through involvement opportunities, as well as a new perspective on the world as a whole."
Aileen Tierney DuPont Manual High School, Louisville, KY English First Place Winner of the Flo Gault 2019 Kentucky Undergraduate Poetry Competition, British Poetry Society's 2017 Foyle's Young Poet of the Year, Spalding University's First Place Winner of the 2017 Word Hotel Contest, Governor's School for the Arts 2016, University of Kentucky Mock Trial Team "As a Gaines Fellow, I am hoping to help initiate a community engagement project for the UK student body in order to encourage support for the creative arts. During my senior year, I hope to complete a novella for my senior thesis project, or work intensively on some other work of creative writing."
Bria Northington Waggener High School, Louisville, KY
Social Work Executive board member of two organizations on campus, Resident Advisor, Orientation Leader, K Week Leader "I hope to gain a safe space where different ideas can freely be expressed. The passion my friends had for the program really inspired me."
Eli O'Neal Eastern High School, Louisville, KY English and Political Science Lewis Honors College; worked for the Fayette County Democratic Party and helped elect Democrats up and down the ticket. Since then has joined a gubernatorial campaign "I was drawn to the program by the community project and the seminars that are offered. I don't think we get anywhere by ourselves and I want to take this chance through the Gaines Fellowship to start to give back what the community put into me. I also look forward to the seminars which will be a great opportunity to look deeper into the forgotten parts of the Commonwealth and attempt to understand the history, the people, and what we can do to lift up everyone across Kentucky."
Save the Date
The Gaines Center Celebrates
35 YEARS OF HUMANITIES JOIN US FOR FUN, GAMES, AND FELLOWSHIP MAY 15-16, 2020 218 EAST MAXWELL STREET, LEXINGTON, KY MORE INFORMATION FORTHCOMING
t h g i l t o p S i n m u Al
Garbage in, garbage out–or so my mom told me. As I get older, I find this applies equally to the food one eats as to the company they entertain. With accomplished chef and Gaines Fellow alumna Ouita Michel, neither cuisine nor conversation is garbage.
It’s a sunny September day in Lexington as I make my way into the Old Courthouse, still ripe with the pleasant smell of waxed floors and fresh paint that hovers in aged places newly reborn. The heat outside is heavy and taxing, but the warm hospitality of Zim’s Café is wholly refreshing. I walk inside to find Chef Michel, or, as she’d have me say, Ouita, waiting at a corner table, and she’s kind enough to offer me water or coffee. I take her offer on the latter, and we sit down to discuss her life and her thoughts on education, the humanities, and food culture in Kentucky—all of which to her are unified as a result of her relationship with the Gaines Center. A: I am Andrew Calvert and this is Friday, September 6th. I am here with Chef Ouita Michel. Chef, how are you doing today? O: I am doing wonderful today. Beautiful day in Kentucky–late summer. A: I just kind of want to start out with a few background questions. Where did you grow up? Any really memorable experiences from high school or your early education with the humanities?
O: Well, I grew up in Lexington. I moved to Lexington when I was eight years old, and I grew up on State Street. My dad was a professor at the UK Medical Center, and I went to Maxwell Elementary School and Morton Middle School and Henry Clay High School.
O: Well, let’s see if I can remember exactly. At that time, you had to be nominated. It wasn’t an open-ended application process. So, I had a political science professor named Dr. Herb Reed–he’s retired now–in Modern American Political Philosophy, and I just loved him and Ernie Etarella, another great professor of mine. At that time, I was in the Honors Program, and Dr. Ray Betts was head of the Honors Program. There was an Honors colloquium that you had to take as a freshman and sophomore– four semesters–and it started with the Greeks, in antiquity, and we would do Greek philosophies and poets. The professors involved in that all had their own departments–like Dr. Betts was in History, Dr. Vance was in English. Everybody had to take this colloquium.
OUITA MICHEL Taking Over the Lexington Culinary Scene
I didn’t think I would stay in town for college, but I was a high school debater and I loved debate, and I was persuaded to stay and debate for the University of Kentucky. That’s really why I went to the University of Kentucky. I was in the first class of Gaines Fellows–it was a new program and I was nominated as a sophomore for the junior year Gaines program. Yes, I had a wonderful childhood growing up in Lexington as part of the UK faculty family. It was great. A: You mentioned being in the first class of Gaines Fellows. As someone who’s in [Gaines] now these many years later, what was it like to see the program start up? Do you remember how you first heard about it and why you decided to apply?
From that class, I think they kind of got this idea—Dr. Betts got the idea to approach John Gaines to establish a fellowship in the study of the humanities. Mr. Gaines was an incredible Renaissance man himself, very into the Renaissance and art and everything, really—unbelievable guy. So it came out of Dr. Betts and kind of grew out of the Honors Program, and I think I was nominated by Dr. Reed. In those days, we would go out to the Gaines’ home and have dinner, and they came to many of the symposiums. In your junior year, I think you still do the coursework? A: We do.
O: I remember we did a city design project, a linguistics class, a visual literacy class, we had a classics class, and Mr. and Mrs. Gaines came to many of those classes and I got to know them very well. They became friends of mine later again when I returned to Kentucky, and great customers at Holly Hill Inn, so I’ve always been very grateful to them for starting that program.
"I LOVE THE
GAINES CENTER,
WHAT IT STANDS
A: That’s kind of fascinating to see how it’s grown and how it’s changed.
FOR, AND WHAT
O: Sure. When it first started, Dr. Betts just had that one building. The first building, then a really run down, dilapidated, bluish-gray building, that was the only building that existed. We had all our classes in the front room, because it was only juniors, right, because we were the first ones. Dr. Betts’ office was in the second room, I remember, and oh my gosh, that building was cold and it was falling down. It was not a good building. And then by the time I was a senior, I was extremely competitive in debate. The senior part of the program, when I was in it, was really almost undeveloped at the time, because we were the first group, and I don’t think Dr. Betts knew how to bring the thesis to fruition, exactly. I was nonparticipatory because—I did write my thesis and finish that—I was so into debate that I wasn’t there. That’s when we opened the second building, and it got all remodeled. I wasn’t very active with the Gaines Center until much later, when I moved back to Kentucky. I got re-involved when Dr. Rowland was in charge, and I did a series of "feasts" with the program. For a while there, I think we did four or five feasts maybe starting in the late 1990s, and I joined the board. Then, when the feasts kind of came to an end, I’ve just been a friend of the program since then. I love the Gaines Center, what it stands for, and what it is.
IT IS."
A: The Humanities are often criticized as fields of study for undergraduates that don’t lead to successful, highpaying careers that are also personally fulfilling. How do you respond to that?
O: Well, I have both kinds of education, because when you go to culinary school, you have a vocational education. It was very interesting to go to the Culinary Institute of America, because the students really had a defined sense that they were in a vocational education. I knew from the outset that I had this interest in food history, in food literature, and food as culture, and food as shared experience, and I started developing those thoughts at a very young age. My very first class at the University of Kentucky–it was day one–was Dr. Jane Vance teaching the Greek poets, and it changed my life forever. I feel like there is a very important role for vocational education in our communities, but it’s no more important. I guess I’m biased in this way, but I think the study of the humanities is what makes us human, it is what connects us. It is how we experience things larger than ourselves. It is what gives us perspective and vision and imagination. I think one thing that I’ve told Gaines fellows over the years, on many different occasions, is that the one thing I think can be, uh, challenging about being a Gaines fellow is that you begin to see the study of the humanities as a competition, and you forget how it's impacting your real life, and you begin to divide yourself into two where you’re sort of in this one stream of extremely intense, competitive study in whatever your field is–maybe it’s philosophy, maybe it’s literature, maybe it’s history. And then you have this other part of yourself where you feel like it’s your real life, right?
And the question for you when you’re young and a Gaines fellow, or you’re in college, is bringing those two things together and making them one part of yourself, and that’s really your vocation. Your vocation, whatever it is you decide to do is you say “Oh!” And this is what brings all of us together and what makes me who I am, and food did that for me. A: I think I read in a Kentucky Kernel interview that you did that you were interested in becoming a Donovan Scholar at some point at UK. Do you have any idea–would you be pursuing another major or any specific classes or topics you think you’d be interested in? O: I’m so interested in the culture of antiquity and in agriculture. I know those are two diverse things. But John Gaines–one of the things I want you to know is that he started the Gaines Center–and so did Dr. Betts–in order that every Gaines fellow who comes through the program be vested in lifelong learning. That’s the mission behind the Gaines Center. It’s not to have a Rhodes Scholar, even though we are so proud of our Rhodes Scholar. It’s not that. It’s not the elevation–it’s the elevation of the study of the humanities–but it's not about competitiveness. It’s about instilling in a group, a body of students in our community, the desire and curiosity for lifelong learning. So, that’s so important that you said that. I’d love to study the food culture and art history and philosophy of the antiquities. I think it would be fun to take some of those classes. A: Throughout your career you’ve been a proponent of local foods and sustainable foods, but as we come to realize the impact that large-scale agriculture, especially animal agriculture, has on the environment, how do you see Kentucky food culture, how do you see American food culture adapting to these new challenges?
O: We’re going to have to adapt. We’re not going to have a choice before too much longer–same with climate change–but it’ll probably all roll together. I don’t know if it’ll be in my lifetime but it might not be too far outside of my lifetime. I mean definitely, my businesses are part of a consumer culture, and there’s no doubt about it and it drives me crazy in some ways. But I do know that if we don’t create market forces to drive local production, then we won’t have local production, and so that has been the way that I feel like I can really impact it, through restaurant development. And it’s through institutional buying and that stuff, and I try to do that through UK, but we have to create a denser food production fabric or web for our food insecurity, for our environmental sustainability, and for our nutritional health. I know that there is a lot of business power and financial power behind big agriculture and I know they’re extremely efficient, I know they can really produce a lot of soybeans and corn and wheat, but I think that we are going to have to make a change. I don’t know exactly how that’ll be but I do think that if we shift more to a plant-based diet–a lot of Big Ag is driven by big livestock trade–if we just take small steps, I think we can make big differences. Kentucky’s food culture for me. . . Actually, my thoughts about this were really framed by the Gaines Center, but also as an adult, which is another example of the lifelong learning thing that I like. So Dan Rowland, when he was the director, we used to have these symposiums–the Boone Symposium. One of them was called–there were two of them that we did–Culture and Agriculture in Kentucky, so how our culture in Kentucky is shaped by agriculture. Fascinating. And that’s actually when Alice Waters came, Michael Pollen came, big names in food, and Wendell Berry was there. They all came to Holly Hill Inn for dinner, which totally freaked me out.
The way that agriculture influences our culture in Kentucky, we’re so lucky to have that, and the reason we have that is because we have a lot of small producers. How you really influence culture is by many, many people being involved in this agricultural past and this agricultural present. As we centralize our agricultural systems and we lose that, the impact on our culture will lessen as well. So that’s why Wendell Berry and people like that are so important, and we have this great wealth of Kentucky poets and people involved in merging that. We have a land-based culture in our arts and it’s really fascinating. And that was all shaped for me and brought together for me through the Gaines Center some years ago, but within the last–since I’ve been thirty-five that I’ve–I’m fifty-five now, so I’d say before that. When did I buy the Holly Hill Inn, at thirty-six years old? It probably came to me in maybe 2002 or 2003 or that time period.
"I think the study
of the humanities
is what makes us
human, it is what
connects us. It is
how we
experience things
larger than
A: Is there anything else you think future Gaines Fellows should know as they go through the program and then make the transition to either a vocational school, or a job, or graduate school? I’m just so proud that it’s still such a vibrant program and it can deliver so much to each individual and to the university life too. So I don’t have a lot of advice. Just try to find a passion in life and follow it and remember to bring everything together–don’t feel so divided in your head. I’m happy to be interviewed and happy to be part of the newsletter. It’s exciting.
ourselves. It is
what gives us
perspective and
vision and
imagination."
We finish our conversation and as I rise to leave, I’m struck with the sense that, unlike another cup of caffeine, more such fellowship wouldn’t be a bad thing for me or for anyone. In talking with Ouita Michel about her career and the changes in food culture that she’s seen and caused, as well as the ones yet to come, I get the impression that humanities-grounded discussions are good for the mind, even for the soul. Goodness in, goodness out—an appropriate description of both Chef Ouita Michel and the Gaines Center for the Humanities. By Senior Fellow Andrew Calvert
One Day for UK! April 21, 2020
During UK's inaugural One Day of Giving in April 2019, the Gaines Center for the Humanities raised $1,510 through 22 gifts toward our annual program in New York City. This year we are going to do even better! Alumni and friends, please mark your calendars for April 21, 2020, and, if you are interested in becoming a MATCHING DONOR for our One Day Fundraiser, please reach out to us at 859-257-1537!
Gaines Fellows in China For the sixth Consecutive Year, the Gaines Fellows have partnered with the UK Confucius Institute to explore and learn in Xi'An, Beijing and ShangHai
After many of us senior fellows had spent the early summer traveling around numerous other parts of the world going on adventures and participating in other education abroad programs, we reconvened our cohort not in Bingham Davis, but in Beijing. This kicked off the two-week summer 2019 Gaines trip to China. Partnered with the Confucius Institute, which was gracious enough to offer each of us travel grants, we took a three-credit hour course on Chinese History Through Art. The course was led by the alwaysexuberant Dr. Huajing Maske with the help of Grace Dai, Cameron Pitsenbarger, and our very own Dr. Chelsea Brislin. On day one, we went to the Forbidden City when it was closed to the public to hear a private lecture about the former imperial palace. Right out of the gate we experienced the benefit of Dr. Maske’s prominence— this private lecture turned into a private tour of parts of the palace that visitors aren’t even allowed to see. We gained special access to a number of historical frescos, and we roamed around this forbidden part of the Forbidden City without having to fight through any crowds. When we came back the next day for the public tour, it was obvious that we had been given royal treatment. On these tours we learned all about the Ming and Qing dynasties, and we saw firsthand the beautiful elements of traditional Chinese architecture. We spent the next few days visiting temples, learning about the religious and political impacts of Buddhism and Confucianism, and quietly observing where the Tiananmen Square protests took place.
After taking a brief break from ancient history to visit the Olympic Village (where we pretended to be birds in front of the Bird’s Nest for silly pictures), we traveled to the Great Wall of China. The sheer length of the wall, measuring thousands of miles, combined with the mountainous terrain it sits upon, made this one of the most impressive and aesthetic architectural feats I have ever witnessed. Half of our group decided to make the hilly hike all the way from the fifteenth watchtower to the first, while the other half of us made it to the thirteenth watchtower before deciding sitting down to enjoy the beauty of it was more our speed. When we joined back up as a group, we then did what I think might just be the craziest thing I will ever do in my life —we tobogganed down the Great Wall of China. Every time I say that sentence I am struck by the absurdity of it. Winding down the mountains of the Great Wall of China brought our truly once-in-a-lifetime experience of Beijing to a close. We traveled from Beijing to Xi’an by fast rail, which was an exciting event on its own. Once in Xi’an, we spent time looking at the City Wall, which is another ancient military defense wall. We then went to the city's Muslim Quarter to experience yet another religion’s customs and culture. Deep within the Muslim Quarter is a very large and bustling market which gave us the opportunity to shop around and try our hand at haggling prices. It was here that we ate a hotpot dinner which ended up being my favorite meal on the trip. (There was a lot of competition for this title, as all of the authentic and local Chinese food we tried was absolutely delicious.) The next day, we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum.
This museum was insanely crowded, but we were able to fight (almost literally) our way through the crowd to get a good look at this massive display of funerary art buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, in order to protect him in the afterlife. It was fascinating to look at the details differentiating ranks of warriors and even to see where color was preserved in some places. We also visited the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and the Banpo Neolithic Museum to learn more about the Qin, Han, and Tang empires, and then we were off to Shanghai (sort of). Once we arrived in Shanghai after a number of flight delays due to a typhoon that had just hit the city, we were met by students from the Shanghai University College of Fine Arts who, along with a Professor He, led us in creating traditional Chinese artworks of our own. This art lesson combined with our trip to the Shanghai Museum the next day really allowed me to understand both key aspects of traditional Chinese art (namely, the four elements that can always be found in a landscape painting: running water, a trail, man-made objects, and finally, people) and the skill involved in creating these masterpieces. We then took a trip out of the city to Suzhou to visit the Ming Gardens. The pristine beauty and elegance of this space that scholars and philosophers crafted gave the gardens an ethereal ambience that made them my favorite place we visited on this whole trip.
We closed out our time in Shanghai with more contemporary art experiences. We visited a tiny contemporary art museum located on a Western-style street where we accidentally walked onto the set of a small movie being filmed. We then went to the Oriental Pearl Tower where we got to stand on a glass floor and look down on the massive city that is Shanghai. Later that night we took a dinner cruise that allowed us to experience the lights of the city at night. On the final night, we watched a captivating acrobatics show—there is a picture of us watching the show where everyone in the row has their mouths gaped open in amazement.
"This was a
truly thrilling and
enlightening adventure"
Other highlights of this wonderful trip included learning how to use chopsticks, attempting to shop and bargain, figuring out how to maneuver the Lazy Susan around our group dinners, being asked to take pictures with Chinese children at every tourist attraction, and simply wondering around and exploring the cities during free time. On this trip to China, I was exposed to an Eastern culture for the first time in my life. This was a truly thrilling and enlightening adventure, and I’ve walked away with enough knowledge and memories to last a lifetime. Getting to experience these Chinese cities through a humanistic perspective and alongside my Gaines cohort has broadened my world view. I thank the Gaines Center and the Confucius Institute for providing me yet another opportunity to grow as a humanist.
By Senior Fellow Erin Fitzpatrick
Tayari Jones The Gaines Center for the Humanities 2019 Bale Boone Symposium
Have you heard of Oprah Winfrey? Well, whether or not you have, you should know that she has a divine touch. She is a connoisseur of culture, a patron of letters. For an artist to gain her endorsement through her legendary Book Club is a rare feat, one that countless creatives pine for. Tayari Jones received that divine touch. And as she spoke to some 1,200 attendees at the 2019 Bale Boone Symposium about, in part, her journey toward having her fourth novel, An American Marriage, become an Oprah Book Club selection, she spoke with the force and elegance becoming of an Oprah-anointed author. Miss Jones also picked up some other awards for her novel–including a little something called the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The Gaines Center is proud to have brought Jones to the University for this year’s Symposium, as she and her book arrived at a most relevant time. An American Marriage tells the story of two Atlanta newlyweds whose marriage falls victim to false accusation, racial profiling, and the broad-sweeping inequities of the American justice system. It is no spoiler to say that their relationship and their lives are forever changed by these wrongs–how could they not be? The story is a tragic one, but fundamentally a real one, too, as the African American experience, past and present, has time and again endured such injustices. That is why Jones, encouraged by her editor, decided to name the story An American Marriage–it is a narrative whose core is as truly American as any other. America is in an intense period of racial consciousness, and it is no wonder that the author of such a compelling and socially pertinent story attracted a sold-out Symposium audience.
Several hours later, Jones delivered her lecture, speaking at length about her beginnings as a writer, her struggles with success and confidence, and the writing of An American Marriage. In the audience were hundreds of Lewis Honors College students, who, thanks to a collaboration between the College and the Gaines Center, read Marriage as their Common Reading Experience; the Gaines Fellows and members of the Center’s Board; and many other students, faculty, and members of the public. A central theme of Jones’s talk was the virtue of persistent hard work. Perhaps the most memorable anecdote she told: As a young, struggling author, she attended a publishing conference, where she was embarrassed to speak to publishers because of her lagging book sales. Luckily, however, a random woman at the conference took kindly to Jones, and helped her to obtain a publishing deal. That woman was, as it turned out, Judy The Gaines Center’s Associate Director, Dr. Chelsea Brislin, Blume! “My book numbers are much better now,” Jones added with a chuckle. She used this lucky story to make a point–work first conceived the idea to bring Jones in for the Symposium. hard, keep going, and let the universe do the rest. Incidentally, Dr. Melynda Price, Director of the Center, is a friend of Jones’s from her days at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, where Jones' father worked as a faculty member. Tayari Jones presided over what was the most successful When the two directors realized this connection, it became Bale Boone Symposium in recent years, if not ever; its keynote natural that Jones should be the speaker for the event. lecture was certainly the most attended ever, with at least 1,200 gathering at the Singletary Center to hear Jones speak. The Gaines Center hopes to utilize this year’s resounding success Jones began the day of the Symposium (October 2nd) with to build even greater Symposia and university and community an intimate discussion with both classes of Gaines Fellows in connections for the future. The Center is already at work the Bingham Davis House. The meeting proved a generous brainstorming for next year’s Bale Boone Symposium–but for and rare opportunity for the Fellows to ask Jones questions now, it extends its deepest thanks to the members and friends about her work and life, as well as to have their copies of An of the Gaines network, the Lewis Honors College, the Kentucky American Marriage autographed without waiting in the line of Humanities Council, the Singletary Center for the Arts, the hundreds of book-holders who would eventually congregate attendees of the Symposium, Tayari Jones, and all others who after that night’s Symposium. made the 2019 Bale Boone Symposium possible. Until next year!
By Gaines Alumnus Ben Jones