The Louisville· Cardinal
Volume 51 Number 21 An Independent Student Weekly 22 February 1980
Conference on Twentieth Century L.iterature
The Many ·Faces of Humor smile on U of L
by Julie Sosnin
Cadinal Arts Editor
A lecture entitled
"Existential Explorations" may
not sound humorous to most
people, and would probably
scare most students off.
Consider, though. that this
lecture will deal with Thomas
Pynchon, James Thurber, and
Kenneth Koch's idiot humor.
Consider, also, that thi 1s
just one of about-45 St"SSion .in
this year's · Conference o~
Twentieth-Century Literature.
The theme of the conference
1s "The Many Faces of
Humor," and with this in
mind, "Existential Explora­tions"
suddenly seems less
threatening.
Next Thursday and Friday,
February 28 and 28, U of L will
host this e ighth annual con­ference
. During the c on­ference
, one can hear scholarly
papers (an intimidating title),
or attend readings of un­published
poetry and fiction by
scholars and authors from over
120 univer ities and colleges.
The conference meetings are
divided into different time
periods - four on Thursday
and three on Frida . ··
Conference cha irperson ,
Marilyn V. Schuler, said that
each section offers studies from
a variety of languages ad
cultures. Some sessions will be
read in foreign languages (but
Greetings
Gardner meets
President Carter
by Kathleen Link
Cardinal taff Writer
Not many U of L students
will ever have a chancr to <.,hakr
hands with the Presidmt of the
United Statrs.
But what would you do if you
did? What would ou say?
Student government presi­dent
John Gardner took thC" op­portunity
tO ask Jimmy Carter
to the Kentu ky Derby with
him.
"If John Y. Btown do(sn't
send you t irkct~ to thr Det·by.
then vou can come down .tnd
go to the infield • with IIH' ."
<.J u i p ped Gardner .1 !'> .1
phowgraphcr cdpt ur<'d the two
mrn clasping hand~ .
Howrvcr. that was one of thc~
lighter moments in Gard nrr's
trip to the nation\ c..tpital.
Gardn<'r was in W..tshington
last Friday to part icipat<'. ~tlon~
with 300 other 'itud<'IH govem­lll<'
llt presidents from .tno-.!'> th<'
nation. 111 di-.( u.,sions 011
forrign • .llld domestic t opirs
with government officials .
The m.tin issue . .. aid G c-~.rd ·
nn. wa-. nudc.tr <'ll<'rgv. The
COIH ('ll'>U" of ~0\.'('llllll<'ll t of­fie
i.tl-. w..t., t h.tt nudca1 po\H'I i.,
.t IH'<<'.,'dt\ . llovv<'\<'1 . lll.tll\ of
don't worry - you can trll that
by the titles).
In addition to papers and
original writing, the confer nee
offers several other attractions.
Two renowned American
writer - William Price Fox
and Mary Mackey - will give
presentations. Bill Golden was
also cheduled to be here, but
wi II not attend because of fail­ing
health.
William Price Fox will speak
on Thursday on "The Humor
of America." The presentation
will be in the Archibald Room
at the Galt House at 8:30p.m.
Students who need transporta­tion
can ride a bus that will
leave the administration
building oval at 7:30 - it's
free.
Fox displays a charming
Southern wit in all of his work.
Not only has he had short
stories apP.ear in the Saturday
E vening Post, Harper's
Magazine, Esquire, and Sports
Illustrated, but he has also
worked with 20th-Century Fox,
P aramount, and Columbia
tud.ios, not to mention his four
books.
Mary Mackey, perhaps less
known than o .. but enam ·.
a very talented young woman,
will give an address on Friday.
Her topic is "Comedy and
Creative Energy," and the lec­ture
will be held in Middleton
Auditorium in Strickler Hall at
4 p .m.
The Many Faces of Humor
1n Twent1eth·Century L1terature
E1ghth Annual Conference
Umvers11y of LOUISville 28 & 29 February 1980
Wilham Pnce Fox
Harry Golden
Mary Mackey
... _ @"@- ... _
... C> @"@-
... ... _ @'@----
'e
Mackey is a professor of
English and Women's Studies
and at writer-in-residence at
California State University at
Sacramento. She ha published
four screenplays. three books of
poetry and two novels , along
with assorted anthologies.
-... -
If you don't feel that a lec­ture
or reading is right for you,
the 20th-Century Literature
Conference still has something
you may enjoy. There will be a
pre-conference "demonstration
and entertainment" by
members of the Derby City
Clown Guild . U of L ' own "Dr.
Rainbow," a member of the
faculty, will appear with this
group. That's at 7:30 p.m. on
Wednesday in Hassold
Auditorium (Bingham
Humanities, room 100).
Clowns don't interest you?
How about a film? Chaplin's
Limelight will be shown at
3:30p.m. on Thursday; a 1971
Fellini film called The Clowns
will be screened at 9 a.m. and
12:30 p.m. Friday. The con­ference
is also presenting an
hour-and-a-half series of great
short films of comedians, in­cluding
Buster Keaton, Mel
Brooks, and W.C. Fields.
There will be two showings of
the shorts: Thursday at 9 a.m.
and Friday at 12:30 p.m. All
films wi II be m Hassold
Auditorium.
A conference of 20th ­Century
literature may sound
B-0 -R -1-N-G, but over 550
people registered for the con­ference
last year, over half that
being U of L students. U of L
student registration is free
(thanks to financial support
from the A&S Student Council)
in the lobby of the Humanities
Building both days of the con­ference.
It's $1 for everyone
else. If you need more informa­tion
call the Modern Language
Department at 588-6683.
Schedule, b ack page
Lunchtime swimmers
crowd Crawford POol
by Holly Holland
Cardinal Staff Writer
Move over weight watchers;
a group of University of
Loui ville swimmers has found
a way to splash off extra
calories and inches.
Every day from noon to 1
p.m ., a group of students,
faculty, and staff v<-nture to
Crawford pool for their routine
exerc1se .
While most of the university
• community are fi~hting for a
place in line in the Sub to buy
biscuit burgers, the e water
lovers devote their lunchtime to
battling chlorine and water
currents.
./ They swim for a variety of
Photo: John Goff reasons.
SGA President John Gardner talks to a reporter about his recent
meeting with President Carter.
"I use it as a time to think, to
v.:ork out problems," said Ruth
Callan, a student in University
College.
the student leader!» dis.tg1ved .
said Gardner.
Ther<' were two m .tin 1 <'ason...,
for t h<' opposil ion : 1 ht' ll .S .
govcmnw11t limit' 1 hl' u1 ility
comp.um·., li,thiltt\' to 011ly
$500 million in c.t...,<' of ,t( ­cident.,.
,111d til(' gov<'lllllH'Ill
p.tvs for ntH lc.n w.t .... t<' d1-.po.,d1
\'\ illt l.l\f>.l\('1 ... · 111011('\ .
G.11d1H'1 .uldt·d th.u i\Luhlc
I till i., ridit ulou., h<'C.tll'><' ollht'
.thundan('t' of co.tl 111 this
rt'gwn .
Fo1 ~· ig 11 .tl'f'.t i 1:-. .Hh i'>ol·.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, was on
hand to dis uss the world pic­tur<-
with the students. He talk ­ed
about the crisis in Iran and
Afghani tan and linked thC'm
up with the need to register
American for th<' draft.
Co1ntinued to back page
For Kevin Miller. an assis­tant
in the University's accoun­ting
department , the lunch­tim<-
swim has h~lp<-d him to
lose wf.'ight.
"I have been swimming here
for the past two years," Miller
said, "and I've lost ov('r 70
pounds."
Professor Gt•rhard '\lirkel , a
v1s1tmg Bingham Humanities
Profe sor for Germany, gave
three reasons why he takes a
regular lunchtime swim - joy,
health , and mental prepara·
tion for teaching class.
"The Latins have a pro­verb,"
he said. "'A healthy
spirit , a healthy body.' I feel
better teaching after I've been
swimming; it' lie yoga in a
floating spirit."
Many swimmer are new to
the lun htime ircuit. They
swim for a month of two to
work off Christmas pounds, or
to work into a new bikini for
spnng.
But for Thomas Boone and
Harry Bockmann, swimming
has been their daily exercise for
over a decade.
Boone, director of Rauch
Planetarium, claims that he is
the "longest live swimmer" at
Crawford pool , having taken
his first plunge on March 27,
1966.
Why does he continue to
swim everyday?
" I have to work up an ap­-
petite for the university's food
sC'rvice," he laughed. "Plus, my
wifr used to ask m<' why my
Continued to back page