Category: Stories In Focus

One of the proposals for my sabbatical was to further read in areas of interest in my interdisciplinary work in film and art.  I would like to share a few thoughts on one particular book that has had a lasting impression.  Roberto Calasso is one of the great polymaths writing today.  He writes on literature, art, culture, and philosophy. His books are difficult to define. The book that made him famous is The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony.

The book is a rhapsody on the origins of Greek mythology.  But rather than offer another attempt to retell the myths, such as classics like Robert Graves’ The Greek Myths, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, or Gustav Schwab’s Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece, Calasso’s book is more of a work of art.  He begins with where the myths begin… with the abduction of a beautiful young woman.  From there his tale weaves together strands of Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, Plutarch, Pliny, Sophocles, Euripides…etc. He moves through the permutations of the narratives as one might have heard them spoken in the oral tradition.  The endnotes explain the matrix of sources.  Many familiar  – many not available in any English translation.  Calasso’s idea is that the history of myth is as Joseph Campbell once described it – a grand narrative of our social values and truths.

Some of the best moments for me are those parts of the book where he enters in and comments or questions the nature and interpretations of those stories.  For instance, the alternate narrative of Helen who was never even in Troy.  The woman who precipitated the Trojan/Greek war was actually a double… a phantom.  One reference in Herodotus says she was kept in Egypt. Calasso muses about why Homer decided to give us the other story? This raises the ante on what it is exactly we care about most…ideas or realities?

The book is composed of 12 chapters.  It covers the enormous range of what Graves called the “disorganized corpses of Greek mythology.”  The final chapter gets you into the title of the book.  It tells the story of the tragic fate and aftermath of the marriage of Cadmus and Harmony.  It ends with Cadmus’ gift – letters…” those fly’s feet” that became the Phoenician language in written form, essentially the transition of oral to written text.

It is a pleasure to teach art history to Houghton students. I seldom have to pause to explain who Jacob is or why Absolom is hanging by his hair in a tree.  They know the stories of the Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament) and it’s companion, the New.  Sometimes I prod them into interpretation or to ponder the interconnectedness of the stories.  How Adam and Jesus are mirrored ideas in the text as Paul expounds on the significance in a kind of literary criticism of the text.  It is great to teach students who know the stories.  Houghton students read well as “moral readers”…getting what the text is trying to teach… but not always as “experiential readers.”  Some of the stories are there to makes us feel things.

Calasso’s book is a remarkable work that will generate new ideas about familiar and not so familiar stories.  I recommend this to anyone looking for a highly crafted rich narrative on these foundational stories to western culture.  Read him after you have read Ovid. The Myths of Greece (and the Roman counterparts) form the other half of what all those magnificent paintings in the Louvre, the Prado and the Met are largely about.  Who was Pelops?  Why is that peninsula call the Peloponnese?  Calasso has a great story to relate on that theme. Learn about the curse upon the house of Atreus or the meaning of the oracles. Read the heart breaking investigation that Plutarch took to discover who Charila in Delphi was. These and so many more are the reason this is such a wise, erudite investigation into these sometimes familiar and often times obscure stories.

Did the Greeks believe in their myths? Yes and no. Most of these stories existed to explain the forces of life and fate. On the one hand they are a way to address the season, the mystery of attraction and the reason why a bronze spear misses the foe at whom it was thrown.  Calasso has a very refined sense of the balance between story and meaning. It is a book not quite like any you are going to encounter on this old subject.

New Co-editors revitalize a withering publication.

Of the trinity of Houghton student publications that includes The Star, The Drawing Board, and The Lanthorn, it is the latter that is perhaps most foreign to students this year. In part, this is due to the case of the missing editorial staff and the resulting scramble for their replacement about halfway through last semester. Fortunately junior Essie Fenstermacher and sophomore Ava Bergen volunteered to take charge and revive the Lanthorn once again.

For Bergen, a sophomore English and communications major, the Lanthorn was an important part of her experience her first year, and the same goes for Fenstermacher. As a literary magazine that includes poetry, selections of prose, short stories, and more, the Lanthorn appeals to avid readers and writers alike. For writers, the Lanthorn is a “good space for writers to put themselves out there,” said Bergen, as well as being a practical and simple way to get feedback from their audience, other writers, and the editors themselves. Students who write more for leisure might enjoy the chance to see their name by something in print out there for all to see, but they also benefit from the ability to be anonymous. Anonymity, according to Bergen, affords writers a certain “freedom [they] don’t have in other areas,” the Lanthorn is a “safe space for somebody who wants to talk about something very uncomfortable or talk about controversial ideas.” Fenstermacher added that it is an outlet that fosters connection and offers people the chance to “put in their own input, or just come to it and find new ideas.”

More than another thing to pick up and read when you’re bored on campus, the Lanthorn’s mission is to engage the student body and to have them then engage each other. According to Bergen, “if the Lanthorn can spark conversations, spark ideas, spark somebody to think in a different way or to think of someone elses’ perspective, that would be really wonderful.”

With an ample budget, Bergen and Fenstermacher hope to publish quite a few issues this semester. The arrival of over 90 submissions over the course of a week and a half in the fall indicated to the editors that “people do want to write things, people are writing, and they already clearly had this material they submitted.” A trend they hope continues this spring.

In a world of where conversation is carried out in online comments, Facebook messages, and texts, Bergen thinks that it is “important for people to engage in actual conversations with each other, which isn’t to deride texts or Facebook, but I think you can’t underestimate the value of reading something on a page and taking the time to absorb that idea, that concept, and the effect that has on a person. If the Lanthorn can encourage that then I think we’ve accomplished our goal.”

A half hour drive away in Cuba, NY is the recently opened coffee shop, The Perfect Blend Coffeehouse and Eatery. Located downtown along Main Street in the historic opera house building, next to the Cuba Cheese Museum, The Perfect Blend provides a hybrid coffeeshop-cafe feel. It offers a good place to go off campus for breakfast or lunch, to do homework, or simply escape from the typical everyday scenery around Houghton.

The environment is comfortable — the kind of place you can go for a quick visit or stay and spend an entire afternoon. The staff are friendly, helpful, and excellent baristas. As for music, there is a good mix of pop, alternative, and indie, including Lorde, Imagine Dragons, and Capital Cities. It’s the kind you would probably want to listen to at a coffeeshop.

With booths, tables, and cushy furniture, The Perfect Blend offers a place to eat or sit and just drink coffee, depending on your mood. An electric fireplace surrounded by a leather couch and two armless chairs sits against the wall decorated with an assortment of clocks of varying size and shape. The rich wood coffee bar goes nicely with the beautiful old hardwood floors which throughout the second half of the shop, which is also decorated with burlap and other natural colors. The large front windows let in a lot of natural light, which is complemented by tasteful lighting from lamps and hanging ceiling lights.

With fresh brewed coffee, espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos with an assortment of flavors on their menu, they have all the staples of a good coffeehouse. All their coffee is sourced locally from the Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters. They also have hot teas and cold drink menu which includes iced tea, frozen lattes, chai chillers, and soft drinks. Most of their drinks average around three dollars.

Their colorful chalk board food menu has a variety of breakfast items, salads, and paninis. Many have local names such as the “Western New Yorker,” “Patriot,” or “86er” (named after interstate 86, which runs through Cuba). Continuing with their locally sourced theme, all the sandwiches that  made with cheese use the famous Cuba Cheese Shoppe. Their food items are fairly priced with most ranging from four to seven dollars. You can get a soup, sandwich, and drink for right around ten dollars, maybe a little more with dessert.

There’s also a variety of sweet baked goods to choose from. These include muffins, cookies, cakes, and their delicious energy-filled Go-Go Balls made from peanut butter, nuts, chocolate, and flax seeds. You’ll definitely want more than one.

With pretty much everything you could want from a coffee shop, there is precious little it is lacking. However, there are a few out of place  “corporate coffee” poster advertisements which take away from the antique, old opera house feel of the place. They are your typical pumpkin spice or other photographic advertisements and they don’t fit with the overall decor.

Perhaps to be attributed to the old building, a somewhat weird or quirky aspect of the shop is the location of their bathrooms. To get to them you feel as though you are exiting the building as you go through a backdoor, down a hallway and turn left to find them.

For their winter hours The Perfect Blend is open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m, but unfortunately they are closed on Sundays. Starting in March they will be open longer hours. To get directions, their address is 14 West Main St, Cuba, New York. While you’re there you can visit the vintage shop, By the Light of the Moon, which is connected to the coffeehouse.

Many pairs of siblings attend Houghton, but one aspect of their college experience heightens through their relationship at teammates. Brothers Jared and Jesse Toth and Sisters Lindsay and Hattie Burgher have experienced life at Houghton as both fellow students and teammates.

Sophomore Jesse Toth’s decision to attend Houghton last year came almost completely from the fact that his older brother, now a fifth year senior, Jared attended Houghton. Jesse and Jared had the opportunity to play on their high school’s soccer team together for one year, while Jared was a senior and Jesse a first year. Because of an injury during Jared’s sophomore year playing for Houghton, he gained an extra season of eligibility. He was able to play for an additional season and this was “surprisingly a blessing” to Jesse. He said, “Playing with my brother in high school was one of the best experiences I ever had and I wasn’t about to pass up playing two years with him here at Houghton.”

The brothers shared nothing but positive experiences and benefits of attending the same college and playing on the same team. They said the biggest benefit they bring to their team is their chemistry and understanding of each other on the field. While playing together, Jesse says “we constantly know what the other person is thinking” which is what makes being on the field together fun and exciting. Jared describes their experience as “unexplainable” because there is nothing like being able to “battle everyday on the soccer field with your brother.”

When asked to share a memorable experience they’ve had while being at the same college, both Jesse and Jared described hard-fought soccer victories. Both games were ones they were not expected to win, but they both credited their victories to their brother’s hard work. This year being Jared’s last season, he shares he was glad he got to play his college soccer career with his “own blood” and is proud of what his brother has brought to the team.

Lindsay and Hattie Burgher bring a slightly different relationship to the aspect of sibling teammates because their relationship broadens to one of a player and coach. Junior Hattie Burgher’s decision to attend Houghton came with a bonus, having her sister already on campus. Her sister, now assistant volleyball coach, Lindsay Burgher, was a senior when Hattie started at Houghton so they only played one year on Houghton’s volleyball team together. Hattie said, “I wish I had more than one year of playing with her… but I’m so grateful for that one year.”

Both sisters commented on the reward they’ve received in watching their sister grow and develop as a player, and for Hattie, seeing Lindsay as a coach. Lindsay and Hattie played two years of volleyball together in high school, but Lindsay said “I valued playing with her a lot more than in high school, because I wanted to make the most of (what I thought was) our time playing together for the one season we had.” When thinking of her transition from player to coach, Lindsay shared how “natural” it was to have Hattie at her school and as a teammate, but the struggles it brought transitioning into a leadership role. Lindsay had to learn to balance her relationship as a sister, friend and now a coach.

Hattie’s most memorable experience with her sister at college was hearing about her recent engagement. Hattie shared her excitement in being able to “revel in that monumental moment with her and to see the ring and give her a hug” which is something she would not have been able to do if Lindsay wasn’t still at Houghton. However, Lindsay’s presence on campus brought some struggles, as Hattie stated “we are sisters.” She said of her sisters coaching position, “she legitimately has the right to boss me around” but said that their relationship would experience some arguments which is natural and expected.

Lindsay’s greatest experience has been watching her younger sister “transform before her eyes” on the court and work to earn her position as a leader on the team. Lindsay is grateful for the opportunities she’s been given while at Houghton with her sister and said, “Whether coaching or playing, I am proud and thankful we can continue to be a part of the Houghton volleyball program together.”