Place matters at Kenyon — deeply, powerfully — and in creating a book to mark the College’s bicentennial, the editorial team chose place as a focus and point of departure. This Common Hour presentation will launch “Place and Purpose: Kenyon at 200,” with an onscreen tour highlighting the richly varied literary and design elements that make the book an eloquent celebration of the College.
After a welcome by President Julie Kornfeld, co-editors David Lynn ’76 and Dan Laskin will introduce the new book. Lynn will describe its genesis and development, stressing the decision to complement the four major chapters with scores of shorter essays, stories, and reflections, most by alumni and faculty, so that the final product is a colorful mosaic of Kenyon voices. He will also discuss how the idea of “place” in this book embraces not only campus and architecture but also the College’s rural surroundings as well as the “human landscape” — the academic and social fabric of life rooted in and around Gambier.
Laskin will then give a brief PowerPoint tour of the book’s key elements, showing how they invite readers to appreciate Kenyon’s remarkable history, stunning beauty, and strong sense of belonging. The 320-page book includes:
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Major chapters by the eminent architecture critic (and former Kenyon trustee) Paul Goldberger, longtime College historian Tom Stamp ’73, Professor of English Adele Davidson ’75, and Professor of Sociology Emeritus Howard Sacks along with Judith Rose Sacks.
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A wealth of shorter pieces on topics ranging from Peirce Hall’s stained-glass windows to the Upside-Down Tree, from singing onstage in Rosse Hall to teaching in a tent during COVID. Among the book’s many contributors: Siobhan Fennessy, writing about the Kokosing River; Perry Lentz, on Kenyon and the Episcopal Church; Jim Borgman ’76 on the beginnings of his career as a cartoonist; Jim Steen on Kenyon swimming; Daniel Mark Epstein ’70 H’20 on meeting John Crowe Ransom; and the late Ted Walch ’63 on discovering his love for the theater. The writers span many generations, from Peter Taylor ’40 to Emilie Hankla ’26.
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Special sections on various themes, including science, the visual arts, athletics, religious life, Commencement and Kenyon’s literary heritage.
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Hundreds of contemporary and archival photographs, including a portfolio of Knox County scenes by Professor of Art Emeritus Gregory Spaid ’68.
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A timeline noting key events in Kenyon history, from 1824 to the present.
Kenyon College Bookstore staff will be at the event to sell copies of “Place and Purpose.”