{"id":63,"date":"2020-06-10T13:14:55","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T17:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/calendar\/?page_id=63"},"modified":"2026-08-25T13:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:52:14","slug":"creative-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/calendar\/creative-intelligence","title":{"rendered":"Creative Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Invisible Gifts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In her poem \u201cThe Great Blue Heron of Dunbar Road,\u201d Ada Lim\u00f3n remembers her morning drives to school with her stepfather, each of them seeking to uplift the other, at times at the expense of truth. In the end, \u201cThe Great Blue Heron of Dunbar Road\u201d emerges as a love poem whose final lines affirm attention and care as necessary conditions for love. The speaker concludes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and I think even if I fail at everything, 
I still want to point out the heron like I was taught, 
still want to slow the car down to see the thing 
that makes it all better, the invisible gift, 
what we see when we stare long enough into nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invisible Gifts<\/strong> is an exploration of human relationships and community as life-giving, a way to discern meaning, connections and gratitude in the present moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremena Todorova,
Associate Professor of English and Director of Creative Intelligence Series<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Creative Intelligence Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All events are free and open to the public – no tickets required <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sept. 16 and 17, 2026 \u2014 Naomi Wallace and Ismail\u00a0Khalidi<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Academic Convocation: <\/strong>“Future Occupations and the Ghosts of Kentucky and\u00a0Beyond”
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 4:30 p.m., Haggin Auditorium<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staged Reading and Conversation: <\/strong>\u201cWriting as Witness: Gaza and the Art of Not Averting Our Gaze\u201d (followed by book signing)
Thursday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m., Carrick Theater<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Both events presented in collaboration with Transylvania University\u2019s theater program.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naomi Wallace\u2019s plays have been produced in the United States, Europe and the Middle East and include “One Flea Spare,” “The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek,” “In the Heart of America,” “The Breach,” “Things of Dry Hours,” “The Fever Chart: Three Visions of the Middle East,” “And I and Silence,” “Night is a Room,” “The Return of Benjamin Lay” (co-written with Marcus Rediker) and adaptations of “Returning to Haifa” by Ghassan Kanafani and “The Corpse Washer” <\/em>by Sinan Antoon (both adaptations co-written with Ismail Khalidi).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards include the MacArthur Award, Obie Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Fellowship of Southern Writers Drama Award, Horton Foote Award, Arts and Letters Award in Literature and the inaugural Windham Campbell prize for drama. In 2025, Wallace was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. <\/em>Wallace is currently writing the John Mellencamp musical “Jack and Diane.” <\/p>\n\n\n