Reporter Volume 25, No.19 March 3, 1994 Greenwalt to give Witebsky lecture at convocation Techniques to make blood and blood products safer for the public will be the focus of the 12th International Convocation on Immunology, to be held May 14-18 in the Sheraton Inn Buffalo Airport. Sponsored by the Ernest Witebsky Center for Immunology at the University at Buffalo, the convocation is expected to draw several hundred scientists and physicians from around the world. Noted immunohematologist Tibor J. Greenwalt, of the Hoxworth Blood Center at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, will deliver the Ernest Witebsky Memorial Lecture at 8 p.m. on May 17. Witebsky was one of the world's leading immunologists. A distinguished professor of microbiology at UB, he was the first director of the UB Center for Immunology. The convocation, held every other year, deals with a specific topic important in the field of immunology. Internationally recognized experts present state-of-the-art information on research, testing, diagnosis and treatment related to the selected convocation theme. Co-sponsors of the convocation include the American Association of Blood Banks; Armour Pharmaceutical Co.; the Office of the Provost and the Conferences in the Disciplines at UB; Haemonetics Corp., and Vital Systems, Inc. South American poets to appear at UB Prominent South American poets Jorge Santiago Perednik and Raul Zurita will appear at UB next month as part of the March 1994 "Poetry of the Americas Tour." The poets will read from their work at 4 p.m. March 16, in the Poetry/ Rare Books Room, 420 Capen Hall. They will lecture on "The Politics of Cultural Resistance and Autonomy" at noon March 17, in 608 Clemens Hall. Both the reading and lecture are free and open to the public. Ernesto Livon Grosman, curator of the "Poetry of the Americas Tour," said the purpose of the event is to establish dialogue between poets of North and South America. The readings and lecture will be conducted in both Spanish and English. Grosman stressed that while the event will be an important conference for the poetics community, it will be accessible to the general public. Zurita is a Chilean poet who lives in Rome, where he works as a cultural attach for the Chilean Embassy. An important figure in the cultural resistance to Chile's military dictatorship, he has become one of the most influential poets of his generation. His poetry collections include "Purgatory" (1979), "Paradise is Empty" (1984) and "Anteparadise" (1986). Perednik is an Argentine poet, critic and translator. In 1980 he co-founded XUL, a poetry magazine dedicated to innovative writing. He directs the Poetics Program at the University of Buenos Aires and is the author of "The Thousand Monkeys," "Horror's Body" and the controversial anthology, "New Argentine Poetry (1976-1983)." The UB portion of "The Poetry of the Americas Tour" is sponsored by the Poetics Program and the James H. McNulty Chair, held by Professor Dennis Tedlock, in the UB Department of English. Other institutions hosting the tour are Yale University, New York University and Princeton University. Federman book discusses new fiction In "Critifiction: Postmodern Essays," his new book from SUNY Press, Raymond Federman discusses a new type of fiction that arose 30 years ago in America, Latin America and Europe as a simultaneous response to the turmoil of the times. Calling this new form "surfiction," Federman says it arose due to cultural, social and political conditions that have forced serious writers to reflect--often within the work itself--on the act of writing fiction in the modern world. In informal, provocative terms, "Critifiction" offers a manifesto for the present and future of the new fictional forms. Federman is distinguished professor of English and comparative literatures and the director of the Creative Writing Program at UB. He is a bilingual novelist, poet, critic and translator who has published more than 20 books of fiction, poetry and criticism, and many essays and articles. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages. His novel, "Smiles on Washington Square," won the 1985 American Book Award. Cornel West speaks Cornel West speaks at UB March 24 Cornel West, author of "Race Matters" and director of the Afro-American Studies Program at Princeton University, will deliver the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, Inc. Centennial Lecture March 24, at UB. West's presentation at 8 p.m. in Alumni Arena will be cosponsored by the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, Inc. and UB. A professor of philosophy at Princeton, West is known for his dynamic speaking style. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., director of Harvard University's black studies program, calls him the "pre-eminent African-American intellectual of our time."West is preoccupied with the survival of a strong black community and culture, yet he challenges the concept of Afrocentrism. West will present the keynote address for the BFNC Centennial Leadership Seminar at 10 a.m. March 25, in Moot Hall at Buffalo State College. He will discuss "The Crisis in American Society: Race Matters and Community Changes." The leadership seminar begins at 8 a.m. and continues through 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the UB lecture are $5 for senior citizens and students and $10 for general admission. The cost to attend the UB lecture and the leadership seminar is $30. For more information, call 645-3705. Faculty poetry reading benefits student journal Faculty members Robert Creeley, Raymond Federman, Joan Retallack and Masani Alexis DeVeaux will present a poetry reading on Sunday, March 6, to benefit Atmosphere, the UB student journal of poetry, prose and artwork. The reading will take place at 3 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Church, Elmwood Avenue and W. Ferry Street in Buffalo. Creeley holds the Samuel P. Capen Chair in Poetry and Humanities at UB. A former New York State poet laureate, he has earned an international reputation for his minimalist poetry, as well as for his published essays, letters and journals. He is a founder of the "Black Mountain" school of poetry, which established the anti-academic poetic tradition reflected in the work of many significant poets of the 20th century. Federman is distinguished professor of English and comparative literature, and director of the Creative Writing Program at UB. Author of seven prizewinning novels, several volumes of poetry and many essays, he is regarded as one of America's leading writers of experimental fiction. With Creeley and others, he also directs the UB Program in Poetics. Retallack is a visiting Butler Chair of English at UB. She has authored several volumes of poetry and criticism, and her work has appeared in more than 40 journals and anthologies in North America and Europe. DeVeaux, a professor of women's studies at UB, has written numerous works of fiction, poetry, and journalism. For several years, she has been a contributing writer to Essence magazine and other publications. Hunter College educator to speak at UB today Linda M. Perkins, associate professor of education at Hunter College, will discuss "Black Women in Graduate Education Prior to the 1950s: The Making of an African-American Female Intelligentsia," during an appearance on today at UB. Perkins will speak at 2:30 p.m. in 17 Baldy Hall. The lecture is free of charge and open to the public. A wine and cheese reception will follow. The lecture by Perkins, an education historian, is part of "Underrepresented Voices," a new visiting scholars lecture series sponsored by the UB Graduate School of Education. The series features talks by scholars from underrepresented groups who are invited to discuss critical issues in education with UB students and faculty, and members of the community. "Father Goose" to speak at UB Canadian inventor and pilot Bill Lishman, who captured the attention of two countries when he raised and imprinted a flock of geese to fly south, will speak at UB March 15. Lishman, whose story was featured on ABC-TV's "20/20" and in print media around the world, will speak at 8 p.m. in Butler Auditorium in Farber Hall. The lecture is sponsored by the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Lishman, who from childhood had dreamed of flying with birds, and fellow pilot Joe Duff trained the goslings to follow Lishman's ultralight plane. While Lishman flew the lead plane, with 18 geese flying alongside in "V" formation, Duff brought up the rear to keep the flock on course during the flight last November from Lishman's home near Oshawa, Ont., to Airlie Center, VA. En route, another goose that apparently had lost its group, joined the flock. In April, if the geese do not remember how to make the trip back to Lishman's home, the pilots will return to Virginia to guide them back. Lishman hopes the experiment can be adapted by others to reestablish migratory routes for birds that have ceased migrating or are in need of safe migration routes. Although the lecture is free and open to the public, a $2 donation at the door to help defray expenses would be appreciated.