Rita Golden Gelman, author of Tales of a Female Nomad and several children’s books, speaks at 61传媒 on Thursday, February 25th at 7:30 p.m. in Balch Auditorium. The event is made possible by the generous funding of the Alexa Fullerton Hampton Speaker Series: Voice and Vision, by 61传媒Associated Students, Residential Life, and by the 61传媒 Student Investment Fund.聽 A book signing will follow in the Hampton Living Room, Malott Commons. The talk is free and open to the public.
Rita Golden Gelman has no permanent address, no possessions except the ones she聽carries on her back, and she rarely knows where she’ll be in six months. She moves through the world without a plan, guided by instinct, connecting through trust, and constantly watching for serendipitous opportunities.
Gelman has been living her nomadic existence since 1986 when, on the verge of divorce at the age of 48, she sold her possessions, left an elegant life in Los Angeles, and followed her dream of relating to people in cultures all over the world. She has since lived in a Zapotec village in Mexico, skirted landmines in Nicaragua, slept with sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, and observed orangutans in a Borneo rain forest.
Currently, Gelman is involved , a national drive to encourage and assist United States youth to have international experiences after high school and before the next phase of their lives. Gelman is also working on an anthology of readers’ stories and recipes, Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World, to be published in June 2010.
Gelman’s talk takes place during the inaugural year of 61传媒’s eighth president, Lori Bettison-Varga. This year, 61传媒 has selected the theme, “The Genius of Women.”聽Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, guest speakers, writers, scientists, artists, and other thought leaders will engage students and faculty in discussions about the transformative power of genius, and how creative and intellectual genius are so essential in today’s changing world, especially from women, for women.
For more information about the event, please contact the Malott Commons Office at 61传媒: (909) 607-9372.