Elevated Diction - Literary Works That Will Floor You!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Elizabeth Burke-Dain, 312.369.8695
April 17, 2009

ELEVATED DICTION GIVES COLUMBIA WRITERS A LIFT!
Columbia College Chicago
Elevated Diction hosts readings inside Columbia College Chicago's elevators!

A one-time-only literary event, Elevated Diction features Columbia students reading short poems and "nano-fiction" in elevators as a part of Manifest, Columbia's urban arts festival. Student writers will be staffing the elevators of Columbia's historic Ludington Building (1104 S. Wabash) reading short works, written specifically to be read between floors.

Sponsored by Columbia's student-curated reading series Silver Tongue, Elevated Diction showcases student writing from Columbia students from any major or class-level. Elevated Diction is organized and curated by students.

The literary works in Elevated Diction are specifically written to be read in the brief (and otherwise boring) seconds we spend between floors. Working with award-winning writers Jill Summers and Dave Snyder, students have developed pieces, brief and ephemeral like the chime of an elevator bell, reinventing the roles of poet, writer and elevator operator all in one.

Ground breaking in its day, the Ludington Building is Chicago's oldest surviving steel-frame building, the first terracotta-clad skyscraper, and an early example of electric elevators making tall buildings feasible. Elevated Diction will not only break ground, it'll leave it far behind.

WHEN: Friday, May 15, 2009, 11am - 4pm

WHERE: Columbia's historic Ludington Building, 1104 S. Wabash

Other MANIFEST Highlights include:

Over 75 showcases in numerous creative media including screenings, lectures, gallery exhibitions, Web casts, performances, radio and television broadcasts and more.

Transmission: Manifest’s Transmission exhibition transforms the cars of today into curiosities and art objects, and features art cars created by Columbia community and beyond. Witness this open air exhibition of provocative auto and auto-inspired art, located at 9th Street and Wabash Avenue.

TicToc: a performance art festival. From private rituals made public, to thought-provoking social commentary, to the essentially whimsical, TICTOC is committed to presenting diverse examples of performance art to thrill and challenge audiences.

Industry Night: An industry networking event that puts the students in the driver’s seat while letting industry professionals sit back and discover some of the best emerging creative talent in Chicago.

Spectacle Fortuna: Columbia's parade of creativity wishes good fortune upon seniors and graduate students and celebrates the college's spirit and creative community. This free, public event includes: hundreds of giant puppets; spectacle items created by students, faculty, and staff; and the punk marching band Mucca Pazza. The 2009 theme, Human|Nature, examines the relationships and tensions between humankind and the natural world.

PRESS CONTACT: For more information, high-resolution photos or to schedule an interview please contact Elizabeth Burke-Dain (eburkedain@colum.edu) or call (312) 369-8695.