Pssst...I Wannabe White - Lillian Holt, Internationally Renowned Cultural Critic and Humorist Makes Her NYC Debut
Lillian Holt, Indigenous Australian humorist, makes her first US public appearance in dialogue with cultural critic Jessica Roemischer of What Is Enlightenment? magazine. Speaking with boldness, perspective, and humor on issues of race and ethicity, Holt brings a refreshing view to such a charged issue.
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 13, 2005 -- My juices start flowing more when I can tackle a problem [racism] that has profundity, depth and real anger...by destroying it with humor."
Beyond Ethnicity to Authenticity": Indigenous Australian cultural critic and humorist, Lillian Holt, makes her U.S. debut as part of the Voices from the Edge speaker series. The evening will be On Thursday, March 31, 7:30pm, Holt will be in dialogue with Jessica Roemischer, senior editor of What is Enlightenment? magazine. Hosted at The Next Stage, 312 West 11th Street between Hudson and Greenwich Sts. in the West Village, the event will be followed by audience Q&A and a reception with the two women. Tickets: $18 reserved, $20 door, $10 students w/ID. For more information, call 212.741.9940. Reservations strongly recommended since space is limited.
Lillian Holt is available for interviews through Hope Cohen 413.637.6060.
Lillian Holt, internationally renowned cultural critic and humorist on issues of racism and reconciliation will be making her first U.S. public appearance as part of the Voices from the Edge speakers series sponsored by What Is Enlightenment? magazine (WIE). On Thursday, March 31, at 7:30pm, Holt will be engaging in dialogue with Jessica Roemischer, senior editor with What Is Enlightenment? magazine, about the necessity for individuals and cultures to go beyond our current societal barriers based on race, creed, and class. The event will be followed by a Q&A session and a reception attended by Holt and Roemischer.
Lillian Holt is a pioneer in the public debate on issues of ethnicity and race relations in Australia. Born on the Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement in Queensland, Holt is part of the first wave of Aboriginal people granted the legal right to graduate from university in the 1960s. She has been working in indigenous education for more than thirty years, speaking extensively both in Australia and internationally. As a native minority in Australia, she often uses humor to confront sensitive topics about racism and reconciliation.
Theres this old indigenous guy of about seventy, sitting on a slag heap and reflecting on his life. He says, 'Hmm... First of all, they called me uncivilized, then a savage, then a pagan, then a heathen, then a victim, and then I was called handicapped, deprived, marginalized, deficient... I dont know if my position in life has changed much, but Ive sure got one hell of a vocabulary!"
Holts bold and empowered perspective on racial problems and their destructive effect gives her keen insight into our current crises and some potential solutions. This is precisely the reason she is speaking as part of the Voices from the Edge series, which presents thought-leaders and visionaries from all walks of life whose mission is to challenge their audience to stretch beyond familiar ways of thinking. Lillian Holt sheds new light on an issue that lies at the heart of our global predicament-the challenge to truly meet beyond our cultural differences and disparities," says Jessica Roemischer of WIE magazine. Her willingness to question prevailing views on indigenous culture, including those that idealize and privilege 'ethnicity, makes her a rare and refreshing voice as we seek to forge authentic relationships across racial and ethnic divides."
Holt and Roemischer first met at the Quest for Global Healing Conference in Bali, 2004, an international conference featuring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu as the keynote speaker. An interview between Holt and Roemischer from the conference can be heard online What Is Enlightenments site WIE Unbound."
Lillian Holt currently holds the position of vice chancellor's fellow at the University of Melbourne. Prior to this appointment in 2003, she was the director of the Centre for Indigenous Education, also at the University of Melbourne. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Aboriginal humor. For a full biography on Holt, please check the What Is Enlightenment website.
Jessica Roemischer, senior editor and cultural critic at WIE magazine, is author of the seminal article on the work of geopolitical activist Dr. Don Beck, whose theory of cultural development played a central role in the ending of apartheid and the peaceful creation of a democratic South Africa. Her article has become the most widely recommended primer on this theory, and her recognized expertise has brought her to think tanks and trans-partisan political groups around the world. For bio on Roemischer, please check the What Is Enlightenment? site.
For more information about Lillian Holts event, call 212.741.9940.
What Is Enlightenment? magazine was founded by Andrew Cohen in 1991. It is published quarterly by What Is Enlightenment? Press, a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to a revolution in human consciousness and culture. WIE also sponsors the Voices from the Edge speakers series which offers an annual calendar of lectures and seminars featuring innovative thinkers and prominent leaders in various fields of expertise. WIE has an international readership of 75,000 and is celebrating its thirteenth year in print. For more, see wie.org.
The Next Stage is a unique events venue in the heart of New York's West Village. Its goal is to create an environment for inspired and informed exploration into our shared human experience and to pioneer new territory for individual and collective transformation.
Thursday, March 31, 7:30 pm
at The Next Stage, 312 West 11th Street
Dialogue followed by Q&A and Reception
--submitted by Hope Cohen for What Is Enlightenment? magazine and Voices from the Edge
PO Box 2360, Lenox, MA 01240
413.637.6060, 413.281.4888 (cell)
"dedicated to a revolution in human consciousness and culture"
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