Poet, author, literary critic and editor, John Freeman proposes that reclaiming our language and redefining our roles as citizens is an antidote for a world that he says is edging toward tyranny. His latest work – “Dictionary of the Undoing” -- offers a guide for accomplishing change by defining the words that build the vocabulary of change. A is for agitate. D is for decency. V is for vote. On that last point, he writes, "A vote is the difference between a citizen and a subject." Interesting, given primary voting season kicked off yesterday with the Iowa Caucuses. The Cleveland native also is the author of "The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand Year Journey to Your Inbox." His writing has appeared in "The New York Times Book Review", the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Guardian. He's now executive editor of Literary Hub, an online source for the best writing on all things books. Tonight Mr. Freeman will be one of the featured authors at "Brews and Prose," the monthly literary series held at Market Garden Brewery, where he will share insights.
Our statehouse team provides an update on a legal challenge to the delay in the EdChoice voucher application process as lawmakers seek time to work out a fix. Plus, efforts to put a ballot measure before voters in November that would expand voter registration hits a snag.
Then, when the Italian-born artist Claudio Orso first made his way to America in the 1990s he walked across the Mexican border with little concern from customs officials. A couple of decades later, Orso (now an American citizen) works with immigrant students from Cleveland's Thomas Jefferson International Newcomers Academy. His observations of these young immigrants serve as one of the inspirations for his new exhibition - "Panta Rhei" or "Everything Flows" - on view now at the Bostwick Building Gallery in downtown Cleveland. It's a collection of Orso's large-scale woodblock paintings along with his sculptural masks and fantastical puppets. We bring you Orso’s conversation with Ideastream’s senior host/producer Dan Polletta.
John Freeman, Author, "Dictionary of the Undoing"
Andy Chow, Statehouse Reporter, Ohio Public Radio/TV
Claudio Orso, Artist
Dan Polletta, Senior Producer/Host, Arts & Culture, Ideastream