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Posts published in “Arts and Culture”

The Smith Chop: What’s in a Mane?

The ’Big Chop’. The ‘Buzz’. The ‘Young Leo’. The “I’m so tired of my wet hair freezing to my head in the dead of winter.” Whatever the motivation or inspiration, the ‘Smith chop’ — when Smithies dramatically change their hair sometime after enrolling — is a phenomenon that rests near and dear to the hearts of several generations of Smithies. Its possible origins are as fascinating and numerous as the reasons people get it. Even if it’s not listed in the glossy brochures next to Mountain Day, the chop serves as a memorable event for many who pass through our ivy-laced campus.

Heart-Wrenchingly Tragic and Unabashedly Gay: ‘Wild Nights With Emily’ Dramatizes Poet’s Love Life

“Wild Nights With Emily,” a dramatization of the passionate and untold love life of American poetry icon Emily Dickinson, premieres in Amherst this spring at local theaters. Initially produced as a play in 1999, the film revels in Dickinson’s unacknowledged status as an infamous gay woman.

From Elm and State Streets Comes ‘Houses From Another Street,’ a Novel by Professor Michael Thurston

While his office seems comfortable, with stacks of papers and piles of books customary to the English professor, Professor Michael Thurston noted: “I write everywhere except [in] my office. I do teaching stuff here, meet with students here and do college stuff here, but this is a place where I have never been able to write a decent sentence, either of academic prose or of fiction.”

“Special” Is the TV Show I Never Knew I Needed

On April 12, 2019, Netflix released all eight episodes of "Special," a new series from Ryan O'Connell, the creator, writer and star. It is based on his 2015 memoir, “I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves” in which he writes about being gay and disabled. O'Connell was born with a mild form of cerebral palsy, a congenital disorder that affects movement and balance.

“Do Clothes Matter?”: Smith Theater Department Hosts Fashion Event

The Theater Department recently hosted the 60th anniversary of its student-led event, “Do Clothes Matter?” The symposium was held April 6 in the Campus Center, where a group of students studying Costume Design presented the culmination of a semester of research, alongside keynote speakers such as Vanessa Friedman, Sonnet Stanfill and Jan Glier Reeder.

Smith’s First English Thesis in the Format of a Play Bridges English and Theatre Departments

This year, English major Tanya Ritchie AC ’19 will be the first Smith student to complete a creative thesis in the format of a play with her piece “Them What Brung You.” While it may not have always been the easiest process, her work to establish the option should open new doors for future Smith students who want to take this path.