all photos: Ben Droz
all words: Kashuo Bennett
It is not every day that you get a respected art collector, a classical musician, a scholar of French literature, and a college English professor together to each talk about what they love.
Add an open bar and a video DJ and I think it’s safe to say we experienced a completely unique event.
Last Thursday, DC’s print-only literary magazine, known as The Folly, held a fundraising event at the Dunes in Columbia Heights. After a welcome and opening remarks by Folly founder and host of the event Andrew Bucket, the entertainment portion of the evening consisted of hardcore Francophile Mary-Alice Farina giving a talk about Flaubert’s Madame Bovary.
She defined the book for us as “the first modern novel” that paved the way for so many anti-heroines which are common in literature and film today (think Desperate Housewives of the mid 1800s). This was followed by Pink Line Project founder Philippa Hughes who shared slides from her recent trips as a guest of the governments of Haiti, Sweden, and Israel. The audience was treated to videos and images of artists working in each of these countries as well as Philipa’s observations on the differences and universalities across the art world.
Next, Jason McCool, Mahler enthusiast, treated the crowd to a stirring examination of the emotionally charged composer’s life, complete with live trumpet performance.
Finally, University of Maryland professor Dr. Kelly Cresap presented a sophisticated and inspired reading of the often overlooked work Daniel Martin by John Fowles, suggesting that it exists as all three–a classic, modern, and postmodern work.
The attendees remained after the talks to enjoy tunes curated by DJs Adrian Parsons and Ryan Hunter Mitchell, as well as complimentary refreshments provided by Belvedere & DC Brau, and gourmet hors d’oeuvres provided by Eatonville. Stay tuned for the release of the next issue of The Folly, which no doubt has enjoyed an infusion of spirit from this successful event.
