Tea & Talk Series Hosts Prof. Tom Cousineau Speaking On The Tragic Tradition In Western Literature

Chestertown, MD, October 13, 2003 — The O'Neill Literary House continues its 2003-2004 Tea & Talk Series on Monday, October 20, at 4:30 p.m. with a talk by Washington College English professor Tom Cousineau titled “Singing Songs while Killing Goats: From Oedipus the King to Waiting for Godot.” The event is free and all are welcomed to enjoy tea and discussion at the O'Neill Literary House. Tea served at 4 p.m.
“The title of my talk refers to ‘tragoidia,' the Greek word for tragedy which is usually translated as ‘a song sung while sacrificing a goat,'” says Professor Cousineau. “The talk itself grows out of the many classes involving Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot that I have taught here at the College. Over the years, I've pondered the different ways in which each play gives expression to the ritual practices out of which Western drama developed. The talk will reflect my research on this topic and my thoughts on it as I worked on various publication projects. In fact, these reflections became a fundamental reference for my forthcoming book, Ritual Unbound: Reading Sacrifice in Modernist Fiction.”
Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Since its dedication in 1985, the rambling and eclectic O'Neill Literary House has been the locus of the College's creative writing and literary culture.