WCU Briefly: Expert to Discuss Positive Impact Reading Has on Mental Health

By

Dr. Josie Billington. Images via West Chester University.

Center for Contemplative Studies

Do you love to curl up with your tablet or a printed book and read to relax?

“Readers feel happier about themselves and their lives,” said Dr. Josie Billington, professor and deputy director of The Centre for Research and Reading, Literature, and Society at the University of Liverpool in England. Her research has proved that reading and participating in shared reading groups are good for your mental health and well-being.

Join Billington at West Chester University’s Center for Contemplative Studies at 700 South Church Street on Wednesday, March 6, from 5-6 PM for her “Literature and Health” talk. She will share her findings about the links between reading and health and will demonstrate the benefits of group reading by sharing short stories and poetry out loud. The program is free and open to the public.

Angelic Cloud by Ward Davenny.

Department of Art + Design

The 2018-19 season continues with the opening of Ward Davenny’s “Selected Works 1990-Present” in the E.O. Bull Center’s Baker Gallery at 2 East Rosedale Avenue. The work will be on display until April 5. The event is free and open to the public during gallery hours: Monday-Friday from 9 AM-4 PM and Saturday from 12-4 PM. An artist and press reception will be held on Thursday, March 7, from 4-7 PM.

“My fascination with the dynamics of light and air lies in their constant movement, and how they materialize in the form of clouds, smoke, or vapors, and create a visual presence in the atmosphere that we normally perceive as non-physical,” said Davenny.

“This exhibition, spanning a period of 30 years, allows me to find threads that run through a variety of media, and displays some of my experimental efforts to mix them.”

Department of Theatre and Dance

The department will present Local Girls by Emma Goidel, from March 1-7. Performances are staged in the MainStage Theatre at the E.O. Bull Center for the Arts, located at 2 East Rosedale Avenue. Tickets are $13-$16 and can be purchased by clicking here.

Local Girls is a play with music about searching for big-time glory in a small-time town. In the play, Diskit is a high school chemistry genius who needs some friends, while Riley is a high school burnout who needs a new screamer for her heavy metal band. A local “Battle of the Bands” contest could transform them both from high school losers to rock gods, but will that be enough to get both girls out of Tucker, Georgia?

“The script is incredibly witty and very heartfelt,” said Taylor Mattes, a senior theatre major from Glenmoore who plays the role of Diskit. “Goidel makes her characters feel very real, while still being hilarious. We all had a hard time reading through it without laughing when we first began rehearsing, but there’s some very tender moments as well.”

[uam_ad id=”80503″]

.

[uam_ad id=”80502″]

Connect With Your Community

Subscribe to stay informed!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement
Creative Capital logo