On Oct. 20, Syracuse Symposium and Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact will present a symposium on poet Alejandra Pizarnik. It will take place at 6 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.

This event is about the essential conflict of a contemporary Latin American poet vis-à-vis her world. In this woman’s life and body of work, conflict could not be reduced to a psychological problem, but rather was the mark of the existential clash faced by a generation of women.

A panel of distinguished guests will include:

• Jaklin Kornfilt, professor of linguistics in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences;
• Bruce Smith, poet and professor of English in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Madeleine Stratford, professor in the Department of Language Studies at Université du Québec, Outaouais; and
• Nayda Collazo Llorens and Patricia Bentancur, artists and creators of two original visual texts included in the new Point of Contact edition, inspired by Pizarnik’s poetry.

“Conflict: Peace and War” is the theme of the 2010 Syracuse Symposium, an annual intellectual and artistic festival held on the SU campus. The SU Humanities Center organizes and presents Syracuse Symposium for SU’s College of Arts and Sciences and for the University community. More information is available by calling (315) 443-7192.

Punto de Contacto-Point of Contact is an independent non-profit arts organization in residence at SU.