INQUIRY | SCHOLARSHIP, RESEARCH, AND CREATIVE WORK | REVIEW 2024 5 (CONTINUED ON PAGE 7) and Vernon, professor of English at the University of California-Davis, discuss in their introduction. Featuring an African American teenage girl as Arthur’s heir, “[Legendborn] lays bare the intimacies between Arthurian legend and racially gendered histories of enslavement in the United States, gesturing toward new possibilities for social coalition.” The first section of essays grapple with canonical European literary works through the lenses of race, language, and place. The second section broadens the scope beyond Europe, while the third section addresses what historically has been silenced, reproducing historical absences. The final section bridges the gap between academic and creative writing. When Edwards and Vernon reached out to scholars to contribute to the volume, the response was enthusiastic: “Almost everyone we reached out to agreed to contribute.” This enthusiasm underscores the need for the intersectional feminist framework the book provides. Edwards and Vernon first connected over their love of the work of Gloria Naylor and her creative engagements with medieval literature. “Working with Matthew has been a dream,” Edwards says. Together with Mary Foltz, associate professor of English at Lehigh, Edwards co-directs the Gloria Naylor Archive project, which makes the author’s collected papers more accessible to scholars, teachers, students, and fans. Edwards’ passion to highlight women’s medievalisms has only grown, and she is planning a monograph on the subject. The portrayal of the Middle Ages by women is one that centers “community and resistance across geopolitical boundaries,” Edwards explains. This shift allows us to imagine a different kind of Middle Ages—one where the story might not revolve around 12 white knights sitting at King Arthur’s round table. theatre Theatre Design is a Creative Journey When theatregoers see a set designed by associate professor of theatre Will Lowry, they see the result of a creative journey. “What I think is unique about my process as a designer is that I often like to do multiple sketches of vastly different approaches,” says Lowry. “I may bring six to 12 different designs to the table. In sketching different ideas, I don’t try to solve every problem.” Considering multiple scenic designs encourages collaboration among the play’s creative team, inviting input from the director and the lighting and costume designers. Such collaboration in creating the world of the play is integral in theatre. “I revel in having multiple ideas so that we can design as collaboratively with the full team as possible,” says Lowry. As a multidisciplinary designer he has created scenic, lighting, media, and costume designs professionally and at Lehigh. Lowry used his multi-faceted approach to design the set for a production of The Wanderers at Philadelphia’s Lantern Theater Company. The play, written by Anna Ziegler, opened the company’s 20242025 season in September. He explains that before he produces sketches, research helps to generate ideas. It may include what he calls denotative research that answers questions like “what did a writer’s office in 1940s England look like?” Other research might be connotative research exploring images and materials that evoke a mood, exploring textures, line, shape, and patterns. Inspiration for some of the designs used in The Wanderers came from considering the work of visual artists. Because the play’s characters are Jewish, Lowry researched the work of Jewish artists Anni Albers and Richard Serra. The graceful curves in one of Serra’s sculptures inspired the curved platforms used on stage for The Wanderers. The pattern in one of Albers’ works recalled the grid-like pattern of city streets. It eventually led Lowry to design a backdrop that is the grid of streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the play takes place. Robert DaPonte and Alanna J. Smith in The Wanderers. Catherine d’Amboise (1475-1550), a prose writer and poet of the French Renaissance. Leonard de Selva / Bridgeman Images, Will Lowry
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