Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter
October 11, 2018 4:00 p.m.
This Sunday, Amelia Lifelong Learning is offering a lecture in memory of our dear friend and staunch supporter, Curtis Meltzer. Curtis was a charter member of ALL when it was associated with FSCJ. He was instrumental in providing support when we decided to be an independent entity but that’s not the most interesting thing about Curtis.
He spent his professional career as a radiologist, with a successful practice in south Florida. Curtis said that during his working years, he scarcely had time to read anything but medical journals. When he retired, he determined to make up for it by taking courses. He helped set up a lifelong learning program in North Carolina and did the same when he moved to Fernandina Beach. It was not unusual for Curtis to be enrolled in multiple courses.
We lost Curtis’ support last year and the ALL board thought a lot about what to do to honor his memory. We decided to institute an annual lecture in his memory and we wanted it to be special. Through another organization, I had been to a couple of presentations by a most unusual professor, Clark Lunberry.
Dr. Lunberry creates outdoor installations on ponds and windows, what he calls “Writing on Water/Writing on Air.” In these installations, he takes phrases from poems and transfers them to water surfaces and windows. He began doing installations at the University of North Florida where he is a professor in the English department. Subsequently he has done these installations all over the world, from Japan to Sweden.
It seemed fitting to have a unique talent as the first lecture to honor the memory of a unique man, whom we all miss. We’d love for you to join us next Sunday at 4 pm upstairs at Story & Song. Clark will show photos from his installations and discuss his work. He promises to have good stories about his most recent installation at the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
You can also go to www.clarklunberry.com to see some of Clark’s work. You can register at www.amelialearning.com or pay at the door. The fee is $10. The first 40 to register will receive Clark’s book, Writing on Water/Writing on Air.
Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. Evelyn is vice-chair on the Amelia Center for Lifelong Learning and is on the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.