Lecture focuses on the vision of words

During the talk, "A Divine Blindness: The Place of Words in a State of Grace," at Gallagher Theatre, Momaday wove in some history of the alphabet, writing, language and the printing press as he talked about language as the context of our experience and as the miracle that empowers us.

"The book is a wonderful invention," Momaday said. "It is a thing of infinite possibility."

George Davis, geosciences professor and head of the Faculty Fellows, opened the lecture with the program's brief history.

The Faculty Fellows program is designed to bring students and faculty together on a individual basis by holding office hours in easily accessible places, such as residence halls.

Davis said the purpose of the Speaker Series is to "bring faculty, students, staff and administrators together to one place once a week."

He said he hopes the Speaker Series will promote an "adventure of learning" and a "love of learning."

Born and raised on the Kiowa Indian Reservation in Oklahoma, Momaday earned his master's degree and doctorate from Stanford University.

Momaday is also a painter, playwright and poet.

His children's play, Children of the Sun, will have its world premiere in March at the Kennedy Center in New York City.

Randy Richardson, geosciences professor, said "everyone was on the edge of their seats" during Momaday's talk.

Momaday said he hopes the students and faculty who attended his talk will think about language and provoke some interest in that subject.

Davis said he was excited about the turnout for the first Speaker Series presentation.

Next week's speaker will be Leslie Tolbert, professor of neurobiology, who will talk about "Our Plastic Brain," Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. in Gallagher Theatre.