Creative Campus

In a collaborative effort UA’s Creative Campus, Blount Undergraduate Initiative, Crossroads Community Center, English Department, Honors College, Housing and Residential Communities, New College, Religious Studies, and University Libraries joined together to present Fischer to the UA/Tuscaloosa community. 

On September 9, 2008, a crowd of eager listeners gathered in Gorgas Library on the campus of the University of Alabama to hear Norman Fischer, a Zen Buddhist Priest and Poet read from his new book Sailing Away, a Buddhist reading of Homer's The Odyssey. Reading from his book was not like reading at all: it was as if he was reciting from heart - not from memory - some oral tradition that had been passed down to him. He knew his own stories backwards and forwards, and the book served merely as an organizer, a structure for a nobler purpose.

Later that night, Fischer again drew a large crowd to the lobby of the Bama Theater in downtown Tuscaloosa, where Fischer read some of his poetry. The lobby was packed and people sat on the floors or found space against a wall, listening closely as Fischer explained why he created each poem and how he would form his poetry to fit a specific notebook. Fischer followed his explanations by reading some of his works, double-sonnet, formless beauty, and 15 other poems.

The next day, Fischer held a small meditation session in the Riverside Community Center. The poet/priest started the group off with silent meditation - nearly half-an-hour of uncomfortable sitting for the inexperienced and out-of-practice. However, there was something comforting in the discomfort, something to remind one that one still existed. Fischer then lead about 10 minutes of walking meditation: a slow, certainly odd-looking ritual, but one which cleared the mind.

Norman Fischer's visit to the University of Alabama's campus invited students, faculty, staff, and community members to come together and experience something a little different from day-to-day life in Tuscaloosa.  Many in attendance had never been exposed to Buddhist ideals and were intrigued by the time they had in Fischer's presence. 

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