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Museum goes on ‘Arctic Quest’

The University of Alaska Museum of the North is embarking on an “Arctic Quest” starting on Saturday, with a new exhibit examining Roald Amundsen’s 1906 voyage through the Northwest Passage.

On the 100th anniversary of the journey, a group of 25 Canadian artists took a 12-day voyage of their own through the route. Their work will be displayed at the UA museum through May 11. The exhibition, called “Arctic Quest,” is part of a program of exhibitions, film, workshops and lectures planned to coincide with the International Polar Year, taking place through 2009.

The trip was inspired by artists who used to accompany early European voyages of discovery, according to a press release. The contemporary journey is meant to draw attention to northern issues like climate change, sovereignty and the fragile environment, and to encourage artistic impression by Inuit youth.

For more information, call the Museum of the North at 474-7505.

UAF authors to hold reading

A pair of University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty members will celebrate the recent release of new books with a free reading and book signing at 7 p.m. tonight at Schaible Auditorium at UAF.

Gerri Brightwell and Derick Burleson will read from “The Dark Lantern” and “Never Night,” respectively, as part of the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series.

Brightwell’s “Dark Lantern” is a thriller set in 19th century London, and the debut has won strong reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, among others, since it was published by Random House in March. Brightwell was born in Britain, but lives in Fairbanks today with her husband and three children. She is an assistant professor in the UAF English Department.

Burleson, an assistant professor of creative writing at UAF, published his second poetry book with “Never Night.” His first book, “Ejo: Poems, Rwanda 1991-94,” won the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry. Burleson described “Never Night” as “a hymn to life, a meditation on day and night, on the seasons, on nature and on love.”

For more information, call 474-7193.

Simpson lecture planned

Sherry Simpson, a former News-Miner reporter and prize-winning author, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday as part of the Northern Voices Lecture Series.

The lecture, titled “The Creative Act of Exploration,” is free and will be at the Noel Wien Library. Simpson lived in Fairbanks for almost 20 years, where she edited Heartland Magazine at the News-Miner, earned a master’s of fine arts degree, and taught at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She lives today in Anchorage.

Her books include “The Way Winter Comes” and “The Accidental Explorer.” For more information, call 452-5021.

Chinese opera screening set

A glimpse of Chinese philosophy and ethics will be offered on Sunday with a free showing of the Chinese opera “The Legend of White Snake.”

The film depicts a love story that has been passed down in China for more than a thousand years.

The story reveals the inner feelings about the love of husband and wife, which is coveted by the fairy snake of the legend. The showing will be at 1:15 p.m. Sunday at the Noel Wien Library Auditorium.

For information, call Rosalind Kan at 474-0908, Walter Benesch at 479-2386, or Karen Callahan at 474-6507.