Provided

Cornell Cinema shows a program of meticulously handmade short films with visiting animator Stacey Steers, Oct. 26 in Willard Straight Theatre.

MFA readings

The first installment of the Fall 2015 First-Year MFA Reading Series will feature fiction by Mario Giannone and poetry by Elizabeth Goold, Oct. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca. Presented by the Creative Writing Program at Cornell, the reading is free and open to the public.

Upcoming readings will include poetry and fiction by MFA student writers Cary Marcous and Leo Rios, Friday, Oct. 30; Jasmine Jay and Shane Kowalski, Nov. 13; and Michael Prior and Rocio Anica, Nov. 20.

Fashion from China

Chinese fashion designer Laurence Xu is featured in a special exhibition on campus Oct. 24 and speaks at the fifth annual Cornell China Conference, “China Model: Heritage & Innovation,” Oct. 24-25 in G01 Uris Hall, presented by the Cornell China Club.

Xu will participate in the first conference panel – “Where is China’s High-End Brand?” Saturday, Oct. 24, and in Cornell Couture Night, Oct. 24 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art’s wing gallery. Cornell students will model some of the 15 Xu designs on display, including pieces he showcased at the 2015 Met Gala, “China: Through the Looking Glass.”

The annual Cornell China Conference invites leading figures to discuss issues and opportunities in China from a global perspective. This year, topics range from the hospitality industry and Chinese haute couture to globalization and financial investments, international development, and online-to-offline trends in the service industry.

Events are open to the Cornell students, faculty, staff and alumni and non-Cornell students. Tickets range from $23 to $38 for the conference and exhibition.

Exhibition co-sponsors include the Cornell Fashion Collective, Thread Magazine and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

Intimate Beethoven

The Cornell Concert Series presents an evening of spirited interpretations of Beethoven sonatas for cello and fortepiano with celebrated British cellist Steven Isserlis and American pianist Robert Levin, Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall Auditorium. General admission tickets are $30, $15 for students; tickets available online.

Isserlis has a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, author and educator, with a strong interest in historical performance practice. He has described playing the Beethoven Sonatas as “a journey through a life.” Levin, an emeritus professor of humanities at Harvard University, is renowned for his mastery of the classical musical language.

McClane on ‘Friendship’

W.E.B. DuBois Professor of Literature Emeritus Kenneth McClane ’73 will give the Phi Beta Kappa Distinguished Faculty Lecture on Oct. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

The lecture, “Friendship: A Narrative about Race, Family, War and Fishing,” is free and open to the public.

McClane taught English and creative writing at Cornell for 37 years and directed the Creative Writing Program from 1990 to 1996. He was named a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow in 2004, Cornell’s highest teaching honor; received the Distinguished Prose Award in 2002 from the Antioch Review and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Cornell in 1973.

His poetry and essays have appeared in anthologies including “Trouble the Water: 250 Years of African-American Poetry” and “The Art of the Essay.” He is the author of seven collections of poetry including “Take Five: Selected Poems,” and two volumes of personal essays. “Color: Essays on Race, Family, and History” was awarded a Gold Medal in 2009 by ForeWord Reviews, and the title essay in “Walls: Essays 1985-1990” was selected for “The Best American Essays 1988” and its college edition.

Good on paper

Animator Stacey Steers visits Cornell Cinema to present short films meticulously made from thousands of her handmade images, Oct. 26 at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

Steers’ labor-intensive process crafts works on paper into original, lyrical narratives that explore the nature of longing, and the role of desire in creating meaning. In “Night Hunter” (2011), more than 4,000 collages of images appropriated from early cinematic sources form a disquieting 16-minute dreamscape, as silent-era actress Lillian Gish is plunged into a new and haunting role. The program also features “Phantom Canyon” (2006, 10 minutes); “Totem” (1999, 11 minutes); “Watunna,” narrated by Stan Brakhage (1990, 24 minutes); and the work-in-progress “Random Forces.”

Also at Cornell Cinema: Justin Lerner ’02 introduces a sneak preview of his second feature, “The Automatic Hate,” Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. Lerner co-wrote and directed the film, part Hitchcock thriller and part dark family drama, which also features Cornell alumnus Ricky Jay.

Ancient cures

Assistant professor of classics Courtney Roby discusses “Plant-Based Medicines: Ancient Greece and Rome and Beyond,” Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Statler Auditorium. Her lecture is part of Cornell Plantations’ Fall Lecture Series; free and open to the public.

Roby, who teaches an ‘Introduction to Ancient Medicine’ course, will present the history of pharmaceuticals based on cultivated and wild plants, first developed by physicians and herbalists collaborating in ancient Greece.

“I first got to know the Plantations through the ‘Herbs of the Ancients’ plot in the Robison Herb Garden, which features plants from ancient Greek and Roman literature,” Roby said. “The resources and expertise the Plantations embody made it possible to create a space where 21st-century Cornell students can test out first-century, plant-based medicines, with some remarkable results.”

Better ideas

The Sustainability Strategies Workshop Series features student and alumni presentations in “Ideas for a Better World,” Oct. 29 from 5- 6:30 p.m. in G10 Biotech. The workshop is free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served.

Treijon Johnson ’17, an environmental science and sustainability major, presents “Green Vision: Empowering Diverse Minds Toward Sustainability,” on minorities and environmental justice.

Margo Hittleman ’81, Ph.D. ’07, offers tools and strategies to cultivate diverse leadership for sustainable communities in her talk, “From Scarcity to Abundance.” Hittleman is co-founder and coordinator of the Natural Leaders Initiative and a Dorothy Cotton Institute senior fellow.

Jepsen in concert

The Cornell Concert Commission will present Canadian pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen (“Call Me Maybe”) Sunday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. in Barton Hall.

Advance tickets are on sale at cornellconcerts.com and are $23 for Cornell students, $30 for the general public, plus applicable service fees. Sales to the general public begin Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. Prices at the door are $28 and $35.