JMC MadHouse
Madhouse is a creative space for James Madison students, faculty, and community members. Your voice is the wildest thing you own.
Join us for open mic nights to share poetry, short stories, comedy, music and art--or attend the annual marathon read!
Any interest in an online Madhouse event via Zoom next week? Might be a good way for us to reconnect with the community, including alumni from years past. What do you say?
06/08/2019
Rest in peace Toni Morrison. I'm so glad we chose to read your great novel "Beloved" for last year's marathon reading.
Toni Morrison, Whose Soaring Novels Were Rooted In Black Lives, Dies At 88 Morrison was the author of Beloved, Song of Solomon and The Bluest Eye. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
17/12/2018
As we get ready to select a book for the 16th Annual JMC Marathon Reading, we thought it would be useful to provide a list of the books we've read in past years:
2004 Moby Dick by Herman Melville
2005 Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
2006 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
2007 On the Road by Jack Kerouac
2008 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2009 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
2010 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2011 Dune by Frank Herbert
2012 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2013 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez
2014 White Noise by Don DeLillo
2015 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
2016 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
2017 1984 by George Orwell
2018 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
We welcome your ideas for 2019. Please post them in the comments below. Thanks, we look forward to the 16th year of this great Madison tradition!
Have an idea for the next marathon read book? Comment below!
First Madhouse Reading of the semester, Wednesday Sept. 19 7:00--9:00 335A Case. Bring a poem, a story, a friend.
26/04/2018
A few photos from the April "music" Madhouse, which actually turned out to be the April "Music, poetry, story telling, tent raising" Madhouse. It was great. Thanks to Madhouse organizer Rachel Alexander for her efforts for tonight's event and all semester long.
Last month, we invited Professor Nwando Achebe, the daughter of Chinua Achebe, to our Marathon Reading of "Things Fall Apart." Dr Achebe is a faculty member in the MSU History Department. Today I received a nice note from her in response and thought I would share it here:
Dear Professor Phillips:
Geeetings. First of all, please forgive the tardiness of this response. Your message came in while I was enroute to The Gambia, and since my return, it has been non-stop out-of-state travel to RI, NE, and NJ. In fact I write this note onboard another out-of-state flight!
What a wonderful tribute and honor you all paid to my father on this, 60th anniversary of the publication of Things Fall Apart. A month ago, I was a featured speaker at a tribute that the Smithsonian held in his honor; and a few weeks ago, Encyclopedia Britannica named Things Fall Apart one of the best 12 novels ever written! We are truly humbled by all of this.
Suffice it be said that had I been in the country, it would have been an absolute pleasure to be at the reading. I am sorry that I missed what would have been, for me, a very moving experience.
Thank you again for paying tribute to my father and his novel. My family very much appreciates it.
With every good wish,
Nwando
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nwando Achebe, Ph.D.
10/03/2018
Save the date: the JMC Marathon Reading will be Saturday March 24. Details will be announced soon!
05/03/2018
In March, JMC will host its 15th Annual Marathon Book Reading. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni will gather and read a great book out loud from cover to cover. For those of you who have attended these events in the past, you know how much fun these events are, and for those of you new to the experience, we welcome you for what we promise will be a memorable day.
At last week's Madhouse reading we came up with a list of finalists for this year's reading. The five contenders are (in no particular order):
1) "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
2) "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
3) "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
4) "Emma" by Jane Austen
5) "Miles: The Autobiography" by Miles Davis & Quincy Troupe
Thoughts? Which book would you like to read?
The final selection will be chosen after Spring break, and we'll have a date and location for the event nailed down soon. Watch Facebook for more details soon.
24/12/2017
It's time to think about a book for the 15th Annual JMC Marathon Reading, to be held in the first half of Spring semester. Books from previous marathons are shown in this photo. Let us have your suggestions in the comments below.
20/10/2017
20/10/2017
Professor Dorr's opening remarks at the JMC 50th Anniversary Madhouse.
03/08/2017
This brings up an interesting idea: holding the annual JMC Marathon Reading on location. Thoughts?
Mystic Seaport holds annual "Moby-Dick" Marathon Participants listen while a fellow participant takes a turn reading aloud a chapter of "Moby-Dick" onboard the whaleship Charles W. Morgan during the
22/07/2017
"How to Be a Poet" by Wendell Berry
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/41087/how-to-be-a-poet
Have you been flexing your creativity this summer? We would love to see some student and alumni work! Share your latest poetry, writing, art, or music on our FB page.
27/01/2017
The book for the 14th Annual JMC Marathon Reading has been chosen: George Orwell's 1984.
Date to be announced soon. Watch this page for updates!
21/11/2016
Time to start thinking about a book selection for the 14th Annual JMC Marathon Reading.
The Greatest Books of All Time, As Voted by 125 Famous Authors Why Tolstoy is 11.6% better than Shakespeare.
Mark your calendars! The Marathon Read this year will be held on Saturday, April 2nd! We will be reading The Catcher in the Rye! Thanks for voting!
Take this poll to tell us which book you would like to read at the Marathon Read this year!
http://fans.vote/vote/ACk_1F0uPKk/jmc-madhouse/help-choose-the-2016-marathon-read-book
JMC MadHouse: Help Choose the 2016 Marathon Read Book! Vote on this poll.
Today's the day! Come down to the JMC library at 9am to kickoff our annual marathon read with us!
Hello all! The Marathon Read is approaching and we are looking for book suggestions! Please let us know if you have any ideas!
23/10/2014
Remember last year when our Marathon Read book was White Noise by Don DeLillo?
Well: http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/10/the-author-of-white-noise-reviews-taylor-swifts-white-noise/381771/
As always, if you have a recommendation for next year's Marathon Read,
leave it in the comments!
The Author of White Noise Reviews Taylor Swift's 'White Noise' This morning, the singer released "Track 3"—eight seconds of silence. Was it a mistake, or a super-profound commentary on the contemporary condition?