A concertina by poet Alison Strub, in response to an original work by Meaghan Busch.

Current students and alums of the MFA Poetry Program and the School of Art, faculty, and few invited wild cards came together this summer to participate in the “Call and Response” challenge, giving artists and writers an original work by another contributor to inspire a piece of their own. Now paired together, these pieces will be on display throughout Fall for the Book in the Johnson Center’s Gallery 123 on George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus. Hours of exhibition are: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

The participants were directed to two meanings of Call and Response:

1. A succession of two distinct phrases played or sung by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as direct response to or commentary on the first. Common to African, African-American, American folk, and Indian classical traditions. Pervasive in military cadences. In West Africa: also a mode of democratic participation in ritual, and in public discussion of civic affairs.
2. A collaboration between writers and visual artists, in which one calls and one responds. The result is a set of paired works, resonating with each other, demonstrating the interplay of artistic media, and speaking of our times.

The original artwork by Meaghan Busch.

An opening reception for Call and Response will be held on Tuesday, September 21, 4-6 p.m. A panel discussion will be held on Wednesday, September 22, 4:30-6 p.m. Helen Frederick, Professor in School of Art, and Susan Tichy, Professor in the English Department partnered in the organization of this exhibition and program.

This is one of three exhibitions on view during the 2010 Fall for the Book Festival. Photographer Teun Voeten’s “Tunnel People” will be display in the Johnson Center, Room 116, and photographer Sedat Pakay’s portraits of “James Baldwin in Exile” will be in the Center for the Arts lobby.

For more information on these and all of Fall for the Book’s events — nearly 150 presenters at locations throughout Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland from September 19-24 — visit our homepage here.

Earlier this summer, Fall for the Book launched the second annual Mason|Reads program, urging the faculty, staff and students of George Mason University to join together as a community in reading a single title: the novel Run by this year’s Fairfax Prize winner, Ann Patchett.

Now that so many of you have had time to check out Run, we want to know what you think! Sheri Sorvillo — the festival’s production director — will moderate an online discussion of the novel at our Fall for the Book Forum. Sign-in or join up here to add your thoughts, pose your questions, or just see what others have to say.

And if you’d prefer to meet in person: Abby Waldron, the festival’s outreach and education coordinator, will be holding a brown-bag lunch discussion group on Run in the English Department Conference Room on Wednesday, September 15, from noon until 1 p.m. — fourth floor of Robinson Hall A. More updates soon!