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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Big bucks add to youth football excitement ... Our View: Herd on the street ... Ticket Availability ... Big bucks add to youth football excitement ... Our View: Herd on the street ... Ticket Availability ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Sept. 1 Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 1, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Sep. 1, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News New lenses "I feel it’s my social responsibility to shine a light on areas that don’t get seen." — Playwright Lynn Nottage, “Sweat”. OSF’s Living Ideas series offers avid theater-goers what amounts to new lenses — enhanced clarity and depth perspective — for engaging with the cultural, social, and personal-interpersonal themes of the OSF’s rich repertoire of plays. This past Saturday (August 30), Professional Harry Elam, Jr. Stanford University’s Humanities Center shared his deeply informed perspective on playwright Lynn Nottage, who authored this season’s American Revolutions world-premiere production, “Sweat.” Dr. Elam gave us four lenses for seeing and experiencing the cogent drama that Nottage creates — drawing us into the cultural trends and issues through the prism of real lives affected by them. Dr. Elam, himself a director of theater productions, highlighted four recurring themes in Nottage’s work for American theater: (1) the import of history and its effects on real lives and relationships; (2) the aftermath of crisis, such as the “great recession” of 2008 and its impact on the community of Reading, Penn. — portrayed through interracial friendships and tensions in this season’s “Sweat”; (3) the dynamics of race and class, such as chronic tension between black and white workers and their vicissitudes of feast and famine; (4) and, in the final analysis, Nottage’s vision of potential hope and redemption, given her many examples of indomitable spirit and resilience in the face of tragedy and oppression. Oscar, a character in “Sweat,” has the final words in the production. His words, Dr. Elam noted, remind us that for Nottage, hope indeed springs eternal in the human breast, and that history doesn’t have to keep repeating its pattern of oppression, struggle, and cruelty. “That’s how it oughta be.” Oscar’s “that” is human connection and reconciliation — what Dr. Elam described as Nottage’s theme of hope and redemption. OSF is streaming most of its “Living Ideas” talks in Carpenter Hall, so that these power-punch talks and discussions can be experienced by a wider audience. For more (including uploaded streams of talks), check out the OSF’s website:  http://bit.ly/1hOYhel . Thank you, OSF, for this wonderfully enriching new arts-community dialogues. Thank you, Dr. Elam, for sharpening our focus by giving us new lenses for seeing things that often don’t get seen. Daniel Murphy Ashland Coverage lacking Just a week ago about 400 runners ran 13.3 miles to the top of Mt. Ashland. The day before the run your newspaper featured photographs and a good article about the event. We were anxious to read the results in your newspaper, and to learn about the runners who finished the race. There was nothing in the paper that day or the days to follow. It has been a week since that run, so with the non-coverage in both your papers, we will not know any results including the finishers and winners. The letter to the Mail Tribune editor written by Victoria Mayfield, whose daughter won the competition, was appropriate when she criticized the Tribune (and the Daily Tidings) for non-coverage. She wrote," This year's event showcased many "hometown" athletes whose accomplishments should be shared." We agree thoroughly. Our daughter ran that race, and we were glad to know that she won second place in the 50-59 age category. She came all the way from Benecia, Calif., to train for the run. We were at the finish line to see her receive her medal, but there was nothing about the race results in either "hometown" newspaper. The coverage of baseball games, football games and other mainly male sports have always been published in detail. We hope you will cover next year's Mt. Ashland Hill Run with complete reporting. Dick and Mary Mastain Ashland Extend Emigrant ramps The photo of the high and dry Emigrant Lake boat ramp in the Aug. 28 edition of the Tidings brings to mind that this is a great time to extend the two south boat ramps. The north boat ramp is fine, usable year-round. The south boat ramps are too short and are only available for part of the season. Lengthening the south boat ramps now while the water is low will give boaters much better use of Emigrant Lake for years to come. T.C. McCartney Ashland   DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Sep. 1, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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