The writer's mind

Author Joyce Carol Oates will give an informal talk on the psychological underpinnings of creativity, "The Writer's (Secret) Life: Woundedness, Rejection, and Inspiration," Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Statler Auditorium.

She will discuss the works and inner workings of Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Samuel Beckett, Anaïs Nin, Graham Greene, Norman Mailer, Eudora Welty and John Updike. Oates will take questions from the audience after her talk.

Oates has published more than 50 novels since 1963, and several books of short stories, poetry and nonfiction. Her works of fiction include the National Book Award winner "them" (1969) and three Pulitzer Prize nominees: "Black Water" (1992), "What I Lived For" (1994) and "Blonde" (2000). She is a professor in the humanities in the Program in Creative Writing at Princeton University.

The lecture is open to the public as part of a free summer events series sponsored by Cornell's School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. Information: http://www.summer.cornell.edu/events.

Dance party

Eight-piece salsa band El Rumbon performs July 31 at 7:30 p.m. on the Arts Quad, to close out the free summer 2009 outdoor concert series at Cornell.

El Rumbon (Spanish for "big dance party") features veteran area percussionists Steve Reichlen, Jorge Cuevas, and bandleader Charlie Izzo; horn players Paul Merrill, Ryan Zawel and Adam Ash; Josh Oxford on piano; and Harry Aceto on bass. The Cornell Dairy Bar and Cornell Dining will have their carts on hand, selling ice cream and hot dogs. Rain location is Uris Auditorium. The concerts are presented by the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions. Information: http://www.summer.cornell.edu/events.

See the stars

After the concert, take in the universe. Fuertes Observatory on North Campus hosts public viewing nights every Friday night (if skies are clear). These viewing nights are run by the Cornell Astronomical Society. Information: 255-3557 (call ahead to find out if the observatory will be open on a given night) or http://www.astro.cornell.edu/research/projects/CAS/.

Recommended viewing

Cornell Cinema's summer season winds down this week with three critically acclaimed 2009 films in Willard Straight Theatre.

"Tokyo!" is an anthology film of apocalyptic, futuristic stories set in the Japanese city, showing July 31. It includes short works from three top international filmmakers -- "Interior Design" by Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"); "Shaking Tokyo" by South Korean director Bong Joon-ho ("The Host"); and "Merde" by Leos Carax ("The Lovers on the Bridge").

"The Soloist," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, screens July 31 and Aug. 1. The film is based on L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez's writings about a schizophrenic, musically gifted homeless man Lopez approached as a column subject before becoming involved in his life.

"Sin Nombre" will screen Aug. 1. Shot in Central America, the film is based on firsthand accounts of the lives of immigrants and gang members in Chiapas, southern Mexico; it won awards for directing and cinematography at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Cornell Cinema will be closed Aug. 2-22; look for the early fall schedule at http://cinema.cornell.edu after Aug. 5.

Turbulence symposium

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is hosting a symposium at Cornell on turbulence and combustion, Aug. 3-4 in Kimball Hall B11.

The symposium features presentations by 12 invited lecturers, all leading researchers from academia, national laboratories and industry; an open forum; and two poster sessions in the Duffield atrium that are open to all participants. Lecture topics include turbulent dispersion, wall-bounded flows, mixing and finite-rate chemistry. Information: http://cfd.mae.cornell.edu/~caughey/TandC_09/.