Immigrant voices

Teatrotaller will present "14," a play about immigration, Oct. 22-23 at 7 p.m. in Risley Theater.

Directed by Casey Minella, the play by Jose Casas is derived from interviews in the field that gathered opinions about immigration in Arizona. The voices in the play include a doctor who is a refugee from Bosnia, a young actor who only wants not to be stereotyped, a pastor who leaves water in the desert for immigrants, and the widow of a murdered Latino border patrol agent.

Teatrotaller presents classical, contemporary and experimental plays of Hispanic origin. It was founded in 1993 by a group of Cornell students to preserve and promote Spanish, Latin American and Latino cultures through theater. Information: dac9@cornell.edu, http://courses.cit.cornell.edu/span3010/.

Art and food

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art's Sunday Artbreak series will present "Art and Food Part II" Oct. 23 at 3 p.m.

Museum educator Jess Evett-Miller will discuss farming and will highlight visual representations of global and historical modes of harvesting food. Samples of related tastes will be served at the end of the session. Free. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu.

Big year

Author Lynn Barber will recount her adventures as a birder in a public talk, "Extreme Birder: One Woman's Big Year," Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity. Free.

In 2008, Barber conducted a "big year" in which she birded in 25 states and three Canadian provinces, a journey extending from Texas to Minnesota, California to North Carolina and Florida to Alaska. Her talk will be accompanied by slides. Information: 800-843-2473, http://www.birds.cornell.edu/events.

Alums Make Movies

Cornell Cinema is showcasing films made by alumni, ranging from independent projects to big-budget international productions. Alums Make Movies begins with filmmaker Miguel Coyula at a screening Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. of "Memories of Overdevelopment" (2010), produced by David Leitner '76.

"Memories of Overdevelopment," a sequel to the 1968 Cuban film "Memories of Underdevelopment" (screening Oct. 20), tells a tale of modern alienation and the legacy of the Cuban revolution. Leitner's involvement as producer led to several scenes being shot on the Cornell campus. Coyula gives a technical talk Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. about the film's postproduction process, in which many of the shots were digitally manipulated. His visit is co-sponsored with the Latin American Studies Program.

On Oct. 27 at 7:15 p.m., Danfung Dennis '05 visits with his acclaimed 2011 war documentary "Hell and Back Again." After studying applied economics and management at Cornell, Dennis became an award-winning photojournalist covering the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. His first feature-length documentary, "Hell and Back Again," explores the effect of the war in Afghanistan on one Marine sergeant. At its 2011 Sundance Film Festival premiere, the film won both the World Cinema Jury Award and the World Cinema Cinematography Award for Documentary.

All events are in Willard Straight Theatre. Information: http://cinema.cornell.edu.

Poetry with music

Poet and associate professor of English Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon will join MFA student poets in the Creative Writing Program and local musicians Johnny Dowd and Richie Stearns in "Poetry+Music in Performance," Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Barnes Hall. Free. Presented by the Creative Writing Reading Series.

Van Clief-Stefanon is the author of 2009 National Book Award finalist "Open Interval" and 2001 Cave Canem Poetry Prize winner "Black Swan." She also collaborated with 2009 Inaugural Poet Elizabeth Alexander on the chapbook "Poems in Conversation and a Conversation." Her work has appeared in several journals and anthologies including "Bum Rush the Page" and "The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South." She is at work on her third poetry collection, "The Coal Tar Colors."

Dowd, who often includes poetry in his live shows, tours internationally and performs locally with the Johnny Dowd Band, The Tin Teardrops and Presents Songs for Lovers. His 13 albums have received rave reviews in major music publications and newspapers around the world. He received a Best Alternative Album Grammy Award nomination in 2008 for "A Drunkard's Masterpiece."

Stearns is considered a major innovator on the five-string banjo and has collaborated with musicians from Africa, Asia, North America, Australia and Europe. He plays with Ithaca-based bands The Horse Flies and Evil City String Band, and has toured and recorded three albums with Natalie Merchant.

Art and social change

Artist Lily Yeh will give a talk on "Creativity, Transformation, and a Shared Prosperity," Oct. 24 at 5:15 p.m. in the lecture room of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art's new wing. Free and open to the public.

Yeh engages the arts as a medium for personal and social transformation, fueled by a belief that art is a human right and that artists can create a foundation for profound social change. She has worked with a school for migrant children outside of Beijing, genocide survivors in Rwanda, neighborhoods in north Philadelphia and impoverished communities all over the world. She focuses on creating public art -- mosaics and murals -- with community members as a form of healing and empowerment.

The talk is presented in collaboration with the Center for Transformative Action (CTA). Yeh will speak at CTA's 40th anniversary celebration, Oct. 23 at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center.

While on campus, Yeh will visit with students at Carl Becker House, and will lead a workshop for local artists and art teachers from six area school districts, Oct. 24, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., in Anabel Taylor Hall. Registration required. Information: http://www.centerfortransformativeaction.org/lily-yeh.html.

Moog's legacy

Trevor Pinch, professor of sociology and of science and technology studies, will give a lecture on the cultural legacy of Robert Moog, Ph.D. '64, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

The lecture, "From Trumansburg to Abbey Road: How the Moog Synthesizer Changed the World," is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society at Cornell.

The synthesizer Moog invented sparked a revolution in electronic music in the 1960s. He set up shop in a Trumansburg, N.Y., storefront from 1963 to 1971, and The Beatles, Mick Jagger and Sun Ra were among the first customers for the then-$11,000 instrument. Moog went on to design dozens of instruments, including the Minimoog. He died in 2005 at age 71.

Obesity research

John Cawley, professor of economics and policy analysis and management, will discuss his book "The Oxford Handbook of the Social Sciences of Obesity," Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. in Mann Library 160. A reception and book signing will follow.

Cawley's book summarizes findings and insights from obesity-related research from social sciences fields including anthropology, economics, government, psychology and sociology. The book synthesizes research on specific causes and consequences of obesity, reviews literature on treatment and prevention, and explains how each social science discipline models human behavior (particularly diet and physical activity). It is a critical reference for researchers, public health officials, policymakers, nutritionists and medical practitioners.

Information: 607-255-5406, http://mannlib.cornell.edu.