The Beautiful Necessity: The Regulating Lines of Claude Bragdon’s Transcendental Architecture

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m.
$3 W&B members / $6 general public

“In nature, in number, in geometry, in music, also, there is but one law, a law infinitely simple, infinitely subtle, incommunicable, evanescent. It is what Emerson calls the Beautiful Necessity. Gentlemen, let us build altars to that Beautiful Necessity.”
-- Claude Bragdon, “Mysticism and Architecture.”
Join us for an exciting presentation by Eugenia Victoria Ellis, PhD, AIA, who with Andrea G. Reithmayr is editor of The Beautiful Necessity.

First Fridays / Wide Open Mic

Hosted by Norm Davis
Fri., August 6
Admission is free.

Along with other local galleries and performance spaces, W&B will be open on the first Friday evenings of each month hosting Wide Open Mic, and a series of other readings and performances in our Verb Café and Performance Space. Known for its eclectic mix, Wide Open Mic welcomes poets, performers, and writers of all kinds. It is Rochester’s longer-running open mic, hosted by Norm Davis, poet and editor of HazMat Review.

Genesee Reading Series

Hosted by Wanda Schubmehl
August 10: James Cook & Sally Bittner Bonn
$3 W&B members / $6 general public, 7:30 p.m

Now in its 26th year, the Genesee Reading Series presents writers from the greater Genesee Valley region reading in the W&B Performance Space.

Senior Reading Group

Hosted by Norm Davis
Tues. August 10
Free and open to the public. 2-4 p.m.

Share your writing with other seniors in a comfortable atmosphere at W&B.

Members Night Events

Wed., August 11th 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Adult
Free to W&B members

If you aren’t a member of W&B, here is your chance to join at the door and enjoy a special read-aloud with audience participation on August 11th.

The August Member Night will feature a poet and story teller, sharing the oral arts of reading aloud with a chance for audience participation.  Come listen and see how words come alive in the throat, and a chance to taste them yourself.

The Bertrand Russell Society

Hosted by David White
Thurs., August 12
Free to W&B members, $3 general public, 7 p.m., W&B

The Bertrand Russell Society was formed shortly after Russell’s death in 1970. Russell was born in 1872 and worked in fields such as mathematical logic; philosophy; social, religious, and educational reform; anti-war protests and politics. An accomplished writer, Russell received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. This ongoing lecture series promises to enlighten and entertain. Monthly meetings are open to everyone, not just to members of the society.

The Gell House Overnight guests will stay in the Gell House, a completely furnished hillside house surrounded by a landscaped yard and acres of woodlands. This charming house consists of two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, dining room, fully equipped kitchen and indoor/outdoor porch areas. Several large windows overlook the yard, which slopes down to a brook and valley beyond. This quiet retreat is the perfect setting for study, writing, reading, discussion and reflection. [ Residency Application ] Living Room Study Kitchen and Dining Room Breakfast Nook Master Bedroom Second Bedroom Gell House Rates $50/night for one guest $100/night for two guests $150/night for three guests $200/night for four guests $15/night for each additional guest, 8 maximum Daytime group rate: $150 per day Restrictions: No charge for guests 16 and under when accompanied by adult No pets or smoking indoors Guests must be members of Writers & Books Fees include full use of facilities and grounds Linens and kitchen utensils are provided Guests must provide their own meals

The Gleason Lodge The Gleason Lodge is located on a secluded hillside with a magnificent view of the Bristol Valley. The Great room of this building provides an inspiring meeting place, with its stone fireplace, high ceiling, and bookshelf-lined wall. It can accommodate up to 74 people for social gatherings and 50 people for day-long meetings, seminars, or workshops. The Lodge also includes a dining area that seats up to 25 people, and a commercially-equipped kitchen. The Gleason Lodge is completely handicapped-accessible. Surrounded by fields and woods, the Gleason Lodge provides the ideal environment for groups seeking a unique and refreshing experience. Front Deck Great Room Library Dining Area Kitchen Gleason Lodge Rates Price per day 1-35 people    $250.00  36-74 people  $500.00 For groups of 75 people or more, an additional group fee of $250 will be charged. $100 security deposit Restrictions We require an outdoor tent be set up to accommodate larger groups. No pets or smoking allowed indoors. Businesses renting the lodge must have a Writers & Books Gell Business Membership. Individuals renting the lodge must be members of Writers & Books.

The Tree House The Treehouse, 200 square feet in size, can be used as a class-room-in-the-sky, and as a writer's cabin. With an outside deck providing beautiful views of the nearby stream and surrounding woods, the house is nestled in a cathedreal of trees of many sizes and species. The foundation is attatched to four separate trees with a fifth tree passing through the interior of the house. There is a desk at which to sit and write, a bookcase stacked with appropriate titles, and a built-in bench and table with space for a group to assemble All wood used in the construction of the house was recycled, including beams from Bayonne, NJ, marine terminal. It is safe to say that there is no structure quite like it in all of western New York. Guests at the house may access to the Gell House or Gleason Lodge for Kitchen and bathroom usage Tree House Rates $60/day visit $75/overnight stay Restrictions: Two guest maximum

The Thoreau Cabin Dr. Kenneth Gell was a great admirer of Henry David Thoreau, and so when he and his wife Geraldine first bought the property in the Bristol Hills and needed a place to stay when they visited on weekends and throughout the summer, he designed and built a small cabin built to the exact dimensions of Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond. In later years the Gell’s would build a more permanent house on the property in which they would live for the remainder of their lives, but that original cabin still exists and is now, after some minor renovations, in once again available for daytime and overnight use. Nestled between a pair of grand, old-forest pine trees, the Thoreau Cabin provides a rustic and inspiring setting for writing and reflection, as well as close-to-nature overnight accommodations for one person or a couple. There is no plumbing or electricity available in the cabin but facilities are available nearby in either the Gell House or the Gleason Lodge.   Thoreu Cabin Rates $35/Day use and/or overnight Restrictions:m Two guest maximum

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