The Lowell Humanities Series once again boasts a robust line-up of speakers, among them Irish novelist Colm TĂłibĂn, author of Brooklyn – now a critically acclaimed film – and 2003 alumnus Lev Golinkin, whose Jan. 27 appearance kicks off the spring semester schedule.
“We look forward to another semester of stimulating debate, dialogue and conversation with an exciting line-up of speakers,” said Associate Professor of English James Smith, the series director.
Golinkin, whose talk takes place at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100, chronicled his family’s 1990 immigration from Soviet Ukraine to the West when he was nine years old, and his experience as a child refugee, in his 2014 book, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka. His op-eds and essays on the Ukraine crisis have appeared in prominent publications. Golinkin’s appearance is made possible by the Gerson Family Lecture Fund, established by John A. and Jean N. Gerson P’14.
The rest of the Lowell Humanities Series schedule:
Candlemas Lecture with Mary Catherine Hilkert, OP: “The Word of God Entrusted to the Entire Church and the Voices of Women”; Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m., Gasson 305 – Sister Hilkert, author of Naming Grace: Preaching and the Sacramental Imagination and Speaking with Authority: Catherine of Siena and the Voices of Women Today, was the first recipient of Washington Theological Union’s Sophia Award for Theological Excellence in service of ministry and received Barry University’s Yves Congar Award for Theological Excellence, among other awards.
Leslie Jamison: “The Empathy Exams,” March 2, 7 p.m., Gasson 100 – Jamison’s most recent work, The Empathy Exams, is a collection of essays which won the 2012 Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and was on the New York Times bestseller list. A book about medical acting, ultra-runners, prison, parasites, silver mines, gang tours, and — beyond and beneath all else — the possibilities, texture, and limits of compassion, it was named one of the year’s best by National Public Radio, The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. Â
Colm TĂłibĂn: “The Knowledge and the Power: Writing and Violence,” March 16, 7 p.m., Gasson 100 – The author of eight novels, including Brooklyn and Nora Webster and two collections of stories, TĂłibĂn has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize three times. His play, “The Testament of Mary,” was nominated for a Tony Award in 2013 and his work has been translated into more than 30 languages. His appearance is co-sponsored by Culture Ireland and is part of the University’s centenary commemoration of the Easter 1916 Rising, a foundational event in the emergence of the Irish nation state.
Linda Colley: “Publishing the Word: Constitutions, Print, and War in the Age of Revolutions,” March 30, 7 p.m., Gasson 100 – A leading historian whose work has been translated into 10 languages, Colley specializes in Britain, empire and nationalism. Her books include In Defiance of Oligarchy: The Tory Party 1714-1760, Lewis Namier, Captives: Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850 and The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History, which was named among the 10 best books of the year by The New York Times. Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837 won the Wolfson History Prize, and her most recent book, the acclaimed Acts of Union and Disunion – based on a B51˛čąÝ radio series broadcast ahead of the Scottish independence referendum – examines what has held the United Kingdom together, and what might drive it apart.
Poetry Days with Afaa Michael Weaver: “Headphones and Speakerphones, Ideas of Voice in Contemporary Poetry,” April 6, 7 p.m., Devlin 101 – Despite the poverty of the East Baltimore neighborhood where he grew up, Weaver forged a life that his sharecropper father may have dreamed of for his son. As University of Maryland-College Park student, he began writing poetry about love and social justice; by age 27, he was publishing in small magazines and his verses – often presented as dialogue – evolved into playwriting. In addition to an NEA grant, he has received numerous awards including the prestigious Kingsley-Tufts Award. Weaver has authored 12 books of poetry, numerous essays, and has had two of his plays produced.
Lowell Humanities Series events are free and open to the public. The series is sponsored by the Lowell Institute, 51˛čąÝ’s Institute for the Liberal Arts and the Office of the Provost.
