Intercollegiate Poetry Festival
Betsy Sholl, Maine’s poet laureate from 2006 to 2011, will be the keynote speaker at the annual Greater Boston Intercollegiate Undergraduate Poetry Festival taking place at Boston College on Apr. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Yawkey Center. Sholl is the author of several collections of poetry, including Otherwise Unseeable, winner of the Four Lakes Prize in Poetry Prize. Area college students selected by their professors will read from their own poetry at the event. Boston College will be represented by senior Bailey Spencer (pictured), who will share “Ferment and Grow Old,” a poem in tribute to her great-grandmother. A chapbook of student poetry will be published in conjunction with the festival, which has been organized by BC English Professor Suzanne Matson. Sponsors: Poetry Days and Boston College Magazine.
Jesus
Best-selling author and Jesuit priest James Martin, SJ, has published a new book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage (HarperCollins, 2014), that offers readers a unique look at both the human emotions and divine activities of Jesus. According to the publisher, the book is a bold retelling of the Gospels that is faithful to the Christian tradition. It brings together the most up-to-date Bible scholarship, spiritual insights, and lighthearted stories about Fr. Martin’s travels through the Holy Land where he visited the most significant sites in the life of Jesus. Listen to Fr. Martin discuss his new book in this video and offer the Top 10 Things to Know about Jesus. Fr. Martin’s previous publications include The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, My Life with the Saints, and Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life. He is also an editor-at-large at America magazine. Fr. Martin graduated from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, which reaffiliated with Boston College in 2008 to form the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) at Boston College. In a recent column for America magazine, he thanked several scholars– including STM’s Richard Clifford, SJ and Thomas Stegman, SJ–who helped him as he wrote his book.
The books they love
This semester’s lineup of speakers for BC’s Lowell Humanities Series was stellar. Kudos to Boston College Professor of English Carlo Rotella, director of the Lowell Humanities Series, and his team for organizing the lecture series and Boston College and the Lowell Institute of Boston for the funding. Among the writers who came to Boston College were Frog Music and Room author Emma Donoghue and The Unwinding author George Packer, both of whom shared their thoughts on reading and books with the Boston Globe in advance of their talks on campus. Donoghue Q&A | Packer Q&A
Posted in Guest Authors, Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged English Department, fiction, nonfiction
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Hangout with Boston Strong author
BC alumnus Dave Wedge, an investigative journalist and author of the forthcoming book Boston Strong, will participate in a Google hangout today from 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Wedge’s book, co-written with New York Times best-selling author Casey Sherman, is a compelling, dramatic non-fiction account of the heartbreak and heroism that took place at the 2013 Boston Marathon. Wedge will talk about the anniversary of the bombings and share the stories of survival and perseverance of the victims and their families. A piece they wrote about a healing voyage for the marathon survivors was featured earlier this year in Esquire magazine. Sponsor: Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs.Happily ever after?
In her first novel, BC alumna Laura Kenyon imagines the “happily ever after” lives of beloved fairy tale princesses, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel and friends. Desperately Ever After has been described as one part Sex and the City, two parts Desperate Housewives, and three parts Brothers Grimm. Learn more about Kenyon in this author Q&A. Follow Kenyon on Twitter at @Laura_Kenyon and facebook.
Jesuit Post book
The bright, young minds that brought the world The Jesuit Post (TJP)–a website featuring commentary from young Jesuits on the intersection of faith and culture–have published a new book of essays titled, The Jesuit Post (Orbis Books). In addition to 20 original essays, the book includes a few “best of” essays from the website’s first two years. Many Boston College students and alumni are contributors to the new book. School of Theology and Ministry students Ryan Duns, SJ; Quentin Dupont, SJ; Michael Rozier, SJ, and Sam Sawyer, SJ have written essays. Alumni contributors are Jeff Johnson, SJ; James Martin, SJ; Jayme Stayer, SJ, and George Williams, SJ. Sawyer’s essay can be previewed here. In a review, Publishers Weekly says “Religious faith and the spiritual life are more relevant than ever, even if contemporary young adults live out these commitments in radically different ways than past generations. St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, would be proud to know that his work continues into the 21st century.” Sawyer, who earned his undergraduate degree from BC, is one of the founders of TJP, which has been called “one of the best things that U.S. Jesuits have done in the last 10 years.” Read an interview with the TJP founders.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Catholic, Jesuit, Jesuit author, School of Theology and Ministry
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Poet Spotlight: Spece
In honor of National Poetry Month, BC Bookmarks spotlights BC alumnus Joseph Spece, editor of SHARKPACK Poetry Review and author of the poetry collection Roads. According to Hannah Fries of Orion Magazine: “The language of Joseph Spece is richly musical, at once strange and familiar, formidable, exploratory, confident. ..these are the poems of an intensely curious soul, a poet steeped in myth and in letters.” Earlier this academic year, Spece gave a reading on campus and talked about his writing with @BC. His poem, “Hades and the Linguists,” was published in the Winter 2014 issue of Boston College Magazine.
Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart, who wrote about her traumatic abduction and nine months of captivity in her best-selling memoir My Story (St. Martin’s Press, 2013), will speak at Boston College on Apr. 10 at 7 p.m. in McGuinn Auditorium. Smart’s testimony helped to convict her captors and she has gone on to become an advocate and public speaker. As president of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, she works to prevent crimes against children and to improve child abduction and recovery programs and legislation. Smart and other abduction survivors worked with the Department of Justice to create a survivors guide, “You’re Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction to Empowerment,” to encourage children who have gone through similar experiences to not give up and to know that there is life after tragic events. Sponsors: Women’s Resource Center, Office of Health Promotion, Science Club For Girls, R.E.A.C.T, FISTS, Sharps, To Write Love On Her Arms, I Am That Girl, Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, UGBC & SWSG.
Girls like us
Author Rachel Lloyd will present “Girls Like Us: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Girls in the US” on Apr. 8 at 4 p.m. in McGuinn Auditorium. Lloyd is the founder and CEO of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), and author of the memoir, Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale. Lloyd’s presentation will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. Sponsors: Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Women’s Resource Center, Office of Health Promotion, Sociology Department, REACT and VSA.
BC Bookmarks 
