Calendar

Apr
22
Sat
Find Your Refuge: A Yoga Retreat
Apr 22 @ 9:00 am – 11:30 am
Apr
23
Sun
Concert: Countertenor Andreas Scholl – Desiring Beauty
Apr 23 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Concert: Countertenor Andreas Scholl - Desiring Beauty @ Old South Church | Boston | Massachusetts | United States

Don’t miss renowned countertenor Andreas Scholl in a rare Boston appearance!

Desiring Beauty is an intimiate exploration of Dowland, Johnson, Handel, Caccini & more, accompanied by stellar American musicians Victor Coelho (lute), David Dolata (theorbo) and Laura Jeppesen (viola da gamba).

Early Bird $40 tickets are available now through February 1st. This extraordinary 1-hour performance will be followed by a leisurely meet-and-greet/CD signing by the artists.

29th Annual Literary Lights
Apr 23 @ 6:00 pm

The Associates of the Boston Public Library is pleased to invite you to the 29th Annual Literary Lights awards dinner.

Join the BPL on Sunday, April 23, 2017, at the Boston Park Plaza for a spectacular black tie (optional) evening honoring distinguished authors from the Northeast for their contributions to literature and the written word. The evening begins with a reception at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner and the awards program at 7:00 PM.

The Associates of the Boston Public Library are honored to recognize the following authors as their 2017 Literary Lights:

Kwame Anthony AppiahKwame Anthony Appiah 

Presented by: Hentry Louis Gates, Jr.

Appiah is a philosopher, novelist, professor and cultural theorist.  He grew up in Ghana and earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Cambridge University in London. Professor Appiah has lectured around the world and taught at Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Duke and Harvard Universities before moving to New York University where he now teaches in the Department of Philosophy. In 2009 Forbes Magazine named him one of the world’s most powerful thinkers, in 2010 he was on the list of Foreign Policy Magazine’s top global thinkers, and he was awarded the National Humanitarian Medal at a White House ceremony in 2012. Appiah, the author of numerous books and articles, has traveled around the world giving lectures on multiculturalism, global citizenship, courage, identity, and religion. One of his early books, In My Father’s House, which explores the role of African American intellectuals in shaping contemporary African life, won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Herskovits Award for the most important scholarly work on African studies published in English. Appiah is well known for his columns and podcasts as the Ethicist for the New York Times.

 

Susan FaludiSusan Faludi

Presented by: Christopher Lydon

Faludi is a journalist and author who has written extensively on gender issues. In 1991 she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism for a piece on the leverage buyout of Safeway Stores, focusing on the “human cost of high finance.”  After graduating from Harvard University, where she wrote for The Harvard Crimson, she was a contributor to the New Yorker, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Nation, as well as many other publications. In the 1980s Faludi wrote several pieces on the feminist movement and the resistance to it, resulting in her 1991 book, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, for which she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction.  She went on to write Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, The Terror Dream, and, most recently, The Darkroom, which was inspired by her father’s transsexuality. She was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies in the 2008-2009 academic year and a 2013-2014 Tallman Scholar in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at Bowdoin College.

 

Wally LambWally Lamb

Presented by: Andre Dubus III

Lamb is the best-selling author of She’s Come Undone, I know This Much is True, The Hour I First Believed, and Wishin’ and Hopin’. His first two books were selected for Oprah’s Book Club, were New York Times best-sellers, New York Times Notable Books of the Year and, between them, have been translated into 18 languages. His latest novel is We Are Water.  Lamb has also edited two volumes of essays: Couldn’t Keep it to Myself and I’ll Fly Away, written by students in his writing workshops at a women’s prison in Connecticut. He has taught creative writing in the English department at the University of Connecticut, was founder and director of the Writing Center at Norwich Free Academy, has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Connecticut Commission for the Arts, and was honored with the Connecticut Center for the Book’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Brian SelznickBrian Selznick

Presented by: Gregory Maguire

Selznick graduated from RISD where he studied illustration and, while there, took classes in set design at Brown University. After graduation, he worked at a children’s book store in New York City while writing his debut book, The Houdini Box. In 2008 he won the Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association, for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the first such award for a book this long; 533 pages with 284 illustrations. The book was adapted into a 2011 film, Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese. He has also been awarded a 2002 Caldecott Honor for his illustrations of Barbara Kerley’s The Dinosaurs of Waterhorse Hawkins.  In addition, Mr. Selznick has received the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award and the Christopher Award, given to media which “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.”

 

Chief Justice Margaret MarshallChief Justice Margaret H. Marshall (Keynote Speaker)

Presented by: David Leonard

Marshall was born in South Africa where, as a student, she led the National Union of South African Students, working to end oppressive minority rule and achieve equality for all South Africans.  Marshall first came to the US as a high school exchange student in Wilmington, DL in 1962, as the civil rights battles were beginning to boil over, and later returned to the US for graduate school, where she became involved with the anti-war and the women’s movements. After Yale Law School, she entered private practice, became President of the Boston Bar Association, Vice President & General Counsel for Harvard University, and then went on to the State’s Supreme Court, where she became the first female Chief Justice of the oldest continuously serving appellate court in the Western Hemisphere. Though she has had many accomplishments, Justice Marshall is most renowned for her 2003 opinion which led Massachusetts to become the first state in the nation to outlaw the ban on same-sex marriage. Although she loved her time on the bench, Justice Marshall stepped down in 2010. She now mentors young lawyers at her former law firm, Choate Hall & Stewart, and teaches at Harvard University.

 


 

In addition to celebrating the accomplishments of these outstanding writers, proceeds from Literary Lights support the David McCullough Conservation Fund, William O. Taylor Art Preservation Fund, Associates Endowment Fund, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library’s operations. The Associates created the McCullough Fund in 2001 to provide a consistent source of funding for the conservation and preservation of books, manuscripts, works of art and historic documents in the BPL’s Special Collections.

If you would prefer to receive a mailed invitation or for more information about sponsorship opportunitiesplease contact the Associates office at associates@bpl.org or (617) 536-3886. Thank you.

May
1
Mon
94th Annual Meeting of the Back Bay Association
May 1 @ 8:30 am

Back Bay Association Members are Invited to Attend the 

94rd Annual Meeting of the

 Back Bay Association

 Featuring

 The Honorable Charlie Baker
Governor of Massachusetts

and

The Honorable Martin J. Walsh
Mayor of Boston

Join Back Bay business and community leaders for a morning of networking and looking forward to another successful year in Back Bay.  Enjoy an delicious breakfast from the Boston Park Plaza’s new menu and take a peek at the hotel’s $100 million renovation.

RSVP Now

Sponsored by:

Park Plaza Hotel 2

May
4
Thu
Derby Dash
May 4 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit invites you to join us May 4th for an evening of hors d’oeuvres & libations to celebrate our equine officers. Taking place at the John Hancock Tower from 6:00-8:00 in the evening, not only will they have some of the best views of Boston, but live entertainment and a hat contest for those attendees dressed in their derby best.

Live auction items include a Duck Tour and stays at the Grayden House of Nantucket as well as the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Mark your calendars now & start hat shopping.

DERBY_FRONT

May
15
Mon
Eventide Oyster Co Pop-Up at Uni
May 15 @ 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Fresh off their award and before they open their Boston restaurant, the Eventide team will pop up at Uni during regular dinner hours (5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.), serving up a number of a la carte specials alongside Uni’s usual menu.

EVENTIDE OYSTER CO. BROWN BUTTER LOBSTER ROLL. / PHOTO BY KNACK FACTORY PROVIDED TO EATER BOSTON

Yes, the famous brown butter lobster roll will be available, as well as chowder ramen (pork and clam skewer, potato, celery), buttered ramen (yellow chive, maitake, daikon bushi), smoked sablefish (ramen cracker, umeboshi, tofu), and brandade (potato, cod, cauliflower romesco, ramp).

Call Uni for reservations (617-536-7200), book online, or just show up; there will be limited walk-in availability.

May
18
Thu
Opening Reception: Les Gardiens du Jardin
May 18 @ 6:30 pm

Gouache and Ink Drawings by Mary Beth McAllister

McAllister’s Les Gardiens du Jardin is a collection of French characters inspired by and fashionably dressed as French packets of garden seeds. They masquerade as landscape architects, run Soupe Populaire, teach tiny seed packets, and have been known to commit a prank or two. They are city (Paris) and country (South of France) characters and slip easily in and out of the worlds of gourmand and garden. Even in work, they experience a joie de vivre!

American artist and designer Mary Beth McAllister was influenced by a magical childhood garden, which became a muse for the worlds she creates in her paintings, sculptures and designer showhouses. McAllister’s work has been exhibited in numerous art exhibits on the East Coast and is in many private collections.

Les Gardiens du Jardin (2015) are gouache and ink, and are a collection of drawings relating to all things French, gourmand and garden.

Please note that RSVP is required.

About Mary Beth McAllister

Mary Beth McAllister is a designer, illustrator and sculptor who sees the world in technicolor. Since childhood when her garden turned magical, her experiences were unto themselves a creative genre in need of expression. A student of Fine Arts at Marymount College and Richmond College in Surrey, England, McAllister found her European wanderings, primarily through France, a natural inspiration for many of her later creations. After college she entered the glamorous world of publishing as part of the launch of Self Magazine and created a line of floral accessories presented by Vogue, Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel under her own label. She designed promotional gifts for Oscar de la Renta Fragrances and painted murals in residential and commercial interiors from Nantucket to Key Largo.

In 2014, McAllister designed her 4th installation for the juried Mansion in May Designer Showhouse at Blairsden, Peapack, NJ. The concept for her balcony design space was a checkerboard of lettuce and moss populated with her sculptures, The Garden Keepers, based upon her original collection of drawings. Les Gardiens du Jardin are the French cousins of The Garden Keepers, and just maybe, they will become sculptures too.

May
25
Thu
Ciné-Club de l’Alliance: Je ne suis pas un salaud
May 25 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Ciné-Club de l'Alliance: Je ne suis pas un salaud @ French Cultural Center | Boston | Massachusetts | United States

A DECENT MAN (2015)

111 minutes | French with English subtitles | Drama

About the Film

Director: Emmanuel Finkiel
Actors: Nicolas Duvauchelle, Mélanie Thierry, Driss Ramdi

After he is violently attacked in the street, Eddie wrongly identifies Ahmed, an ideal suspect whom he’d noticed a few days before the attack. While the legal machine gets underway with Ahmed, Eddie attempts to win back his wife and son through a new job. But Eddie soon becomes aware of the seriousness of his accusation and he’ll do anything to establish the truth, even if it means he risks losing everything.

PRAISE

Nicolas Duvauchelle was nominated for Best Actor at the 2017 César Awards and 2017 Lumière Awards for his performance in the film.

A Decent Man (Je ne suis pas un salaud) is a dark and brooding portrait of contemporary malaise…

– Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Review

Finkiel incisively builds his lead characters, subtly developing relationships along with alienation, resentment and racism to paint a picture of an average Joe whose weaknesses are distressingly commonplace.

– Jay Weissberg, Variety

About the Director

Emmanuel Finkiel was born on October 30, 1961 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is a director and writer, known for Voyages (1999), Je ne suis pas un salaud (2015) and Nulle part terre promise (2008).


Above: ©CNC

WATCH THE TRAILER

May
31
Wed
Tasting Tour of Eataly Boston
May 31 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Whether it is your first time to Eataly, or you simply want to learn more about the Italian food and emporium, Eataly Boston invites you to join them on a walking tour of Eataly Boston. During your tour, you’ll learn about Eataly’s Italian heritage and products, and even taste some items along the way!

During this tour, guests will:

Explore each department and discover unique information and details

Learn about our vast array of imported Italian products and locally sourced products

Meet some of Eataly’s specialists and learn their best kept secrets

Get delicious tastes along the way such as mozzarella, focaccia, house-made potato chips, and gelato

 

The tour meets at the Guest Relations Booth, just up the stairs from the Boylston Street entrance. Tour duration is approximate and may vary by 10-15 minutes. Please notify Eataly in advance if you have any dietary restrictions. If they are not notified ahead of time of any special needs, they may not be able to accommodate them. Tours are limited to 15 people at a time. If you are unable to reserve a spot on the website, it means the tour is full. 

Jun
2
Fri
Concerts in the Courtyard at the Boston Public Library
Jun 2 @ 12:30 pm
Concerts in the Courtyard at the Boston Public Library @ Boston Public Library | Boston | Massachusetts | United States

The courtyard of the Central Library in Copley Square, one of Boston’s most beautiful spaces, is filled with music during free, one-hour concerts throughout the summer. The courtyard hosts music that ranges from jazz to classical and from world to folk.

The concert for Friday, June 2 will feature Area 9 Quartet.  Area 9 Quartet is a Boston-based ensemble dedicated to exploring the rich, diverse, and ever-growing chamber music repertoire for saxophone. Area 9 is proud to have commissioned and debuted new works by contemporary composers, including Jun Feng’s “Somehow, Tango,” performed at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2015, and Michael Kosch’s “Castle in the Air,” which Area 9 premiered at New York City’s Metropolitan Playhouse in December 2016.

Concerts are moved to the newly renovated Rabb Hall in the event of inclement weather.  For more information on the concert series, please click here.

Concerts in the Courtyard are generously supported by Deloitte, providing industry-leading audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands.

 

 


OUR SPONSORS