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:
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.
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.
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.
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 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 opportunities, please contact the Associates office at associates@bpl.org or (617) 536-3886. Thank you.
This August, join Bar Boulud‘s Sommelier, David Bérubé, for an exclusive four-course beer dinner showcasing local Woburn craft brewer, Lord Hobo Brewing Co – beer for the discerning drinker. Tempting dishes from Chef de Cuisine Michael Denk and Pastry Chef Robert Differ will be paired appropriately with seasonal beer selections.
FEATURED MENU
PORK TROTTER CORN DOG
Glorious, New England Style Pale Ale, 6.5 ABV
TARTE FLAMBÉE
confit onion, fromage blanc, bacon
•••
HEIRLOOM SALAD
heirloom tomato, melon, romaine, charred cucumber, mint yogurt
Boomsauce, Imperial IPA, 8 ABV
•••
CHICKEN SUPREME
parsley butter, corn succotash, hominy, black trumpet mushrooms
Steal This Can, IPA, 6.5 ABV
Consolation Prize, Double IPA, 9.5 ABV
•••
ORANGE SORBET “BEER FLOAT”
housemade orange sherbet, vanilla sable cookie, chantilly, candied orange
Hobo Life, Session IPA, 4.5 ABV
*Ticket price includes gratuity and taxes.
Have you ever had beer brewed by monks? Here’s your chance to try Spencer Brewery beer!
Come taste beer with Spencer Brewery, one of only 14 Trappist breweries in the world and the only one in the United States. Kevin Kervick, co-manager of sales and marketing, will present the great story of monks making beer in both Europe and America. He will also guide you through a tasting of their incredible beers, including their classic Trappist Ale.
Ticket includes a flight of Spencer Trappist beer with delectable bar bites specially created and matched to the beer by the Newsfeed Cafe’s chef.
Come at 6:00pm to find a seat and mingle. Guided tasting starts at 6:30pm.
Must be 21 or older. IDs will be checked at the door.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.
Notch Brewing
Come enjoy an evening of German and Czech Lager styles with Chris Lohring of Notch Brewing. From Salem, Massachusetts, Notch Brewing has earned praise and admiration from brew lovers for its lower alcohol “session” styles of beers. Spend an evening with us while we explore the classic styles of Lager Brewing from a master of these styles, Chris Lohring. In this class, hosted by Chris himself, guests will:
- Taste through a selection of Notch Brewing Co. beers selected by brewmaster Chris Lohring
- Learn what are the contributing factors to making these styles
- Learn the differences between lagers and ales, and the history of how these styles came to be
- Converse during our Question and Answer section of the class
- Enjoy a selection of our house made sausages, the perfect pair for these styles of beer
***For more information, please click here.
Let Back Bay Social Club take your #SundayFunday to the post-season level.
The boys in blue are in the playoffs (once again), and Back Bay Social has been waiting all season long to host you & the #SundayFunday football gang for a POST SEASON VIEWING PARTY!
Watch the same on Back Bay Social’s giant screen with surround sound with a bucket of wings and some beer — or order from the full brunch menu. Be sure to register while space is still available!
The second annual Back Bay Battle of the Breweries returns with all of your favorite local craft brewers in one spot!
Enjoy samples from over 20 New England Breweries and then place your vote for your favorite!
The winning brewery gets a Tap Takeover in City Table, City Bar and Solas!
Ticket price includes unlimited beer samples, customized tasting glass, hors d’oeuvres created by Chef Sean MacAlpine, live music with Jason Silverman of Hot Mess and a night full of good eats, brews and fun!
Be sure to get your tickets early – the last Back Bay Battle of the Breweries sold out quickly!
PARTICIPATING BREWERIES:
Night Shift Brewing – Everett, MA
Idle Hands – Malden, MA
Lord Hobo – Woburn, MA
Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers – Framingham, MA
Cambridge Brewing Company – Cambridge, MA
Devil’s Purse Brewing – South Dennis, MA
Widowmaker Brewing – Braintree, MA
Westfield River Brewing Company – Southwick, MA
Bantam Cider – Somerville, MA
Bent Water – Lynn, MA
Aeronaut Brewing Company – Somerville, MA
Turtle Swamp – Jamaica Plain/Roslindale, MA
Naked Ox – Dorchester, MA
Small Change Brewing Company – Somerville, MA
Notch Brewing – Salem, MA
Definitive Brewing – Portland, ME
Great North Aleworks – Manchester, NH
Athletic Brewing Company – Stratford, CT
Castle Island Beer – Norwood, MA
Citizen Cider – Burlington, VT
Cisco Brewers – Nantucket, MA
Winter Hill Brewing – Somerville, MA
*All attendees must be 21+ with a valid ID. Nobody will be allowed into the event who is under 21 or who doesn’t have a valid ID.
For more information, check out the Lenox’s BLOG!
Celebrate National Beer Day at Back Bay Social’s Back Bay Beer Festival!
Your ticket includes:
- Admission to the event
- Food truck inspired snacks
- Tasting with 12 different beers — including Down Eat Cider
- “Back Bay Brew Card” to you can keep track of everything you tried
- Giveaways & swag from all of our beer sponsors!
Meet and mingle with other Francophiles while celebrating La Chandeleur!
Also called Crêpe Day, la Chandeleur is a French holiday during which people traditionally eat crêpes and drink cidre. Though la Chandeleur is often associated with the Catholic holiday of Candlemas, it actually stems from pagan traditions. And, of course, there is the traditional coin ritual: if you can flip a crêpe while holding a coin in your other hand, you and your family will not have to worry about financial problems. There is even a fun legend that ties Napoleon’s misfortune with his time in Russia with the flipping of the crêpes!
The French Cultural Center will observe this popular holiday with crêpes and a variety of delicious toppings. All ages are invited and welcome to attend!
Please note: When you register for a family, you are registering per family. You will be required to answer a question on the number of family members that will attend.
Early RSVP recommended.
To learn more about the French Cultural Center, please click here.
Ascend to Terra for a multi-course dinner under the stars (with wine pairings!) for a culinary tour of the valley.
Ascend to Terra for a multi-course dinner under the stars (with wine pairings!) for a culinary tour of the valley with one of the region’s most celebrated producers: Nino Negri. The former winemaker’s daughter herself, Sara Maule, who now resides locally, will guide you through this captivating landscape and introduce the traditions of Valtellina.
The Valtellina is an Alpine valley in Northern Lombardy, just below the border with Switzerland, that was carved out by the mighty river Adda. The valley lies in between the Rhaetian Alps to the north and the Bergamo Alps to the south.
Nino Negri, located in this very valley, was established in 1897 is one of Italy’s most celebrated producers in the Valtellina. The winery operates to this day in a centuries old castle, and uses the original cellars with natural underground temperature control to age their wines.
Each wine will be perfectly paired to savory courses like Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese, a traditional Alpine pasta dish. You will dive into flame-kissed flavors of the seasonal ingredients prepared over Terra’s famous wood-fire grill as you discover the stories and history behind the dishes and wine.
Get your tickets for this magical night of vino, food, and a storied tour of Valtellina—without leaving Boston—on April 1st!
For more about Terra, please click here.
During this multi-course dinner, Eataly will take you on a journey through the flavors of Liguria’s coastal towns.
Home to the famed Cinque Terre, Liguria’s turquoise coastline is dotted with some of the most beautiful spots in Italy. And right up there with the breathtaking views are fresh flavors of the coast!
During this multi-course dinner, Eataly will take you on a journey through the flavors of Liguria’s coastal towns. From focaccia to pesto Genovese, some of their favorite staples come from this Tyrrhenian gem. Enjoy fresh pesto made in the true Genovese-style using a mortar and taste some of the most traditional seafood prepared by their chef. The four savory courses will allow you to travel through Liguria as you discover the unique traditions of this maritime region. The dinner will end on a sweet note with a final fifth course handcrafted by their expert pastry team.
And because an authentic Italian dinner is incomplete without vino, the dinner will also feature optional wine pairings available for purchase and selected by their Beverage Manager Gregg Guertin. Liguria’s native varietals include Vermentino, Dolcetto, and Sangiovese.
Spring is in the air! Don’t miss this tasting experience as you take a trip to Liguria’s coast celebrating their fresh ingredients (without ever leaving Boston)!
For more about Eataly Boston, please click here.
