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 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 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 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 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 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.

Everyone loves brunch in Back Bay

Dillon’s invites you to join them for their second Boozy Brunch of the season featuring brunch buffet, booze, live music and games on Sunday, July 23rd at Dillon’s in Back Bay.

They’re serving up an all you can eat brunch buffet and tasty mimosas compliments of Martini & Rossi. Thanks to Social Boston Sports they’ll have tailgate and party games running all afternoon to keep you busy and you can pop over to our photo booth to snap some silly photos. DJ Sprino will be DJing all afternoon to get you in that Down to Brunch spirit (although we have a feeling Martini & Rossi will help with that, too).

Tickets To This Event Include:

• All you can eat brunch buffet from 10AM – 1 PM
• Two drinks at our Martini + Rossi Mimosa Bar
• Live Music by DJ Sprino
• Corn Hole sponsored by Social Boston Sports
• Party games and activities
• Photo Booth
• Brunches of Boston swag

*Additional alcohol can be purchased directly at the bar at Dillon’s

*GF and vegetarian options will be available

*Must be 21+ to attend this event

Tickets non-refundible within 24 hours of event

Fourth Annual Kentucky Derby Party at OAK Long Bar + Kitchen

On Saturday, May 5, giddyup to OAK Long Bar + Kitchen for its fourth annual Kentucky Derby Party! Mint Juleps will be flowing all afternoon, along with many Derby-inspired special cocktails. Purchase of a specialty cocktail gets you a raffle ticket with a randomly selected horse’s number – after the race winning tickets can be redeemed for a Maker’s Mark prize. The regular food menu will be available plus two southern-inspired specials: Hush Puppies and Hot Fried Chicken Sliders.

Derby attire is highly encouraged. Break out your finest seersucker, sundresses, bowties and hats – prizes will be awarded to “Best Dressed” and “Best Hat.” A big screen TV will be in the dining room for guests to catch all the action.

New this year: Saddle up at the best seats in the house! For $750, reserve a High-Top table with standing room for 12 people at 4:00pm in the heart of the restaurant. Table will include a round of Mint Juleps, two bottles of G.H. Mumm Courdon Rouge (the Official Champagne of the Kentucky Derby) and plenty of bar snacks. Only two High-Tops available, will book fast. Call 617-267-5222 to reserve.

 No tickets required. Join the party starting at 4:00pm; the post time is 6:34pm and race time is 6:46pm. For reservations, please call 617-267-5222 or book via OpenTable.

DRINK SPECIALS

 Mint Julep – 15

Maker’s Mark Bourbon, mint, lemon, crushed ice

 Triple Crown – 15

peach infused Maker’s 46 old-fashioned

 Winner’s Circle – 18

G.H. Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge, raspberries, lemon, titos vodka

 Talk Derby To Me – 15

house rum blend, fresh juices, crushed ice

 Horsing Around – 15

Sipsmith Gin, cucumber, jalapeno, agave, lemon

 Frozen Margarita (because, Cinco De Mayo!) – 15

house margarita mix

MENU SPECIALS 

Hush Puppies – 9

with remoulade

Hot Fried Chicken Sliders – 12

dukes, lettuce, cheddar, bread and butter pickles

Back Bay Association Members are
Cordially Invited to Attend
the Back Bay Association’s 

 96th Annual Meeting

 Featuring
Keynote Speaker

The Honorable Martin J. Walsh
Mayor of Boston

 May 13, 2019
9:00 am

 John B. Hynes Veteran Memorial Convention Center
900 Boylston Street

RSVP NOW

 Not a member but still want to attend?
Reach out to us here.

Sponsored by:

Learn how to make your very own sweet and savory travel cakes, cakes that stay moist and travel well, with Executive Pastry Chef Valerie Nin!

Join Grill 23 for an intimate two hour class where you’ll prep, bake and decorate vanilla buttercake and cornbread. Optional additions of fruit, sweets, jalapenos and cheese will be available for that extra touch. Also learn how to make lemon royal glaze and chcocolate glaze. Finally, enjoy your creations with tea and coffee (or take them home) during their fun Q&A .

Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

Tickets are limited.

Join Salon Acote for an evening of beauty, shopping, and champagne.