The Man in the Cowboy Hat, a documentary film about Carlos Arredondo, will premiere at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on Saturday, March 25 at 2 pm, followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
Carlos first appeared in the news in 2004 when he learned that his oldest son, Alex, had died fighting in Iraq. The film follows Carlos for the next ten years as he evolves from a grief stricken father to an influential peace activist to the Boston Marathon bombing hero. His story of public involvement and private struggle raises important questions about the impact of war on families, patriotism and the American Dream.
The premiere event is free and open to the public.
Learn more about the film and the premiere screening at themaninthecowboyhat.com
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.
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.
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 Wednesday, June 7 will feature Marco Mares. Marco Mares is a singer-songwriter from Mexico City who showcased his fresh and honest pop sound in his debut album Para Ella (2014). Marco’s interactive performances highlight fun, funky pop mixed with romantic Spanish lyrics. His latest reggae-pop single “Flaquita” (2017), which says love has no size or labels, streamed 130,000 times on Spotify in the first three weeks after its release.
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.
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 9 will feature Boston Philharmonic. “Passionate music making without boundaries” is an ethos that permeates every performance, every rehearsal, and every note that the Boston Philharmonic plays. Join members of the Boston Philharmonic as they perform chamber and quartet music, taking their passion out of the concert hall to the public as part of their education and community outreach program, Crescendo!
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.
Once you taste beer with Liz Starks,in-house cicerone (think: beer sommelier) at Lamplighter Brewing Co., you’ll understand the nuances of flavor and aroma that make a great brew. Join Newsfeed Cafe and you’ll walk away with the knowledge that will make every beer an experience and will impress your friends at the next holiday party.
Your ticket includes a welcome beer and a flight of craft beers with delectable bar bites created especially by our chef.
Come at 6:00pm to find a seat and mingle. Guided tasting starts at 6:30pm.
Click here for tickets
Boston Public Library Invites You for NOVA’s First Ever Science Trivia Night
Join the Boston Public Library for NOVA’s first ever Science Trivia Night! Bring your friends and form a team of up to six participants or meet fellow NOVA fans and form some bonds (pun intended). Get ready for some creative categories and great prizes as we test your knowledge of the natural world, space, the history of science, and more!
Food and drinks are available for purchase at the Newsfeed Café.
For more information, click here.
SPARK Boston’s Chief Chats, which bring together city officials and young adult residents in dialogue about improving our city, comes to Newsfeed Café!
In the past several years, the Boston Public Library has transformed into a 21st-century institution providing dynamic library experiences to the residents of Boston and beyond. In this panel discussion, David Leonard, President of the Boston Public Library, will be discussing the role of a public library in 2018, how the Boston Public Library keeps up to date with technological advancements and the diverse needs of the communities it serves, and how young people get involved with their local library branch. Laura Koenig, Children’s Services Team Leader at the Central Library, and Angela Veizaga, Systemwide Youth Programs Librarian, join David Leonard on the panel.
For more information and to register for this event, please click here.
Free Jazz Concerts in the McKim Courtyard All Summer Long
The courtyard of the Boston Public 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.
Concerts are moved to Rabb Hall in the event of inclement weather.
Wednesday concerts are presented in partnership with Berklee College of Music and are generously sponsored by Brookline Bank.
Free Jazz Concerts in the McKim Courtyard All Summer Long
The courtyard of the Boston Public 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.
Concerts are moved to Rabb Hall in the event of inclement weather,
