Author Visit: Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, which all members of the upper school read this summer, spoke with the entire upper school in Schenk auditorium and afterwards participated in a more informal Q&A in the Imperatore Library. Anyone that didn't get to ask their question in the larger crowd was welcome to come in and speak with her in a more intimate conversational setting. She talked through some of the main themes of Station Eleven while addressing her writing process, including some of her motivations behind various characters and plot points. Afterwards, Ms. Mandel signed books one-on-one to enthusiastic faculty and students.

Author Sayantani DasGupta Visits 6th Graders

The sixth graders were fortunate to have author Sayantani DasGupta visit them last week in the Imperatore library. Her book series, Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond, is a fantasy adventure story that is based on Bengali folktales.

When talking about her motivation for writing the first book in the series, The Serpent's Secret, Dr. DasGupta referenced the lack of diverse representation in middle grade fantasy books. This quote from Toni Morrison, "If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it" is something that has driven and inspired Dr. DasGupta. She brought up the importance of books that are windows (a glimpse into a new experience), mirrors (a reflection of your own experience), and sliding glass doors (a gateway to enter a new world) for readers.

The sixth graders greatly enjoyed Dr. DasGupta's interactive presentation. Library copies of her first book were all immediately snatched up! Look out for the second book in the series, Game of Stars, which comes out in February and read more on Sayantani DasGupta's website.

Author Sue Macy Speaks About Forgotten Women in Sports History

For Women’s History Month and Health and Wellness Week, the Imperatore Library was fortunate to host author Sue Macy who spoke about women in sports history. 

Throughout history, people have formed ill-conceived notions about the ability of women to play sports. Some thought competition was bad for a woman’s state of mind. There were early basketball games where men were not allowed to watch women play because it was thought they should not see females perspire. Ms. Macy spoke with groups of health and wellness classes in grades 6-9 about stories like these and how things have changed over the years. She also spoke about a number of groundbreaking women that broke barriers like Jackie Mitchell who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and the members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League who played during World War II.

If you want to read further about other important women in sports, check out the biographies of Ora Mae Washington, Althea Gibson, Toni Stone, Babe Didrikson, Peggy Fleming, and Billie Jean King.

A Celebration of Writing

Last Thursday was a celebration of writing, authors, and books at Dwight-Englewood School. During the school day, assemblies were held featuring alumni authors Jordana Frankel, Lucinda Rosenfeld, and Monica Ferrell.

 

In the evening, two literary events were held in the Imperatore Library, Write Night and Alumni Writers' Workshop. Write Night, an English Department-sponsored event that now occurs twice a year, provides a chance for budding authors to share their work with a supportive community. Students from the Middle and Upper Schools kicked off the event by reading works of prose and poetry in front of the whole group. There was also a chance for more intimate sharing as smaller grade level groups convened in some of the library meeting spaces. Audience members may have even gotten a sneak peak at some of the pieces that might end up in one of the literary publications, Open Roads (Middle School) or Calliope (Upper School).

Following Write Night, alumni authors from our morning assemblies were joined by Peter Balakian to speak about their books, their writing process, and even their time spent at Dwight-Englewood and The Englewood School for Boys.

Thank you to all our presenters for a wonderful evening. Hopefully we’ll see some familiar and new faces for our second Write Night of the year in the spring! Enjoy the following pictures highlighting both events and be sure to stop by the library to see additional photos from the evening.

Jahod Silver recites for a Middle School audience

Greg McDowell recites his work in the Bogo Room

Lisa Mordkovich recites her work in the Blackwell room

Kira Tsougarakis recites her work to the entire group

Monica Ferrell speaks during the Alumni Writers' Workshop

Peter Balakian speaks during the Alumni Writers' Workshop

Nobel Prize in Literature Goes to Canada's Alice Munro

The Swedish Academy has named short-story master Alice Munro this year's recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. You can learn more at NPR.org or on the New York Times site. Listen to one of Munro's stories, "Axis," read and discussed on the New Yorker Fiction podcast. We have her short-story collections Dear Life and Runaway in the library--come check them out!

Moustafa Bayoumi

If you enjoyed hearing Moustafa Bayoumi speak at our assembly today, read the piece he wrote for The Nation's blog, The Rites and Rights of Citizenship.